Thermal properties of highly structured composite and aluminium sheets in an aerodynamic tunnel

Abstract

This article deals with the thermodynamic behaviour of heat shields - structured metal and composite plates. Experiments have been carried out in a wind tunnel with an additional heating, which simulates the heat source from engine or exhaust pipe and simultaneously the airflow generated during a car movement. The tested sheets with hexagonal structure were a standard commercial made of aluminium and a second manufactured by replication (lamination, diffusion) from glass fabric. The airflow in a parallel way along the sheets was analysed experimentally in order to determine the heat transfer efficiency between surfaces of sheets and surrounding airflow. The temperature on the sheets was chosen to observe the effects of different sheets material, various heat power and airflow velocity. During the experiment a thermal input below the sheets and airflow velocity through the tunnel have been changed. The thermal field distribution on the metal sheet is different than in case of composite sheet. For the composite material the thermal field distribution was more homogeneous. This article describe briefly also methods of obtaining real composite geometry based on scanned data and their reconstruction for using in some future numerical models.