Simulation of 3D Temperature Fields of Sensors Supported by 2D IR Camera Images of Sensors’ Surface Temperatures

In this paper, the calculation of temperature fields inside sensors’ bodies is discussed. The temperature of a sensor is a function of time and spatial coordinates. Structures of mathematical models describing the temperature fields depend on the environment in which sensors operate. In this paper, temperature fields in sensors are described by the Fourier partial differential equation. Mathematical model of the particular sensor has many parameters which are known with limited accuracy. To upgrade this accuracy, the physical model incorporating both the analyzed sensor and the ambient conditions similar to the real ones is built. Mathematical model is constructed and calculated to solve tasks described by the physical model. Differences between analytical and experimental results are used for an adaptive correction of parameters of the mathematical model. In this paper, differences between models are evaluated from differences between surface temperatures of the sensors. At the physical model, sensor’s surface temperature is measured by the infrared camera. At the mathematical model, sensor’s temperature is obtained solving the Fourier partial differential equation by the finite element method. It is calculated by the ANSYS Workbench software. Numerical values of sensors’ surface temperatures from both models can be displayed as images. To compare the experimental and analytical results, images generated by the IR camera are transformed by a set of image processing functions. Both the general method and the case study results obtained on the complex problem of the analysis of the heat transfer dynamics of the motor oil level gauge are presented. Key-Words: simulation, image processing, finite element methods, sensors.