Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer Enhancement Due to Flow Agitators Between Fins

Author(s):  
Aditya Patki ◽  
Shankar Krishnan

Abstract The paper investigates the heat transfer characteristics of a channel system consisting of mean axial flow and oscillatory cross flow components. A numerical model has been developed to solve the governing equations associated with the flow. The paper identifies advection, diffusion, and oscillation time scales and intensity of squeezing in the channel as critical parameters controlling system behavior. The total Reynolds number parameter is considered in the paper to understand the combined effect of axial and transverse Reynolds numbers on the Nusselt number. Flow visualization techniques are employed to understand the boundary layer changes that occur over an oscillation cycle. Nusselt number is found to increase with a reduction in advection and oscillation time scales. A linear relationship is observed between the Nusselt number and total Reynolds number when the axial and transverse Reynolds numbers are comparable. Non-dimensional pressure drop is primarily defined by only two parameters: axial Reynolds number and squeezing fraction. The flow visualization results indicate significant heat transfer enhancement in a small fraction of the oscillation cycle characterized by flow conditions similar to Couette flow.

2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Neil Jordan ◽  
Lesley M. Wright

An alternative to ribs for internal heat transfer enhancement of gas turbine airfoils is dimpled depressions. Relative to ribs, dimples incur a reduced pressure drop, which can increase the overall thermal performance of the channel. This experimental investigation measures detailed Nusselt number ratio distributions obtained from an array of V-shaped dimples (δ/D = 0.30). Although the V-shaped dimple array is derived from a traditional hemispherical dimple array, the V-shaped dimples are arranged in an in-line pattern. The resulting spacing of the V-shaped dimples is 3.2D in both the streamwise and spanwise directions. A single wide wall of a rectangular channel (AR = 3:1) is lined with V-shaped dimples. The channel Reynolds number ranges from 10,000–40,000. Detailed Nusselt number ratios are obtained using both a transient liquid crystal technique and a newly developed transient temperature sensitive paint (TSP) technique. Therefore, the TSP technique is not only validated against a baseline geometry (smooth channel), but it is also validated against a more established technique. Measurements indicate that the proposed V-shaped dimple design is a promising alternative to traditional ribs or hemispherical dimples. At lower Reynolds numbers, the V-shaped dimples display heat transfer and friction behavior similar to traditional dimples. However, as the Reynolds number increases to 30,000 and 40,000, secondary flows developed in the V-shaped concavities further enhance the heat transfer from the dimpled surface (similar to angled and V-shaped rib induced secondary flows). This additional enhancement is obtained with only a marginal increase in the pressure drop. Therefore, as the Reynolds number within the channel increases, the thermal performance also increases. While this trend has been confirmed with both the transient TSP and liquid crystal techniques, TSP is shown to have limited capabilities when acquiring highly resolved detailed heat transfer coefficient distributions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankit Tiwari ◽  
Savas Yavuzkurt

The goal of this study is to evaluate the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) predictions of friction factor and Nusselt number from six different low Reynolds number k–ε (LRKE) models namely Chang–Hsieh–Chen (CHC), Launder–Sharma (LS), Abid, Lam–Bremhorst (LB), Yang–Shih (YS), and Abe–Kondoh–Nagano (AKN) for various heat transfer enhancement applications. Standard and realizable k–ε (RKE) models with enhanced wall treatment (EWT) were also studied. CFD predictions of Nusselt number, Stanton number, and friction factor were compared with experimental data from literature. Various parameters such as effect of type of mesh element and grid resolution were also studied. It is recommended that a model, which predicts reasonably accurate values for both friction factor and Nusselt number, should be chosen over disparate models, which may predict either of these quantities more accurately. This is based on the performance evaluation criterion developed by Webb and Kim (2006, Principles of Enhanced Heat Transfer, 2nd ed., Taylor and Francis Group, pp. 1–72) for heat transfer enhancement. It was found that all LRKE models failed to predict friction factor and Nusselt number accurately (within 30%) for transverse rectangular ribs, whereas standard and RKE with EWT predicted friction factor and Nusselt number within 25%. Conversely, for transverse grooves, AKN, AKN/CHC, and LS (with modified constants) models accurately predicted (within 30%) both friction factor and Nusselt number for rectangular, circular, and trapezoidal grooves, respectively. In these cases, standard and RKE predictions were inaccurate and inconsistent. For longitudinal fins, Standard/RKE model, AKN, LS and Abid LRKE models gave the friction factor and Nusselt number predictions within 25%, with the AKN model being the most accurate.


Author(s):  
Tung X. Vu ◽  
Lokanath Mohanta ◽  
Vijay K. Dhir

In this work, we focus exclusively on heat transfer enhancement techniques for the air-side heat transfer in air-cooled heat exchangers/condensers. An innovative dimpled fin configuration is explored. Experiments, in which both heat transfer and drag are measured, are conducted with flat tubes in three configurations: without fins, with plain fins and with dimpled fins. Reynolds numbers based on the hydraulic diameter of the finned passages are varied between 600 and 7000. Results indicate that fins are more advantageous at lower Reynolds numbers since the increase in drag at higher Reynolds numbers quickly erases any advantage due to an increase in heat transfer rate. As an example, for the plain fins versus a bare tube at a Reynolds number of 600, there is a 7 fold increase in heat transfer with only a 5 fold increase in drag. However, at a Reynolds number of 7000, both heat transfer and drag increase by approximately 6 times, indicating that the increase in drag has caught up with the heat transfer enhancement. Similarly, while dimpled fins do result in higher heat transfer compared with the plain fins, the advantage is also more prominent at lower Reynolds numbers where heat transfer enhancement is higher than the associated increase in pumping power.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amador M. Guzmán ◽  
Raúl A. Hormazabal ◽  
Tania A. Aracena

Heat transfer enhancement characteristics, through a transition scenario of flow bifurcations in symmetric wavy wall channels, are investigated by direct numerical simulations of the mass, momentum, and energy equations using spectral element methods. Flow bifurcations, transition scenarios, and heat transfer characteristics are determined by increasing the Reynolds numbers from a laminar to a transitional flow for the geometrical aspect ratios r=0.125 and r=0.375. The numerical results demonstrate that the transition scenario to transitional flow regimes depends on the aspect ratio. For r=0.375, the transition scenario is characterized by one Hopf flow bifurcation in a frequency-doubling transition scenario, where further increases in the Reynolds number always lead to periodic flows; whereas, for r=0.125, the transition scenario is characterized by a first Hopf flow bifurcation from a laminar to a time-dependent periodic flow and a second Hopf flow bifurcation from a periodic to a quasiperiodic flow. For r=0.125, the flow bifurcation scenario is similar to the Ruelle–Takens–Newhouse (RTN) transition scenario to Eulerian chaos observed in asymmetric wavy and grooved channels. The periodic and quasiperiodic flows are characterized by fundamental frequencies ω1, and ω1 and ω2, respectively. For the aspect ratio r=0.375, the Nusselt number increases slightly as the Reynolds number increases in the laminar regime until it reaches a critical Reynolds number of Rec≈126. As the flow becomes periodic, and then quasiperiodic, the Nusselt number continuously increases with respect to the laminar regime, up to a factor of 4, which represents a significant heat transfer enhancement due to a better flow mixing.


2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esam M. Alawadhi

Heat transfer enhancement using a rotationally oscillating plate in a channel containing heated blocks is numerically studied. The blocks simulate electronic chips with a high thermal dissipation rate. The model consists of a channel formed by two plates with heated blocks attached to bottom walls and a plate installed at the centerline of the channel. The rotationally oscillating plate enhances heat transfer from the blocks through the flow accelerating above the blocks. The effect of the frequency and maximum angle of attack of the plate on the Nusselt number is investigated for different Reynolds numbers. Heat transfer enhancement of the blocks with the plate is evaluated by comparing their thermal characteristics to a channel without plate. The results show that the oscillating plate enhances overall heat flow out of the blocks by 21.72% but with significant pressure drop of 300%.


Author(s):  
Amador M. Guzman ◽  
Tania A. Aracena ◽  
M. J. Cardenas ◽  
Rodrigo A. Escobar

We investigate the heat transfer enhancement due to flow mixing enhancement in a frequency-doubling transition scenario in symmetric wavy channels by direct numerical simulations of the mass, momentum and energy equations. The governing equations are solved for laminar and transitional flow regimes by the spectral element method, using a periodic computational domain, and with a high aspect ratio of r = a/(2L) = 0.375, where L is the periodic length, and a, the wavy wall amplitude. The frequency-doubling transition scenario is characterized by one flow bifurcation that develops to a critical Reynolds numbers Rec, leading to a periodic flow. Further increases in the Reynolds number leads to successive periodic flows where the fundamental frequency ω1, increases continuously. This scenario is different to the Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse transition scenario obtained for a symmetric wavy channel with an aspect ratio of 0.125, where periodic and quasi periodic flow regimes develop as the Reynolds number increases. Heat Transfer simulations are carried out assuming a constant heat flux on one wall and an adiabatic condition on the other wall. Numerical results demonstrate that the time-average mean Nusselt number increases significantly as the flow passes from a laminar to a periodic flow regime. As the flow becomes periodic and for increasing Reynolds numbers, the Nusselt number increases with respect to the laminar flow Nusselt number, up to a factor of 4, depending on the Reynolds number, which represents a significant heat transfer enhancement due to a better flow mixing. This increase is accompanied by a reasonable increase in both the friction factor and the pumping power. The obtained qualitative and quantitative features are compared to other channel geometries, such as grooved and asymmetric wavy channels, which also develop different transition scenarios.


Author(s):  
Da Liu ◽  
Hanyang Gu ◽  
Shengjie Gong

It is widely acknowledged that the spacer grid has great effect on heat transfer downstream of it. The conventional correlations to predict the augmentation of the spacer were carried out on high Reynolds numbers. However, recent studies have shown that Reynolds number on the heat transfer enhancement is not negligible when the Reynolds number is lower than about 10000. An experiment to investigate the single-phase convective heat transfer downstream of the spacer grid at low flow rate has been performed in a 5×5 rod bundle. The test section was uniformly heated by a DC power and cooled by water. The Reynolds number covered from about 2000 to 10000. The experiment showed that the existing correlations for heat transfer enhancement by a spacer grid underestimated the maximum enhancement at the grid exit of the spacer grid at low Reynolds numbers. As the Reynolds number decreases, the maximum enhancement increases, nevertheless, when Reynolds number decreases to about 4300, the maximum enhancement tend to converge at a certain value. A new correlation has been proposed to account for the Reynolds number effect on heat transfer enhancement downstream of the spacer grid at low Reynolds numbers and which gave good predictions.


Author(s):  
Tao Guo ◽  
Huiren Zhu ◽  
Dunchun Xu

The detailed heat transfer distributions are measured for the wall of a channel with rib turbulators and double-row bleed holes by transient liquid crystal technique. The effects of the relative positions of rib turbulators and bleed holes, rib angles, channel Reynolds numbers and bleed ratios on heat transfer character are studied. The bleed holes are located near the upstream ribs, equidistant between ribs and near the downstream ribs. Three different rib angles of 60°, 90° and 120° are selected with the holes equidistant between ribs. The channel Reynolds numbers are changed from 30000 to 120000. The bleed ratios are between 0.09 and 0.22. The results show that angled ribs produces higher heat transfer enhancement in conjunction with the effect of bleed holes. The heat transfer characters are best when the bleed holes are located near the upstream ribs in the channels with 90° ribs. The change of bleed holes locations does not change the position of the flow reattachment, but affect the heat transfer distribution and intensity in the region. The average heat transfer enhancement decreases with the increasing of Reynolds number, and slight increases as the bleed ratio increases.


Author(s):  
C. Neil Jordan ◽  
Lesley M. Wright

An alternative to ribs for internal heat transfer enhancement of gas turbine airfoils is dimpled depressions. Relative to ribs, dimples incur a reduced pressure drop, which can increase the overall thermal performance of the channel. This experimental investigation measures detailed Nusselt number ratio distributions obtained from an array of V-shaped dimples (δ / D = 0.30). Although the V-shaped dimple array is derived from a traditional hemispherical dimple array, the V-shaped dimples are arranged in an in-line pattern. The resulting spacing of the V-shaped dimples is 3.2D in both the streamwise and spanwise directions. A single wide wall of a rectangular channel (AR = 3:1) is lined with V-shaped dimples. The channel Reynolds number ranges from 10,000–40,000. Detailed Nusselt number ratios are obtained using both a transient liquid crystal technique and a newly developed transient temperature sensitive paint (TSP) technique. Therefore, the TSP technique is not only validated against a baseline geometry (smooth channel), but it is also validated against a more established technique. Measurements indicate that the proposed V-shaped dimple design is a promising alternative to traditional ribs or hemispherical dimples. At lower Reynolds numbers, the V-shaped dimples display heat transfer and friction behavior similar to traditional dimples. However as the Reynolds number increases to 30,000 and 40,000, secondary flows developed in the V-shaped concavities further enhance the heat transfer from the dimpled surface (similar to angled and V-shaped rib induced secondary flows). This additional enhancement is obtained with only a marginal increase in the pressure drop. Therefore, as the Reynolds number within the channel increases, the thermal performance also increases. While this trend has been confirmed with both the transient TSP and liquid crystal techniques, TSP is shown to have limited capabilities when acquiring highly resolved detailed heat transfer coefficient distributions.


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