Experimental and numerical verification of transient spatial temperature distribution in thick-walled pressure components

The aim of this work is to present a method to determine the transient-state spatial temperature distribution in a cylindrical component. The presented method involves solving the inverse heat conduction problem based on the Finite volume method (FVM). This approach enables determination of transient-state temperature fields with boundary conditions known on one surface of the component only. The proposed method is verified using the laboratory installation located at the Cracow University of Technology. The main components of the laboratory stand are, among others, a steam outlet header and a steam boiler. During the experiment, the steam header is heated up abruptly from the inside by contact with dry saturated steam. The spatial transient-state temperature distribution within the steam outlet header is determined using the proposed method, which is based on temperature measurements made by 19 thermocouples located on the outer surface of the component. The temperature histories in three selected nodes are compared with the measurement results obtained from thermocouples located inside the component wall. The exact location of the thermocouples corresponds to the nodal position at selected control volumes. Moreover, the Ansys Mechanical APDL software is used to verify calculations and experimental data. A transient- state simulation is performed. The temperature histories at the inner and outer surfaces are set as the model boundary conditions. In order to enable verification of the temperature measurements, the component discrete model includes nodes at appropriate locations. An error analysis is performed between calculated and measured temperature values. The results obtained from the numerical and experimental validation demonstrate fully satisfactory agreement. Additionally, a stress analysis of the outlet header is performed in the Ansys software based on the transient-state temperature distribution within the steam outlet header. The method proposed in this paper is a convenient and accurate tool for monitoring working conditions of the power boiler thick-walled components.