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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Prototype thin-film thermocouple/heat-flux sensor for a ceramic-insulated diesel engine

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5357451

A platinum versus platinum-13 percent rhodium thin-film thermocouple/heat-flux sensor was devised and tested in the harsh, high-temperature environment of a ceramic-insulated, low-heat-rejection diesel engine. The sensor probe assembly was developed to provide experimental validation of heat transfer and thermal analysis methodologies applicable to the insulated diesel engine concept. The thin-film thermocouple configuration was chosen to approximate an uninterrupted chamber surface and provide a one dimension heat-flux path through the probe body. The engine test was conducted by Purdue University for Integral Technologies Inc., under a DOE-funded contract managed by NASA Lewis Research Center. The thin-film sensor performed reliably during 6 to 10 hr of repeated engine runs at indicated mean surface temperatures up to 950 k. However, the sensor suffered partial loss of adhesion in the thin-film thermocouple junction area following maximum cyclic temperature excursions to greater than 1150 k. 11 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Research Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cleveland, OH (USA). Lewis Research Center
DOE Contract Number:
AI01-86CE50162
OSTI ID:
5357451
Report Number(s):
DOE/NASA/50162-1; NASA-TM-100798; ON: DE88007320
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English