Temperature distribution in a thin composite plate exposed to a concentrated heat source

This study focuses on measuring and predicting the temperature distribution in a composite panel exposed to a concentrated heat source. The two heat sources studied in this work are a radiant heater and a gas burner flame. The parameters that are varied are the material properties and geometry, heat flux and distance. Finite element method based software Wintherm is used to predict the temperature distribution. The predictions are dependent on the choice of how one models the convective heat transfer coefficient along the surface of the plate exposed to the heat source. For the gas burner, the boundary condition will change dramatically from the centerline to the outward edges of the plate due to the plume effect. Empirical expressions are used and modified to determinate the air temperature in the region between the source and the plate. This information is implemented in the boundary condition along the plate surface to predict the thermal history of the plate. The predicted results are compared with the experimental temperature distribution which is measured with an infra-red camera. A parametric study is conducted to identify important dimensionless numbers and their impact on the temperature history.