Parametric Analysis for Thermal and Fluid Dynamic Management of Natural Convection in a Channel-Chimney System

Author(s):  
Assunta Andreozzi ◽  
Bernardo Buonomo ◽  
Oronzio Manca

In this paper a parametric analysis of natural convection in air in a channel-chimney system symmetrically heated at uniform heat flux, obtained by means of a numerical simulation, is carried out. The analysed regime is two-dimensional, laminar and steady-state. The numerical procedure employs the full Navier-Stokes and energy equations in terms of the stream function-vorticity approach. Results are presented in terms of wall temperature profiles in order to show the more thermally convenient configurations which correspond to the channel-chimney system with the lowest maximum wall temperature. The analysis is obtained for a Rayleigh number in the range between 102 and 105, for a channel aspect ratio equal to 5, 10 and 20 and the extension and expansion ratios between 1.0 and 4.0. Correlations for dimensionless mass flow rate, maximum wall temperature and average Nusselt number in terms of Rayleigh number, aspect ratio, extension and expansion ratios are presented. Geometric optimal configurations, for assigned Rayleigh number and aspect ratio, are estimated as a function of the extension ratio. For considered Rayleigh number the difference between the highest and the lowest maximum wall temperatures increases increasing the channel aspect ratio. This behaviour is as greater as the extension ratio is. These differences decrease significantly for the highest Rayleigh number value. The optimal expansion ratio values depend strongly on Rayleigh number and extension ratio values and slightly on the aspect ratio.

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Bianco ◽  
Oronzio Manca ◽  
Sergio Nardini ◽  
Vincenzo Naso

Nowadays trends in natural convection heat transfer are oriented toward either the seeking of new configurations to enhance the heat transfer parameters or the optimization of standard configurations. An experimental investigation on air natural convection in divergent channels with uniform heat flux at both the principal walls is presented in this paper to analyze the effect of radiative heat transfer. Results in terms of wall temperature profiles as a function of the walls diverging angle, the interwall spacing, the heat flux are given for two value of the wall emissivity. Flow visualization is carried out in order to show the peculiar pattern of the flow between the plates in several configurations. Nusselt numbers are then evaluated and correlated to the Rayleigh number. The investigated Rayleigh number ranges from 7.0 × 102 to 4.5 × 108. The maximum wall temperature decreases at increasing divergence angles. This effect is more evident when the minimum channel spacing decrease. A significant decrease in the maximum wall temperature occurs passing from ε = 0.10 to ε = 0.90, except in the inlet region. Flow visualization shows a separation of the fluid flow for bmin = 40 mm and θ = 10°. Correlations between Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers show that data are better correlated when the maximum channel spacing is chosen as the characteristic length.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
T. Dias Jr. ◽  
L. F. Milanez

In this work, the laminar natural convection in high aspect ratio three-dimensional enclosures has been numerically studied. The enclosures studied here were heated with uniform heat flux on a vertical wall and cooled at constant temperature on the opposite wall. The remaining walls were considered adiabatic. Fluid properties were assumed constant except for the density change with temperature on the buoyancy term. The governing equations were solved using the finite volumes method and the dimensionless form of these equations has the Prandtl number and the modified Rayleigh number as parameters. The influences of the Rayleigh number and of the cavity aspect ratio on the Nusselt number, for a Prandtl number of 0.7, were analyzed. Results were obtained for values of the modified Rayleigh number up to 106 and for aspect ratios ranging from 1 to 20. The results were compared with two-dimensional results available in the literature and the variation of the average Nusselt number with the parameters studied were discussed.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Dias Jr. ◽  
L. F. Milanez

In this work, the laminar natural convection in high aspect ratio three-dimensional enclosures has been numerically studied. The enclosures studied here were heated with uniform heat flux on a vertical wall and cooled at constant temperature on the opposite wall. The remaining walls were considered adiabatic. Fluid properties were assumed constant except for the density change with temperature on the buoyancy term. The governing equations were solved using the finite volumes method and the dimensionless form of these equations has the Prandtl number and the modified Rayleigh number as parameters. The influences of the Rayleigh number and of the cavity aspect ratio on the Nusselt number, for a Prandtl number of 0.7, were analyzed. Results were obtained for values of the modified Rayleigh number up to 106 and for aspect ratios ranging from 1 to 20. The results were compared with two-dimensional results available in the literature and the variation of the average Nusselt number with the parameters studied were discussed.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Buonomo ◽  
Oronzio Manca

Miniaturization of devices has received a rapid expansion in the last years and a great attention of research activities is given to microflow due to its new applications of microfluidic systems and components. In the present paper a transient investigation on natural convection in parallel-plate vertical microchannels is carried out numerically. The vertical microchannel is considered asymmetrically or symmetrically heated at uniform heat flux. The first-order model for slip velocity and jump temperature is assumed in microscale conditions. The analysis is performed in laminar boundary layer assumption for different values for different values of Knudsen number, Rayleigh number and the ratio of wall heat flux in order to evaluate their effects on wall temperatures, mass flow rate and Nusselt number. Wall temperature overshoots are detected for the different conditions. These values increase increasing the Knudsen number, Kn, at high Rayleigh number, Ra, whereas for lower Ra the lowest wall temperature are obtained for Kn = 0.05. Mass flow rate increases increasing Kn whereas Nusselt number decreases increasing Kn.


Author(s):  
Yassine Cherif ◽  
Emilio Sassine ◽  
Laurent Zalewski ◽  
Kaies Souidi ◽  
Stephane Lassue

An experimental device was designed to perform the thermal and dynamic study of natural convection airflow in an open vertical channel. The two side walls of the vertical channel are made of Plexiglas allowing the visualization of the flow via the particle image velocimetry (PIV) method. For the two other vertical walls, one is heated at a constant temperature, and the other is insulated with a 9-cm thick polystyrene insulation. The dynamic characterization of convection is carried out by nonintrusive measurements (PIV), and thermal phenomena are analyzed using nonintrusive heat flux instrumentation (simultaneous temperature and velocity measurements have been carried out across the channel at different elevations). Moreover, this study deals with the influence of the Rayleigh number on the measured vertical velocity profiles as well as the thermal flux densities recorded along the heated wall. To do this, different values of the modified Rayleigh numbers were considered in the interval with the channel aspect ratio of A = 5 and A = 12.5. The obtained Nusselt number values have been compared successfully with those of the literature. The impacts of the Rayleigh number and the aspect ratio on the velocity profiles and the convective and radiative heat transfer have been examined.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walid Aich ◽  
Imen Hajri ◽  
Ahmed Omri

Natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow have been examined numerically using the control-volume finite-element method in an isosceles prismatic cavity, submitted to a uniform heat flux from below when inclined sides are maintained isothermal and vertical walls are assumed to be perfect thermal insulators, without symmetry assumptions for the flow structure. The aim of the study is to examine a pitchfork bifurcation occurrence. Governing parameters on heat transfer and flow fields are the Rayleigh number and the aspect ratio of the enclosure. It has been found that the heated wall is not isothermal and the flow structure is sensitive to the aspect ratio. It is also found that heat transfer increases with increasing of Rayleigh number and decreases with increasing aspect ratio. The effects of aspect ratio become significant especially for higher values of Rayleigh number. Eventually the obtained results show that a pitchfork bifurcation occurs at a critical Rayleigh number, above which the symmetric solutions becomes unstable and asymmetric solutions are instead obtained.


1978 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Clomburg

Laminar natural convection in a two-dimensional enclosure with both source (uniform heat flux density) and sink (temperature specified) located on the top horizontal boundary is investigated numerically. Temperature and velocity profiles are presented for a high Prandtl number fluid for length Rayleigh numbers in the range 107 to 109 for length to depth ratios of 1:1 to 4:1. To generalize the results, an order of magnitude analysis is used to determine the dependence of temperature, velocity, and boundary-layer thickness scales on aspect ratio and Rayleigh number. The numerical data are well correlated using these suggested scales. The analysis shows the Nusselt number and the maximum horizontal velocity to depend on the 1/6 and 1/3 powers of the Rayleigh number, independent of aspect ratio.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-244
Author(s):  
Mehdi Ahmadi ◽  
Seyed Ali Agha Mirjalily ◽  
Seyed Amir Abbas Oloomi

ABSTRACT: This study is conducted to investigate turbulent natural convection flow in an enclosure with thermal sources using the low-Reynolds number (LRN) k-? model. This enclosure has a cold source with temperature Tc and a hot source with temperature Th as thermal sources, other walls of the enclosure are adiabatic. The aim of this study is to predict the effect of change in Rayleigh number, repositioning of cold and hot sources, and thermal sources aspect ratio on the flow field, temperature, and rate of heat transfer. To achieve this aim, the equations of continuity, momentum, energy, turbulent kinetic energy, and kinetic energy dissipation are employed in the case of 2D turbulence with constant thermo-physical properties except the density in the buoyancy term (Boussinesq approximation). To numerically solve these equations, the finite volume method and SIMPLE algorithm are used. According to the modeling results, the most optimal temperature distribution in the enclosure is seen when the hot source is below the cold source. With decreasing distance between hot and cold sources, heat transfer rate increases. The maximal heat transfer rate is derived via study of the heating sources aspect ratio. In constant positions of cold and hot sources on a wall, the heat transfer rate increases with increasing Rayleigh number (Ra=109-1011). ABSTAK: Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengkaji perubahan semula jadi aliran perolakan dalam tempat tertutup dengan sumber haba menggunakan model k-? nombor Reynolds-rendah (LRN). Bekas tertutup ini mempunyai dua sumber haba iaitu sumber sejuk dengan suhu Tc dan sumber panas dengan suhu Th, manakala dinding lain bekas ini adalah adiabatik. Tujuan kajian ini adalah bagi mengesan perubahan nombor Rayleigh, mengubah sumber sejuk dan panas dan nisbah sumber haba kepada kawasan aliran, suhu dan halaju perubahan haba. Bagi mencapai tujuan tersebut, persamaan sambungan, momentum, tenaga, tenaga kinetik perolakan, dan pengurangan tenaga kinetik telah dilaksanakan dalam kes perolakan 2D dengan sifat fizikal-haba berterusan (malar) kecuali isipadu terma keapungan (anggaran Boussinesq). Bagi menyelesaikan persamaan ini secara berangka, kaedah isipadu terhad dan algorithma MUDAH telah digunakan. Berdasarkan keputusan model, suhu distribusi optimal dalam bekas tertutup dilihat apabila sumber panas adalah kurang daripada sumber sejuk. Dengan pengurangan jarak antara sumber panas dan sejuk, kadar pertukaran haba meningkat. Kadar pertukaran haba maksima telah diperoleh melalui kajian nisbah  aspek sumber pemanasan. Kadar pertukaran haba bertambah dengan bertambahnya nombor Rayleigh  (Ra=109-1011), pada posisi tetap sumber sejuk dan panas pada dinding bekas.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjiang Wu ◽  
Chan Y. Ching

The effect of the top wall temperature on the laminar natural convection in air-filled rectangular cavities driven by a temperature difference across the vertical walls was investigated for three different aspect ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0. The temperature distributions along the heated vertical wall were measured, and the flow patterns in the cavities were visualized. The experiments were performed for a global Grashof number of approximately 1.8×108 and nondimensional top wall temperatures from 0.52 (insulated) to 1.42. As the top wall was heated, the flow separated from the top wall with an undulating flow region in the corner of the cavity, which resulted in a nonuniformity in the temperature profiles in this region. The location and extent of the undulation in the flow are primarily determined by the top wall temperature and nearly independent of the aspect ratio of the cavity. The local Nusselt number was correlated with the local Rayleigh number for all three cavities in the form of Nu=C⋅Ran, but the values of the constants C and n changed with the aspect ratio.


Author(s):  
Bernardo Buonomo ◽  
Oronzio Manca ◽  
Sergio Nardini ◽  
Alessandra Diana

Natural convection in horizontal rectangular channel without or with aluminum foam is experimentally and numerically investigated. In the case with aluminum foam the channel is partially filled. In both cases, the bottom wall of the channel is heated at a uniform heat flux and the upper wall is unheated and it is not thermally insulated to the external ambient. The experiments are performed with working fluid air. Different values of wall heat flux at lower surface are considered in order to obtain some Grashof numbers and different heated wall temperature distributions. Two different aluminum foams are considered in the experimental investigation, one from “M-pore”, with 10 and 30 pore per inch (PPI), and the other one from “ERG”, with 10, 20 and 40 PPI. The numerical simulation is carried out by a simplified two-dimensional model. It is found that the heat transfer is better when the channel is partially filled and the emissivity is low, whereas the heated wall temperature values are higher when the channel is partially filled and the heated bottom plate has high emissivity. The investigation is achieved also by flow visualization which is carried out to identify the main flow shape and development and the transition region along the channel. The visualization of results, both experimental and numerical, grants the description of secondary motions in the channel.


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