TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental and numerical analysis of thermally dissipating equipment in an aircraft confined compartment
AU - Butler, C.
AU - Newport, D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/12/5
Y1 - 2014/12/5
N2 - Aircraft confined compartments are subject to a wide range of boundary conditions during operation which leads to the setting up of complex internal thermal environments. These compartments require strict thermal management to ensure safe and reliable operation of installed systems. This work investigates the thermal and fluid flow fields in one such compartment - the crown area in a fuselage of a commercial aircraft which contains thermally dissipating equipment. Experimental heat transfer and PIV measurements are compared to 3D numerical simulations and are shown to be in very good agreement. There was found to be significant thermal stratification present due to the ventilation not penetrating into the bulk of the fluid. Convective heat transfer coefficients on the surfaces of the dissipating equipment varied as a function of their location, with the highest values occurring when they are placed close to the ventilation inlet. An enthalpic correction was applied to 2D simulations leading to significantly reduced solution times, and results which give a good approximation of the 3D model results. This type of detailed study of aircraft confined compartments is necessary to improve understanding of the flow regimes present in these areas, and leads to optimal positioning of installed systems in terms of thermal management, as well improving global thermal aircraft model predictions.
AB - Aircraft confined compartments are subject to a wide range of boundary conditions during operation which leads to the setting up of complex internal thermal environments. These compartments require strict thermal management to ensure safe and reliable operation of installed systems. This work investigates the thermal and fluid flow fields in one such compartment - the crown area in a fuselage of a commercial aircraft which contains thermally dissipating equipment. Experimental heat transfer and PIV measurements are compared to 3D numerical simulations and are shown to be in very good agreement. There was found to be significant thermal stratification present due to the ventilation not penetrating into the bulk of the fluid. Convective heat transfer coefficients on the surfaces of the dissipating equipment varied as a function of their location, with the highest values occurring when they are placed close to the ventilation inlet. An enthalpic correction was applied to 2D simulations leading to significantly reduced solution times, and results which give a good approximation of the 3D model results. This type of detailed study of aircraft confined compartments is necessary to improve understanding of the flow regimes present in these areas, and leads to optimal positioning of installed systems in terms of thermal management, as well improving global thermal aircraft model predictions.
KW - Aircraft compartment
KW - Conjugate heat transfer
KW - Enthalpic correction
KW - Natural convection
KW - Thermal management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84907210944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.08.035
DO - 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.08.035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84907210944
SN - 1359-4311
VL - 73
SP - 869
EP - 878
JO - Applied Thermal Engineering
JF - Applied Thermal Engineering
IS - 1
ER -