Measurement of three-dimensional temperature fields in conjugate conduction-convection problems using multidirectional interferometry

Abstract

A computational and experimental study is performed to optically record and reconstruct an asymmetric three-dimensional (3-D) temperature field in conjugate conduction-convection heat transfer problems. In a thermally coupled application, the temperature distribution must be obtained within the conducting solid and in the adjacent convecting fluid. A reconstruction algorithm is developed that provides the 3-D temperature field in a region occupied by multiple mediums (solids and/or fluids). The 3-D temperature distribution is reconstructed in and around a short heated cylinder placed in a fluid to which heat is transferred by natural convection. Experimental measurement of the field is made by recording and reducing the data from a number of interferograms taken along different angles to the flow. In order to obtain interference data through the combined solid and liquid, the refractive index of the cylinder is matched with the fluid. Numerical solutions for this geometry are also obtained which provide temperature fields that compare favorably with the experimentally obtained values.