Analysis and Testing of Heat Transfer through Honeycomb Panels

This projects attempts to simulate accurately the thermal conductivity of honeycomb panels in the normal direction. Due to the large empty space of the honeycomb core, the thermal radiation mode of heat transfer was modeled along with conduction. Using Newton’s Method to solve for a steady state model of heat moving through the honeycomb panel, the theoretical effective thermal conduction of the honeycomb panel was found, ranging from 1.03 to 1.07 Q/m/K for a heat input of 2.5 W to 11.8 W. An experimental model was designed to test the theoretical results, using a cold plate and a heat plate to find the effective conductance of six samples, each with different colored face sheets or core thicknesses. The experimental data revealed that the analytical results underestimated the conductance, showing a range of difference from 0.31% to 90%. Further analysis regarding the radiation effects is needed to reproduce accurately the effective thermal conductance of the honeycomb panel.