Infrared Thermography to Measure Heat Transfer of a Heated Curved Thin Sheet

Abstract

Heat transfer measurements on a heated curved thin sheet are performed by infrared thermography. The evolution of the temperature field is recorded to calculate the heat flux by using the two-dimensional unsteady heat balance equation. The thermal conduction term is estimated by the projection relationship between the curved surface of the thin sheet and the horizontal plane. Natural convection is neglected during the estimation of this heat flux. Unlike the traditional means of heat flux measurement, this method is non-intrusive and can measure the heat flux distribution within a curved space, allowing an easier evaluation of the errors due to radiation and tangential conduction. An electrical resistance foil with known power are applied as the heating source to compare the calculated heating power with the actual recorded power, the max relative error for different heating powers is about 10 %, which verified of the feasibility of the method. Considering possible applications, three different domestic gas cookers are used to heat three different curved thin pans, and then, in each case, the heat flux of the burners is analyzed. From the heat flux distribution of the three gas cookers, some heating characteristics such as heating power, maximum and average heating flux are investigated to help optimize the designs of the gas cookers, avoiding local overheating and low uniformity of heat distribution.