SIMPLE VISUALIZATION OF AUTOCLAVE AIRFLOW USING WIRELESS CAMERAS

摘要

Airflow patterns around the part/tool structure inside an autoclave or oven affect the efficiency of convective heat transfer to the composite part. As part geometries increase in size and complexity, it becomes important to develop simple and effective means to determine the heat transfer coefficients around a part/tool, including the effect of different autoclave or oven loadings, tool positioning, and other variables. At the moment, typical choices for characterizing autoclave and oven airflow and heat transfer include: (a) the airflow is assumed constant or ignored (b) calorimeters are placed in strategic locations and heat transfer coefficients back-calculated (c) thermocouples placed within and around the part are used to back-calculate heat transfer coefficients (d) CFD simulations are performed on the airflow through the vessel and around any part/tools inside. Each of these techniques has advantages and disadvantages, but there is little doubt that a simple method for visually monitoring the actual airflow would be useful as an additional method for reducing uncertainty in what is happening within the system, and for further calibrating any numerical models. In this work, a local wireless network was set up inside an autoclave using off-the-shelf components. Standard wireless cameras were then used to view the airflow in the autoclave chamber at ambient temperature and pressure. With this simple system, a user can view the inside of the sealed autoclave to quickly see the direction and magnitude of airflow at various locations inside the autoclave. Changes in airflow from new part and tool combinations can be instantly verified with minimal analysis. When used in conjunction with some simple calibration of the observed behavior with calorimeter results, the confidence in any numerical simulations can increase significantly at little effort.