Inverse heat conduction modeling to predict heat flux in a hollow cylindrical tube having irregular cross-sections

This study presents the development process of a three-dimensional analysis model for conducting inverse heat transfer analysis of gun barrels with varying cross-sections. In addition, it predicts heat flux in real barrels by using temperature measurements from gun firing experiments. Type-A and type-B guns are used for the experiments. Temperature is measured by independent firings of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 rounds for a type-A gun and by consecutive firings of 1, 5, and 7 rounds for a type-B gun. The surface temperature measurements of the gun barrels thus obtained are utilized to predict heat flux, and the effect of firing is examined by comparing the heat flux between different points on the barrels. From the heat flux results for the two types of guns, it is clear that the heat flux increases with increasing number of rounds. On the other hand, the mean value of heat flux shows that the heat flux tends to decrease toward the end of the barrel.