Utilization of the PSPICE Code for the Unsteady Thermal Response of Composite Walls in a Heat Transfer Course

Abstract

This paper on engineering education introduces a robust computational technique named the network simulation method (NSM) to undergraduate students on heat transfer courses for the simultaneous determination of temperature—time histories and heat flux—time histories inside layered walls easily, quickly, and accurately. NSM relies on the existing physical analogy between unsteady unidirectional conduction of heat and unsteady-state flow of electric current, the RC analogy. This unsteady analogy is a natural extension of the steady analogy that holds between unidirectional heat conduction and the flow of electric current, the R analogy. The implementation of NSM is carried out with the thermal analysis of a composite wall of the nozzle of an experimental rocket engine during a ground firing test. The composite wall of the nozzle comprises a metallic substrate and a ceramic coating. The NSM-based numerical simulations have been performed with the commercial code PSPICE.

Keywords

resistance capacitance analogy nozzle wall melting temperature thermal barrier coating

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