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Use of Infra-Red Thermography for Automotive Climate Control Analysis

Conference ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.4271/931136· OSTI ID:10140793
In this paper, several automotive climate control applications for IR thermography are described. Some of these applications can be performed using conventional IR techniques. Others, such as visualizing the air temperature distribution within the cabin, at duct exits, and at heater and evaporator faces, require new experimental methods. In order to capture the temperature distribution within an airstream, a 0.25-mm-thick (0.01 inch) fiberglass screen is used. This screen can be positioned perpendicular or parallel to the flow to obtain three-dimensional spatial measurements. In many cases, the air flow pattern can be inferred from the resulting temperature distribution, allowing improved air distribution designs. In all cases, significant improvement in the speed, ease, and quantity of temperature distribution information can be realized with thermography as compared to conventional thermocouple array techniques. Comparisons are presented between IR thermography images and both thermocouple measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308;
OSTI ID:
10140793
Report Number(s):
NREL/TP-432-5028; ON: DE94000213; BR: WM1020000
Resource Type:
Conference paper/presentation
Conference Information:
Presented at the Vehicle Thermal Management Systems Conference, 29 March - 1 April 1994, Columbus, Ohio
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English