The transient liquid crystal technique: Influence of surface curvature and finite wall thickness

The transient liquid crystal technique is currently widely used for measuring the heat transfer characteristics in gas turbine applications. Usually, the assumption is made that the wall of the test model can be treated as a flat and semi-infinite solid. This assumption is correct as long as the penetration depth of the heat compared to the thickness of the wall and to the radius of curvature is small. However, those two assumptions are not always respected for measurements near the leading edge of a blade. This paper presents a rigorous treatment of the curvature and finite wall thickness effects. The unsteady heat transfer,for a hollow cylinder has been investigated analytically and a data-reduction method, taking into account curvature and finite wall-thickness effects has been developed. Experimental tests made on hollow cylinder models have been evaluated using the new reduction method as well as the traditional semi-infinite flat-plate approach and a third method that approximately accounts for curvature effects. It has been found that curvature and finite thickness of the wall have, in some cases, a significant influence on the obtained heat transfer coefficient. The parameters influencing the accuracy, of the semi-infinite flat-plate model and the approximate curvature correction are determined and the domains of validity, are represented.