The present work deals with the study of the inverse problem in the estimation of heat transfer coefficients (HTC) in spray cooling. Numerical simulations are carried out to examine the influence of the heat conduction model applied in the data reduction on the accuracy of the estimation of HTC. The influencing variables are derived from the used heat conduction model (Fourier’s heat conduction equation). The spray cooling of a directly heated thin metal sheet, which is used for the estimation of HTC, is modelled. The simulations include the study of steady and unsteady measuring methods for the determination of HTC. The unsteady analysis includes the simulation of two-dimensional cooling processes in cylindrical coordinates and the evaluation of the „measuring data“ obtained from the simulations. The temperature front that appears when the steam film breaks down and its migration are also modelled. The simulation results allow conclusions to be drown, which can be used for the improvement of the evaluation method of the HTC. The conclusions of the work can also be helpful for the improvement of the experimental setup and measurement procedure.
