Estimation of surface emissivity for conduction-cooled metal plates at cryogenic temperatures

The relation between surface emissivity and temperature distribution is experimentally and analytically investigated for a conduction-cooled metal plate in vacuum. Experimental set-up consists of a rectangular metal plate placed vertically in a cryostat and thermally anchored to the coldhead of a GM cryocooler at the top. Temperature is measured at a number of locations over the plate with platinum resistors mounted on the plate. A parallel analysis on the balance of heat conduction through the plate and thermal radiation on its surface is performed to numerically calculate the temperature distribution having the same boundary conditions as experiment. By comparing the two results, an average emissivity of the plate is roughly estimated for different metal plates and different surface conditions. The estimated emissivity in present study is less than the listed values for highly polished stainless steel, and meets a fairly good agreement for oxidized copper surface.