DNS of turbulent heat transfer in pipe flow with respect to rotation rate and Prandtl number effects

In the present investigation, turbulent heat transfer in fully developed curved-pipe flow has been studied by using large eddy simulation (LES). We consider a fully developed turbulent curved-pipe flow with axially uniform wall heat flux. The friction Reynolds number under consideration is Reτ = 1000 based on the mean friction velocity and the pipe radius, and the Prandtl number (Pr) is 0.71. To investigate the effects of wall curvature on turbulent flow and heat transfer, we varied the nondimensionalized curvature (δ) from 0.01 to 0.1. Dynamic subgrid-scale models for turbulent subgrid-scale stresses and heat fluxes were employed to close the governing equations. To elucidate the secondary flow structures due to the pipe curvature and their effect on the heat transfer, the mean quantities and various turbulence statistics of the flow and temperature fields are presented, and compared with those of the straight-pipe flow. The friction factor and the mean Nusselt number computed in the present study are in good agreement with the experimental results currently available in the literature. We also present turbulence intensities, skewness and flatness factors of temperature fluctuations, and cross-correlations of velocity and temperature fluctuations. In addition, we report the results of an octant analysis to clarify the correlation between near-wall turbulence structures and temperature fluctuation in the vicinity of the pipe wall. Based on our results, we attempt to clarify the effects of the pipe curvature on turbulent heat transfer. Our LES provides researchers and engineers with useful data to understand the heat-transfer mechanisms in turbulent curved-pipe flow, which has numerous applications in engineering.

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Characterization of Turbulent Heat Transfer in Ribbed Pipe Flow

Journal of Heat Transfer ◽

10.1115/1.4032150 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 138 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Changwoo Kang ◽

Kyung-Soo Yang

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Heat Flux ◽

Pipe Flow ◽

Temperature Fields ◽

Turbulent Heat Transfer ◽

Turbulent Heat ◽

Mean Flow ◽

Transfer Enhancement ◽

Pitch Ratio ◽

The Mean

In the current investigation, we performed large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent heat transfer in circular ribbed-pipe flow in order to study the effects of periodically mounted square ribs on heat transfer characteristics. The ribs were implemented on a cylindrical coordinate system by using an immersed boundary method, and dynamic subgrid-scale models were used to model Reynolds stresses and turbulent heat flux terms. A constant and uniform wall heat flux was imposed on all the solid boundaries. The Reynolds number (Re) based on the bulk velocity and pipe diameter is 24,000, and Prandtl number is fixed at Pr = 0.71. The blockage ratio (BR) based on the pipe diameter and rib height is fixed with 0.0625, while the pitch ratio based on the rib interval and rib height is varied with 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 18. Since the pitch ratio is the key parameter that can change flow topology, we focus on its effects on the characteristics of turbulent heat transfer. Mean flow and temperature fields are presented in the form of streamlines and contours. How the surface roughness, manifested by the wall-mounted ribs, affects the mean streamwise-velocity profile was investigated by comparing the roughness function. Local heat transfer distributions between two neighboring ribs were obtained for the pitch ratios under consideration. The flow structures related to heat transfer enhancement were identified. Friction factors and mean heat transfer enhancement factors were calculated from the mean flow and temperature fields, respectively. Furthermore, the friction and heat-transfer correlations currently available in the literature for turbulent pipe flow with surface roughness were revisited and evaluated with the LES data. A simple Nusselt number correlation is also proposed for turbulent heat transfer in ribbed pipe flow.

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