ABSTRACT
This paper reviews the most dependable heat flux sensors, which can be used with InfraRed (IR) thermography to measure convective heat transfer coefficient distributions, and some of their applications performed by the authors' research group at the University of Naples Federico II. After recalling the basic principles that make IR thermography work, the various heat flux sensors to be used with it are presented and discussed, describing their capability to investigate complex thermo-fluid-dynamic flows. Several applications to streams, which range from natural convection to hypersonic flows, are also described.
ABSTRACT
Infrared (IR) thermography, because of its two-dimensional and non-intrusive nature, can be exploited in industrial applications as well as in research. This paper deals with measurement of convective heat transfer coefficients (h) in three complex fluid flow configurations that concern the main aspects of both internal and external cooling of turbine engine components: (1) flow in ribbed, or smooth, channels connected by a 180 degrees sharp turn, (2) a jet in cross-flow, and (3) a jet impinging on a wall. The aim of this study was to acquire detailed measurements of h distribution in complex flow configurations related to both internal and external cooling of turbine components. The heated thin foil technique, which involves the detection of surface temperature by means of an IR scanning radiometer, was exploited to measure h. Particle image velocimetry was also used in one of the configurations to precisely determine the velocity field.
