A Study of Heat Transfer Augmentation for Recuperative Heat Exchangers: Comparison Between Two Dimple Geometries

Author(s):  
Michelle I. Valentino ◽  
Lucky V. Tran ◽  
Mark Ricklick ◽  
J. S. Kapat

This study presents an investigation of the heat transfer augmentation for the purpose of obtaining high effectiveness recuperative heat exchangers for regeneration. The focus of the present work is in the fully developed portion of a 2:1 aspect ratio rectangular channel characterized by dimples applied to one wall at channel Reynolds numbers of 10,000, 18,000, 27,000, and 36,000. The dimples are applied in a staggered-row, racetrack configuration. In this study, a segmented copper test section was embedded with insulated dimples in order to minimize (to a negligible level) the heat transfer within the dimpled feature. The insulated material used to create a dimpled geometry isolates the heat transfer within the dimple cavity from the heat transfer augmentation on the surrounding smooth walls promoted by the flow disturbances induced by the dimple. Results for three different geometries are presented, a small dimple feature, a large dimple, and a double dimple. The results of this study indicate that there is significant heat transfer augmentation even on the non-featured portion of the channel wall. Overall heat transfer augmentations for the small dimples are between 13–27%, large dimples between 33–54%, and double dimples between 22–39%, with highest heat transfer augmentation at the lowest Reynolds number for all three dimple geometries tested.

Author(s):  
Michelle I. Valentino ◽  
Lucky V. Tran ◽  
Mark Ricklick ◽  
J. S. Kapat

This study presents an investigation of the heat transfer augmentation for the purpose of obtaining high effectiveness recuperative heat exchangers for waste heat recovery. The focus of the present work is in the fully developed portion of a 2:1 aspect ratio rectangular channel characterized by dimples applied to one wall at channel Reynolds numbers of 10,000, 18,000, 28,000, and 36,000. The dimples are applied in a staggered-row, racetrack configuration. In this study, a segmented copper test section was embedded with insulated dimples in order to isolate the heat transfer within the dimpled feature. The insulated material used to create a dimpled geometry isolates the heat transfer within the dimple cavity from the heat transfer augmentation on the surrounding smooth walls promoted by the flow disturbances induced by the dimple. Results for three different geometries are presented, a small dimple feature, a large dimple, and a double dimple. The results of this study indicate that there is significant heat transfer augmentation even on the nonfeatured portion of the channel wall resulting from the secondary flows created by the features. Overall heat transfer augmentations for the small dimples are between 13–27%, large dimples between 33–54%, and double dimples between 22–39%, with the highest heat transfer augmentation at the lowest Reynolds number for all three dimple geometries tested. Heat transfer within the dimple was shown to be less than that of the surrounding flat regions at low Reynolds numbers. Results for each dimple geometry show that dimples are capable of promoting heat transfer over the entire bottom wall surface as well as the side walls; thus the effects are not confined to within the dimple cavity.


Author(s):  
Matthew A. Smith ◽  
Randall M. Mathison ◽  
Michael G. Dunn

Heat transfer distributions are presented for a stationary three passage serpentine internal cooling channel for a range of engine representative Reynolds numbers. The spacing between the sidewalls of the serpentine passage is fixed and the aspect ratio (AR) is adjusted to 1:1, 1:2, and 1:6 by changing the distance between the top and bottom walls. Data are presented for aspect ratios of 1:1 and 1:6 for smooth passage walls and for aspect ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 1:6 for passages with two surfaces turbulated. For the turbulated cases, turbulators skewed 45° to the flow are installed on the top and bottom walls. The square turbulators are arranged in an offset parallel configuration with a fixed rib pitch-to-height ratio (P/e) of 10 and a rib height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh) range of 0.100 to 0.058 for AR 1:1 to 1:6, respectively. The experiments span a Reynolds number range of 4,000 to 130,000 based on the passage hydraulic diameter. While this experiment utilizes a basic layout similar to previous research, it is the first to run an aspect ratio as large as 1:6, and it also pushes the Reynolds number to higher values than were previously available for the 1:2 aspect ratio. The results demonstrate that while the normalized Nusselt number for the AR 1:2 configuration changes linearly with Reynolds number up to 130,000, there is a significant change in flow behavior between Re = 25,000 and Re = 50,000 for the aspect ratio 1:6 case. This suggests that while it may be possible to interpolate between points for different flow conditions, each geometric configuration must be investigated independently. The results show the highest heat transfer and the greatest heat transfer enhancement are obtained with the AR 1:6 configuration due to greater secondary flow development for both the smooth and turbulated cases. This enhancement was particularly notable for the AR 1:6 case for Reynolds numbers at or above 50,000.


Author(s):  
Sam Ghazi-Hesami ◽  
Dylan Wise ◽  
Keith Taylor ◽  
Peter Ireland ◽  
Étienne Robert

Abstract Turbulators are a promising avenue to enhance heat transfer in a wide variety of applications. An experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer and pressure drop of a broken V (chevron) turbulator is presented at Reynolds numbers ranging from approximately 300,000 to 900,000 in a rectangular channel with an aspect ratio (width/height) of 1.29. The rib height is 3% of the channel hydraulic diameter while the rib spacing to rib height ratio is fixed at 10. Heat transfer measurements are performed on the flat surface between ribs using transient liquid crystal thermography. The experimental results reveal a significant increase of the heat transfer and friction factor of the ribbed surface compared to a smooth channel. Both parameters increase with Reynolds number, with a heat transfer enhancement ratio of up to 2.15 (relative to a smooth channel) and a friction factor ratio of up to 6.32 over the investigated Reynolds number range. Complementary CFD RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes) simulations are performed with the κ-ω SST turbulence model in ANSYS Fluent® 17.1, and the numerical estimates are compared against the experimental data. The results reveal that the discrepancy between the experimentally measured area averaged Nusselt number and the numerical estimates increases from approximately 3% to 13% with increasing Reynolds number from 339,000 to 917,000. The numerical estimates indicate turbulators enhance heat transfer by interrupting the boundary layer as well as increasing near surface turbulent kinetic energy and mixing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew F Chen ◽  
Chao-Cheng Shiau ◽  
Je-Chin Han ◽  
Robert Krewinkel

The present study features a two-pass rectangular channel with an aspect ratio (AR) = 4:1 in the first pass and an AR = 2:1 in the second pass after a 180-deg tip turn. In addition to the smooth-wall case, ribs with a profiled cross section are placed at 60 deg to the flow direction on both the leading and trailing surfaces in both passages (P/e = 10, e/Dh ∼ 0.11, parallel and in-line). Regionally averaged heat transfer measurement method was used to obtain the heat transfer coefficients on all internal surfaces. The Reynolds number (Re) ranges from 10,000 to 70,000 in the first passage, and the rotational speed ranges from 0 to 400 rpm. Under pressurized condition (570 kPa), the highest rotation number achieved was Ro = 0.39 in the first passage and 0.16 in the second passage. The results showed that the turn-induced secondary flows are reduced in an accelerating flow. The effects of rotation on heat transfer are generally weakened in the ribbed case than the smooth case. Significant heat transfer reduction (∼30%) on the tip wall was seen in both the smooth and ribbed cases under rotating condition. Overall pressure penalty was reduced for the ribbed case under rotation. Reynolds number effect was found noticeable in the current study. The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics are sensitive to the geometrical design of the channel and should be taken into account in the design process.


Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Elyyan ◽  
Danesh K. Tafti

LES calculations are conducted for flow in a channel with dimples and protrusions on opposite walls with both surfaces heated at three Reynolds numbers, ReH = 220, 940, and 9300 ranging from laminar, weakly turbulent to fully turbulent, respectively. Turbulence generated by the separated shear layer in the dimple and along the downstream rim of the dimple is primarily responsible for heat transfer augmentation on the dimple surface. On the other hand, augmentation on the protrusion surface is mostly driven by flow impingement and flow acceleration between protrusions, while the turbulence generated in the wake has a secondary effect. Heat transfer augmentation ratios of 0.99 at ReH = 220, 2.9 at ReH = 940, and 2.5 at ReH = 9300 are obtained. Both skin friction and form losses contribute to pressure drop in the channel, with form losses increasing from 45% to 80% with an increase in the Reynolds number. Friction coefficient augmentation ratios of 1.67, 4.82 and 6.37 are obtained at ReH = 220, 940, and 9300, respectively. Based on the geometry studied, it is found that dimples and protrusions may not be viable heat transfer augmentation surfaces when the flow is steady and laminar.


2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Lei ◽  
Je-Chin Han ◽  
Michael Huh

In this paper, the effect of rib spacing on heat transfer in a rotating two-passage channel (aspect ratio, AR = 2:1) at orientation angle of 135 deg was studied. Parallel ribs were applied’ on leading and trailing walls of the rotating channel at the flow angle of 45 deg. The rib-height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh) was 0.098. The rib-pitch-to-rib-height (P/e) ratios studied were 5, 7.5, and 10. For each rib spacing, tests were taken at five Reynolds numbers from 10,000 to 40,000, and for each Reynolds number, experiments were conducted at four rotational speeds up to 400 rpm. Results show that the heat transfer enhancement increases with decreasing P/e from 10 to 5 under nonrotation conditions. However, the effect of rotation on the heat transfer enhancement remains about the same for varying P/e from 10 to 5. Correlations of Nusselt number ratio (Nu/Nus) to rotation number (Ro) or local buoyancy parameter (Box) are existent on all surfaces (leading, trailing, inner and outer walls, and tip cap region) in the two-passage 2:1 aspect ratio channel.


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.


Author(s):  
Shantanu Mhetras ◽  
Je-Chin Han ◽  
Michael Huth

Experiments to investigate heat transfer and pressure loss are performed in a rectangular channel with an aspect ratio of 6 at very high Reynolds numbers under compressible flow conditions. Reynolds numbers up to 1.3 × 106 are tested. The presence of a turbulated wall and the resultant heat transfer enhancement against a smooth surface is investigated. Three dimpled configurations including spherical and cylindrical dimples are studied on one wide wall of the channel. The presence of discrete ribs on the same wide wall is also investigated. A steady state heat transfer measurement method is used to obtain the heat transfer coefficients while pressure taps located at several streamwise locations in the channel walls are used to record the static pressures on the surface. Experiments are performed for a wide range of Reynolds numbers from the incompressible (Re = 100,000–500,000; Mach = 0.04–0.19) to compressible flow regimes (Re = 900,000–1,300,000, Mach = 0.35–0.5). Results for low Reynolds numbers are compared to existing heat transfer data available in open literature for similar configurations. Heat transfer enhancement is found to decrease at high Re with the discrete rib configurations providing the best enhancement but highest pressure losses. However, the small spherical dimples show the best thermal performance. Results can be used for the combustor liner back side cooling at high Reynolds number flow conditions. Local measurements using the steady state, hue-detection based liquid crystal technique are also performed in the fully developed region for case 1 with large spherical dimples. Good comparison is obtained between averaged local heat transfer coefficient measurements and from thermocouple measurements.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Olson

We have measured heat transfer and pressure drop of three thin, compact heat exchangers in helium gas at 3.5 MPa and higher, with Reynolds numbers of 450 to 36,000. The flow geometries for the three heat exchanger specimens were: circular tube, rectangular channel, and staggered pin fin with tapered pins. The specimens were heated radiatively at heat fluxes up to 77 W/cm2. Correlations were developed for the isothermal friction factor as a function of Reynolds number, and for the Nusselt number as a function of Reynolds number and the ratio of wall temperature to fluid temperature. The specimen with the pin fin internal geometry had significantly better heat transfer than the other specimens, but it also had higher pressure drop. For certain conditions of helium flow and heating, the temperature more than doubled from the inlet to the outlet of the specimens, producing large changes in gas velocity, density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity. These changes in properties did not affect the correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number in turbulent flow.


Author(s):  
Lucky V. Tran ◽  
Michelle I. Valentino ◽  
Abhishek Saha ◽  
Carson D. Slabaugh ◽  
Mark Ricklick ◽  
...  

This paper presents an investigation of the fluid flow in the fully developed portion of a rectangular channel (Aspect Ratio of 2) with dimples applied to one wall at channel Reynolds numbers of 20,000, 30,000, and 40,000. The dimples are applied in a staggered-row, racetrack configuration. Results for three different dimple geometries are presented: a large dimple, small dimple, and double dimple. Heat transfer and aerodynamic results from preceding works are presented in Nusselt number and friction factor augmentation plots as determined experimentally. Using particle image velocimetry, the region near the dimple feature is studied in detail in the location of the entrainment and ejection of vortical packets into and out of the dimple; the downstream wake region behind each dimple is also studied to examine the effects of the local flow phenomenon that result in improved heat transfer in the areas of the channel wall not occupied by a feature. The focus of the paper is to examine the secondary flows in these dimpled channels in order to support the previously presented heat transfer trends. The flow visualization is also intended to improve the understanding of the flow disturbances in a dimpled channel; a better understanding of these effects would lead the development of more effective channel cooling designs.


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