Numerical Simulation of Heat Conduction for Error Analysis on Heat Flux Sensor Embedded in Flat Steel Plate

A numerical simulation model of heat flux sensors embedded in a flat plate is established. Each sensor has four thermal couples and is inserted into the specified hole. The problem is defined as a steady heat conduction problem with specified boundary conditions and solved by the finite element method. The results of the simulation case demonstrate that the maximum heat flux appears near the sensor shell. The average heat flux of the plate is much smaller than the maximum. Due to exiting of the contact heat resistance, the temperature of the sensor is much lower than that of the plate at horizontal surface. The maximum temperature difference appears on the bottom shell of the sensor. The maximum temperature difference between the simulation results and the experimental data at test points is 1.5 K. The model is verified and could be accepted for the further errors analysis.