Convection Calibration of Schmidt–Boelter Heat Flux Gauges in Stagnation and Shear Air Flow

Experiments were performed to characterize the performance of Schmidt–Boelter heat flux gauges in stagnation and shear convective air flows. The gauges were of a standard design (25.4 mm and 38 mm in diameter), using a copper heat sink with water cooling channels around the active sensing element. A simple model of the gauges using an internal thermal resistance between the sensor surface and the heat sink is used to interpret the results. The model predicts a nonlinear dependence of the gauge sensitivity as a function of the heat transfer coefficient. Experimental calibration systems were developed to simultaneously measure the heat flux gauge response relative to a secondary standard under the same flow and thermal conditions. The measured gauge sensitivities in the stagnation flow matched the model, and were used to estimate the value of the internal thermal resistance for each of the four gauges tested. For shear flow, the effect of the varying gauge surface temperature on the boundary layer was included. The results matched the model with a constant factor of 15–25% lower effective heat transfer coefficient. When the gauge was water cooled, the effect of the internal thermal resistance of the gauge was markedly different for the two flow conditions. In the stagnation flow, the internal resistance further decreased the apparent gauge sensitivity. Conversely, in shear flow, the resistance was effectively offset by the cooler heat sink of the gauge, and the resulting sensitivities were nearly the same as, or larger than, for radiation.