每年出版 4 期
ISSN 打印: 2151-7975
ISSN 在线: 2151-7991
FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF INDUCTIVE DISTANCE SENSORS BY A HEAT PIPE COOLING SYSTEM
摘要
In the heavy duty environment of foundries the reliable detection of the casting level in pressure controlled melting furnaces for metallic melts (e.g. Cu, Al, Ms, etc.) is of great importance. Until now this level measurement is done primarily by mechanical float gauges dipped into the molten metal pool, however with well known drawbacks such as great susceptibility to soiling, unsatisfying measurement precision and huge effort for maintenance. To overcome these disadvantages commercially available, standardised inductive distance sensors can be used which enable non-contacting, very precise distance measurements, but however require a thermal protection and heat transfer structure because of their maximum allowable operating temperature of typically 80 °C. Therefore, a heat pipe cooling system has been developed consisting of a high temperature ceramic cladding tube in combination with high temperature insulation material and a coaxial copper-water heat pipe for an effective heat transport from the sensor to an external heat sink. This paper presents a feasibility study on the heat pipe cooling system based on 3D thermal analyses using the simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics. From the simulation results the heat transfer capability, axial temperature drop and the effective thermal conductivity of the heat pipe were estimated and used for the design of a prototype heat pipe cooling system which then was manufactured and experimentally tested to verify the simulation results and to demonstrate the functionality of the system.