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A new thin-film heat flux array (HFA) was designed and fabricated using a series of nickel/copper differential thermocouples deposited onto a thin Kapton® polyimide film. A special bank of amplifiers was designed and built to measure the signal from the HFA. Calibrations were performed to determine the gage's sensitivity and temporal response. The HFA produced signals of 42 µV (W cm−2)−1 with a measured first-order response time of 32 ms. The apparent thermal conductivity of the Kapton used was larger than what is usually reported. The design methodology, construction techniques, steady-state and transient calibrations, and a test case are all discussed.

Experiments have been performed in a water tunnel facility to examine the physical mechanism of heat transfer augmentation by freestream turbulence in classical Hiemenz flow. A unique experimental approach to studying the problem is developed and demonstrated herein. Time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry (TRDPIV) and a new variety of thin-film heat flux sensor called the heat flux array (HFA) are used simultaneously to measure the spatiotemporal influence of coherent structures on the heat transfer coefficient as they approach and interact with the stagnation surface. Laminar flow and heat transfer at low levels of freestream turbulence (Tux¯=0.5–1.0%) are examined to provide baseline flow characteristics and heat transfer coefficients. Similar experiments using a turbulence grid are performed to examine the effects of turbulence with mean streamwise turbulence intensity of Tux¯=5.0% and an integral length scale of Λx¯=3.25 cm. At a Reynolds number of ReD¯=U∞¯D/υ=21,000, an average increase in the mean heat transfer coefficient of 64% above the laminar level was observed. Experimental studies confirm that coherent structures play a dominant role in the augmentation of heat transfer in the stagnation region. Calculation and examination of the transient physical properties for coherent structures (i.e., circulation, area averaged vorticity, integral length scale, and proximity to the surface) shows that freestream turbulence is stretched and vorticity is amplified as it is convected toward the stagnation surface. The resulting stagnation flow is dominated by dynamic, counter-rotating vortex pairs. Heat transfer augmentation occurs when the rotational motion of coherent structures sweeps cooler freestream fluid into the laminar momentum and thermal boundary layers into close proximity of the heated stagnation surface. Evidence in support of this mechanism is provided through validation of a new mechanistic model, which incorporates the transient physical properties of tracked coherent structures. The model performs well in capturing the essential dynamics of the interaction and in the prediction of the experimentally measured transient and time-averaged turbulent heat transfer coefficients.

Experiments were performed to characterize the performance of Schmidt–Boelter heat flux gauges in stagnation and shear convective air flows. The gauges were of a standard design (25.4 mm and 38 mm in diameter), using a copper heat sink with water cooling channels around the active sensing element. A simple model of the gauges using an internal thermal resistance between the sensor surface and the heat sink is used to interpret the results. The model predicts a nonlinear dependence of the gauge sensitivity as a function of the heat transfer coefficient. Experimental calibration systems were developed to simultaneously measure the heat flux gauge response relative to a secondary standard under the same flow and thermal conditions. The measured gauge sensitivities in the stagnation flow matched the model, and were used to estimate the value of the internal thermal resistance for each of the four gauges tested. For shear flow, the effect of the varying gauge surface temperature on the boundary layer was included. The results matched the model with a constant factor of 15–25% lower effective heat transfer coefficient. When the gauge was water cooled, the effect of the internal thermal resistance of the gauge was markedly different for the two flow conditions. In the stagnation flow, the internal resistance further decreased the apparent gauge sensitivity. Conversely, in shear flow, the resistance was effectively offset by the cooler heat sink of the gauge, and the resulting sensitivities were nearly the same as, or larger than, for radiation.

A new type of heat flux sensor (HTHFS) has been designed and constructed for applications at high temperature and high heat flux. It is constructed by connecting solid metal plates to form brass/steel thermocouple junctions in a series circuit. The thermal resistance layer of the HTHFS consists of the thermocouple materials themselves, thus improving temperature limits and lowering the temperature disruption of the sensor. The sensor can even withstand considerable erosion of the surface with little effect on the operation. A new type of convection calibration apparatus was designed and built specifically to supply a large convection heat flux. The heat flux was supplied simultaneously to both a test and standard gage by using two heated jets of air that impinged perpendicularly on the surface of each gage. The sensitivity for the HTHFS was measured to have an average value of 20 μV/(W/cm2). The uncertainty in this result was determined to be ±10% over the entire range tested. The sensitivity agrees with the theoretically calculated sensitivity for the materials and geometry used. Recommendations for future improvements in the construction and use of the sensors are discussed.