Demonstrations of transient conduction heat flux phenomena for the engineering laboratory

The main objective of this paper is to present two different experiments that have been developed to successfully demonstrate transient heat conduction phenomena. The first experiment illustrates the approximate measurement of transient local heat flux within a solid wall subjected to a surface quench. It utilizes a unique type of conduction apparatus that has been under development in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Kansas State University (KSU), which overcomes many of the difficulties normally associated with laboratory demonstrations of steady-state and transient heat conduction. The second experiment involves a moving laser heat source used in a metal cutting operation. Measurements of the transient temperature history resulting from the moving laser heat source are compared directly with predictions from conduction theory. The unique industrial manufacturing facilities available on the campus of KSU make possible the practical engineering laboratory demonstration of this important process. Each experiment offers features not normally available from commercial heat transfer apparatus.