Heat Flux Intensity Research Articles

The Influence of Leather Type on Thermal and Smoke-Generating Properties

The main purpose of this article was to determine the smoke-generating and thermal properties of selected types of natural leather. Differences in the amount of smoke generated from the type of finish used in the technological processing of leather were observed. Research has shown that the burnt nubuck (367) sample with exposure at the heat flux intensity of 25 kW/m2 without the presence of a pilot burner flame achieved the highest value of the specific optical density Ds,max. Comparable values, 312 and 297, were recorded for grain bovine leather and velour bovine leather, respectively; on the other hand, the lowest value of the tested parameter amounting to 220 was recorded for lacquered bovine leather. Tests executed with the use of thermogravimetric analysis show that except for nubuck leather, the start of thermal decomposition for all types of samples appears to be fairly similar and was found to be within the range of 275–282 °C. The highest value of thermal decomposition onset, i.e., 302 °C, was recorded for nubuck leather. The highest percentile of residues from thermal decomposition, i.e., 9%, was obtained for grain bovine leather. This implies that the least gaseous phase during its thermal decomposition in test conditions was generated by this type of leather. The highest average Ds,max value was obtained for nubuck (367), and decreased as follows: grain bovine leather (312) > velour bovine leather (297) > lacquered bovine leather (220).

Axisymmetric Heat Conduction in a Cracked Layer Subjected to Prescribed Temperatures

This paper presents an analysis of an axisymmetric heat conduction problem in a layer with circular heat sources on its external surfaces, maintaining constant temperatures. Additionally, the layer contains a circular crack along its middle plane, either internally or externally, leading to a mixed boundary value problem. In this study, dual integral equations are derived using Hankel’s transform technique. In contrast to the conventional approach that relies on Fredholm’s equations, these dual integral equations are directly reduced to an infinite set of simultaneous equations. The investigation subsequently provides closed-form expressions involving special functions for the thermal fields and heat flux intensity factor. Moreover, the solution for the case of a half-space medium is obtained as a limiting case of this study. The accuracy and validity of the present approach are also confirmed through comparison with numerical simulations. Sets of plots are provided to analyze the influence of the crack, surface radius of the applied temperatures, and the layer thickness on various physical quantities.

Evaluation of heat flux intensity factor for a V-notched structure by the isogeometric boundary element method

The conventional boundary element method using piecewise polynomial interpolation cannot accurately simulate the singular heat flux field around the vertex of the V-notch. Herein, the singularity eigen-analysis combined with the isogeometric boundary element method is proposed to calculate the singular heat flux field. The V-notched structure is divided into two parts, in which one is the heat flux singularity sector near the vertex and the other is the remained structure without heat flux singularity. In the singularity sector, the asymptotic expansion of the heat flux is introduced to transform the heat conduction governing equation into ordinary differential eigen equation, from which the singularity orders and eigen angular functions can be determined, except for the amplitude coefficients in the asymptotic expansion. The boundary integral equations for the heat conduction analysis established on the remained structure are discretized by the non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) elements. The amplitude coefficients, which are corresponding to the heat flux intensity factors, can be yielded by coupling the isogeometric boundary integral equations with the singularity asymptotic expansion analysis. A coordinate system transformation method is then proposed to transform the heat conduction governing equations of orthotropic and anisotropic material into the one of the isotropic material, and the heat flux intensity factors are approved to be invariable before and after coordinate transformation. Since the NURBS elements are used, fewer elements are required to evaluate the heat flux intensity factors compared with the conventional boundary element method.

Bench-scale thermomechanical assessment of carbon fibre reinforced polymer C-channels

This study investigates the thermomechanical response of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) C-channels using a bench-scale apparatus that combines mechanical loading and radiant thermal exposure. The study aims to assess the behaviour of pre-loaded CFRP C-channels, representative of aircraft sub-structures when subjected to fire conditions. Woven prepreg CFRP C-channels were tested under cantilever point load deflection while exposed to varying heat fluxes. Key aspects examined during the study include failure times, displacement, temperature distribution, and failure modes. The findings reveal that heated, pre-loaded C-channels experience distinct phases of physico-chemical decomposition and mechanical degradation. The mechanical degradation includes upward shear buckling of the horizontal flanges and vertical web, along with outward buckling of the vertical web towards the heat source. The study shows that thermal decomposition and mechanical degradation occur simultaneously, influenced by heat flux intensity. Higher heat fluxes accelerate decomposition and reduce load-bearing capacity, while lower fluxes slow degradation. Displacement data indicates that heat flux intensity significantly affects structural response. Temperature measurements show higher fluxes lead to elevated temperatures and steeper gradients, impacting failure times and modes. Increased temperatures correlate with shorter failure times, and variability in failure times decreases as heat flux rises. These insights are significant for understanding the thermomechanical response of C-channels in aircraft sub-structures. The knowledge obtained can contribute to developing more robust and safer aircraft designs, particularly for components exposed to fire conditions, enabling engineers to establish more precise safety margins for CFRP structures, potentially preventing catastrophic failures and thereby enhancing overall aircraft safety.

Kinetic investigation of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability with nonequilibrium effects in a force field

The Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability in a force field is simulated and investigated using a two-component discrete Boltzmann method. Both hydrodynamic and thermodynamic nonequilibrium effects in the evolution of KH instability are analyzed in two distinct states: interface roll-up and non-roll-up. It is interesting to note that there are critical thresholds for initial amplitude and Reynolds number, both of which are determined based on the vertical density gradient. Specifically, when the initial amplitude and Reynolds number exceed their respective critical thresholds, the interface undergoes roll-up. Conversely, if these parameters fall below their critical values, the interface fails to roll up. Moreover, the initial amplitude promotes the development of density gradients, mixing degree, mixing width, viscous stress tensor strength, and heat flux strength. In contrast, the Reynolds number enhances the evolution of density gradients but dampens the mixing degree, viscous stress tensor strength, and heat flux intensity. The effect of the Reynolds number on mixing width is analyzed as well.

Thermal Exploration of Combined Rectangular and Semi-Circular Artificial Ribs in the Flow Regime of Solar Air Heater: A Computational and Experimental Approach

Abstract A roughened solar air heater is developed numerically and experimentally with a novel roughness in the absorber. The roughness incorporated is a combination of rectangular and semi-circular ribs. The analysis is done to improve the thermal characteristics considering two cases. Type A with ribs placed above the absorber and Type B with ribs placed below it. Several operating parameters are investigated including heat flux, Reynolds number (Re), relative obstacle relative height (h/H) ranging from 400 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2, 4000 to 10,000, and 0.4 to 1.0, respectively. The relative pitch is kept constant at 15 mm. The governing equations are simulated employing the renormalization group k–ε turbulence flow model. The results indicated that both Type A and Type B achieved significant improvements over the smooth duct. Type A exhibited a maximum Nusselt number of 4.24, while Type B achieved 3.93 in comparison with smooth duct at Re of 10,000, respectively. The thermal enhancement factor (TEF) ranges from 1.32 to 1.79 for Type A and 1.26 to 1.69 for Type B at a heat flux intensity of 1000 W/m2. Also at a relative height of 1.0, Type A demonstrated the highest TEF of 1.79 at Re = 10,000 and provided a maximum exergy efficiency of 11.2%.

Combinatorial approach to predict synergistic ablation behavior of carbon fiber phenolic composites under aerodynamic loading

The study conducts a comprehensive analysis across 1-D, 2-D, and 2-D axisymmetric geometries, investigating temperature profiles, surface recession patterns, pyrolysis gas flow dynamics, and density fluctuations within the composite material. The findings highlight the effectiveness of the FEA technique in modeling complex multi-physical interactions associated with ablation phenomena. The carbon-phenolic composites, characterized by low thermal conductivity, high specific heat capacity, and substantial char yield, are shown to be particularly well-suited as ablative materials. The char layer formed during ablation acts as an additional insulating barrier, enhancing thermal protection. In a specific case study, a 2 cm thick composite laminate was subjected to an intense heat flux of 200 W/cm2 for 180 s. The results demonstrate that the Thermal Protection System (TPS) effectively maintains the back face temperature below 350 K for the initial 60 s under uniform heat flux conditions. However, beyond this period, the back face temperature gradually increases, reaching 1698 K at the end of the 180-s simulation. These insights into the material’s thermal performance under severe heat exposure conditions provide valuable guidance for applications requiring effective heat management and thermal protection.

Partially insulated cracks in orthotropic materials under steady state thermo-mechanical loadings

An attempt has been made to investigate the cracked composite medium with thermally conducting multiple cracks at its interface of the dissimilar orthotropic media subjected to thermal and mechanical loadings. The present article examines the governing equations, the associated differential constraints and boundary conditions those govern the temperature field and stress field. Fourier integral transforms, together with their corresponding inverses, have been employed to convert the singular integral equations into a set of linear equations by using the concept of orthogonality and completeness. The numerical technique, namely the Schmidt method, which employs a polynomial expansion of the unknown functions, is used to solve algebraic equations to determine the desired temperature and stress fields. The semi-analytical findings of the expressions for heat flux intensity factor (HFIF), stress intensity factor (SIF), and crack displacements have been mentioned in the article. Both mode-I and II types of cracks have been studied to investigate the effect of thermal conductivity. Detailed graphical representations effectively illustrate the numerical results and the interrelations between crack lengths, bonded strip width, and the partial conductivity coefficient of the crack surface. As the thermal conductivity coefficient increases, the temperature difference tends to zero. The results reveal that an increase in thermal conductivity decreases the SIFs.

Study on the effect of structural parameters of a thermal liner on its thermal protective performance under radiant heat exposure

To comprehend the impact of elementary construction parameters of nonwoven thermal liners on their thermal protective performance, the current research primarily emphasizes on studying the effect of needle penetration depth and needle punch density of the thermal liner. Nonwoven fabrics with three different punch densities and three needling depths were prepared. The air permeability and thermal resistance of the thermal liner were investigated through regression analysis to determine the influence of needle penetration depth and needle punch density. It was observed that both factors had a notable impact on the air permeability and thermal resistance of the thermal liner. An increase in needle penetration depth and needle punch density resulted in a decrease in the air permeability and thermal resistance of the thermal liner. An experiment was carried out utilizing the 33 Box-Behnken designing approach; the factors employed were the radiant heat flux intensity, needle punch density, and needle penetration depth of the thermal liner. The thermal protective performance of thermal liners was measured at three discrete intensities of radiant heat exposures. To investigate the effect of the test and construction parameters and their interaction, an analysis of variance study was carried out. It was observed that protection time rises with the decrease in needling depth and needle punch density at every level of heat flux. With the rise in incident radiant heat flux, protection time declines, irrespective of needle penetration depth and punch density levels.

Diminishing control of evaporation on rising land surface temperature of the Earth

Evaporation rates and land surface temperatures can be modified by planned water availability as well as land use and land cover changes. In general, a higher evaporation rate via its associated latent heat flux yields a cooler surface. Here we demonstrate that increasing energy at the land surface necessitates more intense latent heat fluxes for the same unit degree of surface cooling. When the wet-surface temperature is around 25 °C, a unit drop in land surface temperature requires about twice as much water to evaporate than when it is only 10 °C. As a consequence, today an estimated 5 ± 3% of extra water may be needed to evaporate globally for the same cooling effect as before the industrial era when near surface air temperature over land was about 1.5 °C cooler on average. This increase is a magnitude larger than what the thermal properties of water explain.

Horizontal Heat Flux Spread in an Inner Corner of Buildings

This study investigates fire separation distances as essential means of passive fire protection in building design. The focus is on the inner corner configuration of building exterior walls, which represents the worst-case scenario for façade fire spread outside of a building. The inner-corner configuration appears to increase the intensity of the radiative heat flux due to reflection and reradiation of heat. Comprehensive approaches for determining fire separation distances around the various façade geometries can be found, but none of them is focused on detailed descriptions of the unprotected area in an inner corner. A medium-scale scenario was chosen and was experimentally validated with a radiant panel for a better understanding of heat flux spread. This paper compares the experiment with analytical and numerical models. The analytical model is based on the Stefan–Boltzmann law and the calculated configuration factor as per Eurocode 1. The numerical model combines radiative and convective components of the heat flux because convection is non-negligible near the heat source. Experimental data confirm the prediction based on the numerical and analytical model and show agreement. The final increase in heat flux due to the corner configuration investigated at the medium scale reaches up to 29%.

A novel hybrid-composite microchannel heat sink for extreme hotspot mitigation

Most of the heat generated by a microprocessor comes from its cores, resulting in hotspots with exceptionally high heat flux. In contrast, the remaining processor area experiences significantly lower heat flux, leading to substantial temperature nonuniformity across the chip. An efficient heat sink must be capable of applying distinct cooling capacities specific to each zone. This study presents an energy-efficient heat sink design aimed at mitigating severe temperature variations in microprocessors. The design concept involves dividing the processor's hot surface into zones based on heat flux intensity and integrating different microstructures and materials into each respective zone for optimized thermal management. The proposed hybrid-composite design was developed by incorporating silicon microchannels for the low-heat-flux zone and diamond microfins for the high-heat-flux zone. Integrating microfins (hybrid design) substantially enhances the solid-fluid interface area over the hotspot zone, while using diamond (composite design) dramatically improves heat conduction from the hotspot. Full heat sinks were modeled for conjugate heat transfer investigation. The thermo-hydraulic performance of hybrid-composite design was compared against that of simple, simple-composite, and hybrid designs. The hybrid-composite design demonstrated substantial enhancement in thermal performance compared to all the other designs, with a moderate rise in pumping power. In comparison to the simple microchannel design, the hybrid-composite design demonstrated a 66.0 % reduction in thermal resistance and a 74.3 % decrease in temperature nonuniformity. Additionally, the hybrid-composite design could effectively mitigate a hotspot heat flux of up to 2400 W/cm2 with only 8.6 % higher pumping power, while the simple microchannel design reached the maximum permissible temperature limit at 700 W/cm2.

Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Nano-Encapsulated Phase Change (NPC) Slurries in Wavy Microchannels

Researchers have attempted to improve heat transfer in mini/microchannel heat sinks by dispersing nano-encapsulated phase change (NPC) materials in base coolants. While NPC slurries have demonstrated improved heat transfer performance, their applications are limited by decreasing enhancement at increased flow rates. To address this challenge, the present study numerically investigates the effects of wavy channels on the performance of NPC slurries. Simulation results reveal that a wavy channel induces Dean vortices that intensify the mixing of the working fluid and enlarge the melting fractions of the NPC material, thus offering a significantly higher heat transfer efficiency than a straight channel. Moreover, heat transfer enhancement by NPC slurries varies with the imposed heat flux and flow rate. Interestingly, the maximum heat transfer enhancement obtained with the wavy channel not only exceeds the straight one, but also occurs at a higher heat flux and faster flow rate. This finding demonstrates the advantage of wavy channels in management of intensive heat fluxes with NPC slurries. The study also investigates wavy channels with varying amplitude and wavelength. Increasing the wave aspect ratio from 0.2 to 0.588 strengthens Dean vortices and consequently increases the Nusselt number, optimal heat flux, and overall thermal performance factor.

Simulated temperature of a tungsten spot facing large plasma heat loads

In fusion devices like ITER, plasma-wall interactions are a significant concern due to the high heat fluxes, often tens of MW/m2, impacting the first wall. These intense heat fluxes can lead to the formation of hot spots on components facing the plasma, such as tungsten, used in divertor plates and antennas. This results in material erosion and plasma core contamination. Our study investigates the thermal behavior of tungsten surfaces under these conditions using fluid modeling and Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations. We examine the effects of thermionic electron emission on the sheath potential and heat transmission. The simulations reveal that thermionic emission can decrease the sheath voltage, increasing the surface temperature due to enhanced heat flux due to electrons. Additionally, we explore how the ratio between the spot size (S) and the surrounding surface length (Ly) influences the surface temperature. We find that a higher Ly/S ratio allows the surface to reach higher temperatures before the system enters the space-charge-limited regime, where thermionic current is maximized and considerably larger than the case where the entire surface is emissive (Ly=S).

Investigation on the restrain effect of air curtain to the spilled flame and its heat flux of a compartment-facade fire

This paper investigates the restrain effect of air curtain to the spilled flame and its heat flux of a compartment-facade fire. A compartment model of 1.2 m × 0.9 m × 0.9 m is established in this study, and an air curtain is facilized at the compartment opening for fire protection. The air curtain jet velocity, the heat release rate as well as the opening dimension are changed as representative to typical fire scenarios. Flame behavior and heat flux profile of spill plume are captured by CCD cameras and water-cooled heat flux gauge for discussion. Results show that the air curtain jet could have a substantial impact on the flame behavior of spilled plumes from a compartment-facade fire. Compared to that of free condition without air curtain, the flame height becomes 20 % lower as the jet velocity to be 2 m/s, while it becomes 60 % lower as the jet velocity to be 5 m/s. At the meantime, the spilled plume is noticeably influenced by the “restricting effect” of the air curtain and thus flame trajectory is significantly flattened by the inertia force of the air curtain but also pushed farther from the facade wall, resulting in an increasing of flame depth. The decreasing in flame height plus the increasing flame depth would result in the reduction of heat flux intensity upon the facade wall, which is helpful for the fire protection of the facade wall. Then, a normalized factor of Υ is further proposed to the new correlation of flame height under various air curtain jet conditions at the opening. Regarding to different ejected flame behavior at the presence of air curtain jet, the heat flux upon the facade wall is quantitative analyzed to evaluate the thermal impact of spilled plume from the compartment fire. Finally, new correlations of the vertical heat flux upon the facade wall could be well achieved by a function of normalized height factor Z/Zf, v.

Performance assessment of firefighter protective clothing under different thermal environments: Impact of the variation of thickness in inter-layer airgap and microclimate

Personal protective equipment for firefighters can effectively prevent skin burns and ensure firefighters' safety. Considering a variety of fire environments faced by a firefighter, the present study is devoted to showing the role of the inter-layer fabric airgap and its variation in thickness on skin burns under high intensity heat flux. The present numerical model is formulated by considering a coupled conduction and radiation heat interaction in the porous fabric medium and the Pennes bioheat transfer model for the multi-layered skin. The study considers the effect of variation in airgap thickness, variation in heat transfer coefficient, and duration of exposure on the thermal damage of the firefighter's skin subjected to different harsh thermal environments. The results found that increasing the thickness of AG1 and AG2 does not yield a significant impact during the exposure time. Conversely, AG3 and AG4 lead to considerable temperature reductions at the basal layer, with AG3 causing a decrease of 2.6 °C to 2.9 °C and AG4 causing a decrease of 11.9 °C to 17.0 °C under all exposure conditions. Additionally, when the heat transfer coefficient increases during post-exposure, temperature drops of 9.17 °C to 10.72 °C, 9.81 °C to 11.46 °C, 10.0 °C to 11.64 °C, and 8.68 °C to 10.07 °C are observed for AG1, AG2, AG3, and AG4, respectively, across all exposure conditions. However, both the airgaps have a substantial effect on thermal protection during the post exposure period. In addition, the nature of the variation of stored and transmitted energy in fabric assembly shows an opposite trend during both the exposure and post exposure period in contrast to the third and fourth airgaps for all the considered thermal environments.

Sustained North Atlantic warming drove anomalously intense MIS 11c interglacial

The Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11c interglacial and its preceding glacial termination represent an enigmatically intense climate response to relatively weak insolation forcing. So far, a lack of radiometric age control has confounded a detailed assessment of the insolation-climate relationship during this period. Here, we present 230Th-dated speleothem proxy data from northern Italy and compare them with palaeoclimate records from the North Atlantic region. We find that interglacial conditions started in subtropical to middle latitudes at 423.1 ± 1.3 thousand years (kyr) before present, during a first weak insolation maximum, whereas northern high latitudes remained glaciated (sea level ~ 40 m below present). Some 14.5 ± 2.8 kyr after this early subtropical onset, peak interglacial conditions were reached globally, with sea level 6–13 m above present, despite weak insolation forcing. We attribute this remarkably intense climate response to an exceptionally long (~15 kyr) episode of intense poleward heat flux transport prior to the MIS 11c optimum.

Performance analysis of a refrigeration system integrated with a thermoelectric cooler and microchannels in terms of heat transfer using a hybrid nanofluid

Advancements in chip technology increase energy consumption due to larger chip capacity, leading to intensive heat flux generation. Cooling solutions, including fan-only, fan-conventional heat sink (HS), or fan-conventional HS-heat pipe (HP) integrated systems, face penalties such as noise, dust accumulation, high electricity usage, space constraints, and thermal limitations of the working fluid. While thermoelectric coolers (TEC) have advantages like compactness and noise-free operation, they alone are insufficient for cooling sophisticated chips; combining them with microchannel heat sinks (MCHS) and superior fluid is crucial for achieving faster and more efficient cooling. Considering previous studies involving TECs used alone, with conventional fluids integrated into MCHS, and with a mono-nanofluid integrated into MCHSs, this is the first study to consider a TEC integrated with two MCHSs and to use a ZnO-TiO2/water hybrid nanofluid to maximize the performance of this miniature refrigeration system. Accordingly, an experimental study was carried out on the aforementioned refrigeration system using various concentrations (φ) of ZnO-TiO2/water hybrid nanofluid for different flow rates, utilizing both conventional heat transfer and the TEC’s mathematical operating principle. The results were interpreted via Reynolds number, Prandtl number, heat transfer rate, Nusselt number, total thermal resistance, and coefficient of performance (COP). The increase in φ from 0% to 0.03%, accompanied by a decrease in flow rate from 16 × 10−5 m3/s to 9 × 10−5 m3/s, increased the heat transfer rate for the heat-absorbing and the heat-emitting sides of the refrigeration system from 19.510 W to 45.794 W, and 13.639 W to 22.406 W, respectively. The experimental COP for pure water was 0.325 at the lowest volume flow rate, but increased to 0.934 at a φ of 0.030%. Considering the thermal characteristics, this study demonstrates that the proposed system is particularly advantageous at low flow rates and high φ, making it a potential candidate for electronic circuit cooling. Considerations such as investigating certain material properties to allow for further improvement of the proposed system were offered.

Averaged Heat Fluxes Densities During Condensation and Evaporation of a Water Droplet

This study is intended for experimental investigation of the influence of boundary conditions on the intensity of phase transformations and heat transfer processes in a suspended water droplet. The results of the dynamics of the averaged heat fluxes densities during the droplet phase change cycle are presented and analysed. The influence of the droplet initial temperature, the surrounding air flow temperature and the additional humidity in the air flow were defined in separate regimes of the droplet phase transformations cycle. The experiments performed demonstrated that the parameters of the air flow surrounding the suspended water droplet affect the intensity of heat fluxes in the droplet throughout whole its phase change cycle. It was experimentally claimed that the initial temperature of the water droplet has no influence on the droplet heat and mass transfer processes in the equilibrium evaporation regime. The obtained results showed that most intensity heat flux densities are at the beginning of the droplet phase change cycle when condensation process occurs on the droplet’s surface in case with biggest amount of additional humidity in the surrounding air flow. This is very important in technologies of cleaning and heat recovery from flue gases.

The Influence of the Heat Transfer Mode on the Stability of Foam Extinguishing Agents

The mass loss mechanisms of an aqueous film-forming foam (AF foam), an AR/AFFF water-soluble film-forming foam extinguishing agent (AR foam), and a Class A foam extinguishing agent (A foam) at different levels of thermal radiation, thermal convection, and heat conduction intensity were studied. At a relatively low thermal radiation intensity, the liquid separation rate of the AF, AR, and A foams is related to the properties of the foam itself, such as viscosity and surface/interface tension, which are relatively independent of the external radiation heat flux of the foam. At low radiation intensity (15 kW/m2 and 25 kW/m2), the liquid separation rate of the AF and A foams is relatively stable. When the heat flux intensity is 35 kW/m2, the liquid separation rate of the AF and A foams increases notably, which may be mainly due to the rapid decrease in foam viscosity. And the mass loss behavior is dominated by liquid separation in the AF, AR, and A foams under the influence of thermal radiation and thermal convection. Under the same experimental conditions, the liquid separation rate of AF is the fastest. There is no significant difference in the evaporation rates of the three kinds of foam in the same heat conduction condition. In addition, the AR and A foams usually have a 25% longer liquid separation time (t) under thermal radiation and thermal convection, and the thermal stability is better than AF foam. The temperature reached by the AF foam layer under thermal convection was lower than that of the AR and A foams, and the time for the foam layer to reach the highest temperature under heat conduction was longer than that of the AR and A foams.