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Virginia Tech

High Temperature Heat Flux Measurement: Sensor Design, Calibration, and Applications

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This effort is focused on the design, calibration, and implementation of a high temperature heat flux sensor for thermal systems research and testing. The High Temperature Heat Flux Sensor (HTHFS) was designed to survive in the harsh thermal environments typically encountered in hypersonic flight, combustion and propulsion research, and large-scale fire testing. The sensor is capable of continuous use at temperatures up to 1000 â ¦C. Two methods for steady-state calibration of the HTHFS at elevated temperatures have been developed as a result of this research. The first method employs a water-cooled heat flux sensor as a reference standard for the calibration. The second method utilizes a blackbody radiant source and a NIST calibrated optical pyrometer as the calibration standard. The HTHFS calibration results obtained from both methods compare favorably with the theoretical sensitivity versus temperature model. Implementation of the HTHFS in several types of transient thermal testing scenarios is also demonstrated herein. A new data processing technique is used to interpret the measurements made by the HTHFS. The Hybrid Heat Flux (HHF) method accounts for the heat flow through the sensor and the heat storage in the sensor, and thus renders the HTHFS virtually insensitive to the material on which it is mounted. The calibrated output of the HTHFS versus temperature ensures accuracy in the measurements made by the sensor at high operating temperatures.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Mechanical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2011

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Pullins, Clayton Anthony
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Diller, Thomas E.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Simpson, Roger L.
  • Vick, Brian L.
  • Ekkad, Srinath V.
  • Huxtable, Scott T.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-05182011-124709
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/27789

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Pullins, Clayton Anthony. High Temperature Heat Flux Measurement: Sensor Design, Calibration, and Applications. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27789