Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications
A new method for simultaneous measurement of convective and radiative heat flux in car underhood applications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Journal
MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volume
21
Issue
2
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/21/2/025903
Abstract
A new experimental technique is presented that allows simultaneous measurement of convective and radiative heat flux in the underhood. The goal is to devise an easily implemented and accurate experimental method for application in the vehicle underhood compartment. The new method is based on a technique for heat-flux measurement developed by the authors (Heat flow (flux) sensors for measurement of convection, conduction and radiation heat flow 27036-2, (C) Rhopoint Components Ltd, Hurst Green, Oxted, RH8 9AX, UK) that uses several thermocouples in the thickness of a thermal resistive layer (foil heat-flux sensor). The method proposed here uses a pair of these thermocouples with different radiative properties. Measurements validating this novel technique are carried out on a flat plate with a prescribed constant temperature in both natural-and forced-convection flow regimes. The test flat plate is instrumented by this new technique, and also with a different technique that is intrusive but very accurate, used as reference here (Bardon J P and Jarny Y 1994 Procede et dispositif de mesure transitoire de temperature et flux surfacique Brevet n degrees 94.011996, 22 February). Discrepancies between the measurements by the two techniques are less than 10% for both convective and radiative heat flux. Error identification and sensitivity analysis of the new method are also presented.