Transient Liquid Crystal Measurement of Local Heat Transfer on a Rotating Disk With Jet Impingement

Abstract

An experimental technique has been developed for measurement of local convection heat transfer characteristics on rotating surfaces, utilizing thin liquid crystal surface coatings in a thermal transient test procedure. The encapsulated liquid crystal coatings used are sprayed directly on the test surface and their response is observed and processed during the transient with automated computer vision and data acquisition systems. Heat transfer coefficients are calculated from the thermal transient response of the test surface, as determined from the color indication from the thin coating. A significant advantage of the method, especially for convection in disk/shroud cavities that may contain recirculating fluid regions, is that appropriate thermal boundary conditions are naturally imposed on all of the boundary surfaces. The method is also relatively fast and inexpensive, and allows the geometry of the disk and stator surfaces to be changed easily, without the expenses of mounting discrete heat flux and temperature sensors and equipment to transfer information to a stationary frame of reference. Application of the experimental technique is demonstrated with detailed radially local surface Nusselt number distributions acquired for cases involving jet impingement onto a smooth disk, rotating in close proximity to a parallel plane stator disk. A single circular jet, with nozzle exit flush mounted in the stator, is oriented normal to the disk surface at various radii and flow rates. Local Nusselt numbers are presented nondimensionally as functions of both disk and flow Reynolds numbers. The results indicate that the local radial heat transfer distribution can be controlled by varying the impingement radius, but maximum radially averaged heat transfer is obtained with impingement at the disk center.