Abstract

The transient response of erodable surface thermocouples has been numerically assessed by using a two dimensional finite element analysis. Four types of base metal erodable surface thermocouples have been examined in this study, included type-K (alumel-chromel), type-E (chromel-constantan), type-T (copper-constantan), and type-J (iron-constantan) with 50 mm thickness for each. The practical importance of these types of thermocouples is to be used in internal combustion engine studies and aerodynamics experiments. The step heat flux was applied at the surface of the thermocouple model. The heat flux from the measurements of the surface temperature can be commonly identified by assuming that the heat transfer within these devices is one-dimensional. The surface temperature histories at different positions along the thermocouple are presented. The normalized surface temperature histories at the center of the thermocouple for different types at different response time are also depicted. The thermocouple response to different heat flux variations were considered by using a square heat flux with 2 ms width, a sinusoidal surface heat flux variation width 10 ms period and repeated heat flux variation with 2 ms width. The present results demonstrate that the two dimensional transient heat conduction effects have a significant influence on the surface temperature history measurements made with these devices. It was observed that the surface temperature history and the transient response for thermocouple type-E are higher than that for other types due to the thermal properties of this thermocouple. It was concluded that the thermal properties of the surrounding material do have an impact, but the properties of the thermocouple and the insulation materials also make an important contribution to the net response.