Free convection in enclosures exposed to compressive heating
An experimental study of heat transfer in a vertical annulus and a three-dimensional gap used to establish the influence of compressive heating on the convective process in enclosures is presented. Test runs were made using helium gas with compressive rates of 6, 15, and 30 psi/min. Temperature and pressure histories were reduced to film coefficients based on nodal modeling of the test geometries. The data are correlated in terms of free convection parameters. The heat transfer correlations show virtually no influence of compression rate and only a slight dependence on geometry. The correlations will be applied to the design of a vented Galileo mission descent module parachuting into the Jupiter atmosphere.