Experimental and Numerical Investigation the Radiant Heating Element in Neutron Scattering Furnace

A metal foil furnace is an instrument that provides a high-temperature sample environment for neutron scattering experiments. The temperature distribution is of great significance to the accuracy and reliability of experiments. This research aims to investigate the relationship between the structure of a radiant heating element and its internal temperature uniformity and maximum temperature using an experimental and numerical study. In this work, an experimental platform is built, and the temperature distribution of the heating element is obtained through experiments. A simplified mathematical model is established to simulate the thermal field of the furnace. The comparison of simulated and experimental results validates that the model can accurately predict the temperature distribution of the radiant heating element. Based on the model, we change the structure of the radiant heating element, which includes length, diameter, thickness, etc., to study the relationship between heating element structure and its temperature field and therefore obtain the structure of radiant heating element with better temperature uniformity.