Magnetic Resonance Thermometry Experimental Setup: A Portable Heat Transfer Experiment

This work provides a detailed description of the setup and execution of an experiment employing Magnetic Resonance Thermometry (MRT) techniques for measuring the three-dimensional temperature field of a fully turbulent jet mixing with a cross flow. The proposed methodology has the flexibility of applying different thermal boundary conditions — adiabatic and conductive — by varying the materials used in the test section as well as varying the temperatures of the mixing flows. The experiment described in this paper employs a standard magnetic resonance imaging system comparable to those used in medical radiology departments worldwide. A series of MR scans with both isothermal and thermal mixing conditions were conducted and results are presented with sub-millimeter resolution across the measured 3D domain of interest within one degree Celsius. The methodology presented here holds unique advantages over conventional techniques because measurements can be acquired without introducing flow disturbances and in regions without any optical access. When coupled with other established MR-based measurement techniques, MRT provides large, robust data sets that can be used for validation, design, and insight into system thermal performance for complex, turbulent flows. The materials and components employed in this work cost approximately $13,900, and the experimental setup and data collection required approximately 48 hours.