Experiments on discretely heated, vented/unvented enclosures for various radiation surface characteristics of the thermal load, enclosure temperature sensor, and enclosure walls

A comprehensive experimental investigation has been performed to determine the heat transfer processes occurring within an oven-like enclosure. The main focus of the work was to identify the thermal response of a load to a number of operational parameters including the radiation surface finish of the load itself and the surface finishes of the oven temperature sensor and the oven walls. In addition, the effect of the presence or absence of venting of the oven was investigated. The thermal response of the load was slowed significantly as its reflectivity was systematically increased. When the oven temperature sensor was operated either with a blackened surface or with a highly reflecting surface, the thermal response of the load was hardly affected. In the case in which the oven walls were highly reflecting and the thermal load was highly absorbing, a higher heating rate was observed. When the oven vents were sealed, the heating rate was minimally affected. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.