Emissivity Calculations for Carbon Monoxide

Citation

Ostrander, Max Howell (1951) Emissivity Calculations for Carbon Monoxide. Engineer's thesis, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/7DDZ-WA46. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-03302009-062500

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to utilize a sound theoretical formulation combined with the best available experimental data on integrated absorption and rotational line-width, for the calculation of emissivities of carbon monoxide at room temperatures under conditions where overlapping between rotational lines is negligibly small. The results of the present investigation indicate that calculated emissivities of carbon monoxide at room temperature are in excellent agreement with empirically observed data published by Hottel and Ullrich. The theoretical dependence of emissivity upon optical density at low optical density and at room temperature has been shown to follow the experimental observations almost exactly. For low optical densities the calculated emissivity is found to be nearly proportional to the assumed rotational line-width, thus emphasizing the need for accurate line-width determinations at all temperatures. The calculated dependence of emissivity on rotational line-width permits the determination of emissivity not only as a function of temperature, total pressure, and optical density, but also as a function of concentration of optically inert gas. For numerical calculations of this type it is necessary to obtain experimental data for the dependence of rotational line-width on the concentration of non- emitting gases. The present calculations supplement earlier theoretical emissivity calculations, which are valid only at elevated total pressures where extensive overlapping of rotational lines occurs. The range of pressures in which overlapping between rotational lines is neither extensive nor negligibly small has been considered only very briefly and requires further examination.

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