This Article is about Fluke IR Windows detailed parameters.
Historically Fluke has focus on the prevention of arc flash and the protection of people against arc flash.When Fluke IR windows were introduced, there were some nice statements about the stability of the IR windows provided by Fluke.
On practice, the drift in transmission usually depends on material degradation and dust deposition.
Dust deposition happens much faster compared to other factors, like material degradation.
There are many materials available for infrared windows, but they are all in use for specific applications.
Fluke IR windows, we can state the following:
- They are made of CaF2 crystals.
- They have an additional coating to repel dirt and to protect from moisture.
- For CaF2, moisture is usually not an issue at common temperatures, as actual notable degradation begins when the temperatures exceed ~600°C with water vapors present, and this temperature is much higher than the operating range of Fluke IR windows (mostly due to silicone gaskets, that can withstand only up to ~260°C).
- While they are considered “brittle”, with proper design of the housing and proper selection of the window thickness, this can be managed.
- Fluke IR windows have been tested for the arc flash up to 63 kA – that is comparable to an explosion of a small hand grenade.
Regarding the drift in transmission, usually, a few percent of transmission drift is very difficult to notice, unless you have reference data on measured window transmission immediately after installation.
Fluke IR windows as very stable for long-term operation.