Thin-Film Heat Flux Sensor for Measuring the Film Coefficient of Rubber Components of a Rolling Tire

Abstract

Abstract Heat flux is one of a number of parameters, together with pressure, temperature, flow, etc., of interest to tire engineers, engine designers and fluid dynamicists. The ability to measure heat flux magnitude and direction was incorporated into a resistance bridge design fabricated using thin-film techniques to allow fast response. The result is a sensor that does not need the large area and stiff packaging required for the thermopile design, nor does it have a low output, but has nearly as fast response. The development of this sensor offers a new laboratory procedure to establish heat transfer coefficients for different regions of a tire. Testing generated heat transfer coefficients that were within the range reported in the literature, and the numerically predicted temperatures from this data agree well with the experimentally generated values.