Use of the Schlieren Method to the Convection Analysis in the Steel Charge of Mixed Porosity / Wykorzystanie Metody Schlierena Do Analizy Zjawiska Konwekcji W Przypadku Wsadu Stalowego O Porowatości Mieszanej

The paper presents experimental studies devoted to the convection phenomenon within the steel charge of mixed porosity. Such charges constitute bundles of hollow long elements such as pipes or rectangular sections which are heat treated. A significant portion of the gas phase in the volume of the charge makes that natural convection of the gas occurring within the individual elements may have an effect on the course of heating. To the tests the Schlieren method was used which is one of the optical visualization methods applied to the analysis of the flow phenomena in the transparent and non luminous media such as air or water. The tested samples have the form of porous charge beds made from pipes and rectangular profiles. During the experiments the samples were heating up for the constant heat flux rate. The direction of flux was vertical, from the bottom to the top.