Developing an Inverse Heat Conduction Analysis Tool for Real Time Heat Flux Estimation in Directional Flame Thermometer Application

Accurate measurement of heat flux and temperature can significantly affect the energy usage in several industrial applications, including furnace operation, metal processing, fire safety tests and more. Directional Flame Thermometers, or DFTs, offer the ability to use both temperature and heat flux measurements for furnace control. Currently, analysis of dynamic temperature data from the DFTs to compute heat flux information must be performed off-line at the conclusion of data-gathering by using software tools such as IHCP1D. Availability of a near real-time algorithm for accurate reduction of the data will allow for continual monitoring of the furnace during operation. This will result in better control over the process and significant savings in energy and cost. In this paper, a filter form of the inverse heat conduction algorithm is developed for utilization in DFTs. The algorithm is based on linearized solutions of the direct heat equation, and non-linear effects introduced by temperature dependent thermal properties are accounted for by interpolating of the resulting filter coefficients. The developed method is tested through several numerical experiments and also ANSYS model. A graphical user interface is developed in LabVIEW to provide a friendly interface for the end user. The temperature data measured by thermocouples on the DFT are transmitted to the computer through data acquisition card and the developed tool in LabView display the heat flux in a near real time fashion.