Temperature Measurement Errors in Automotive Lighting 2001-01-0859

This paper examines a variety of thermocouple and infrared measurement techniques as means of obtaining accurate and consistent temperature measurements within a headlamp system. While measuring temperature is straightforward in principle, in practice, these measurements are fraught with potential error. The paper summarizes a succession of experiments conducted at our Parts Design Center (formerly the Application Development Resource Center) in Pittsfield, MA. These experiments lead to the ability to accurately measure temperature at a given location within a lamp assembly. Using these studies and the resulting transfer functions as a foundation, a Design of Experiment (D.O.E.) is presented which explores the effect of a variety of headlamp design factors on the surface temperature of a headlamp reflector at a given location.