Heat transfer enhancement in microchannels using ribs and secondary flows

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthikeyan Paramanandam ◽  
Venkatachalapathy S. ◽  
Balamurugan Srinivasan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics of microchannel heatsinks with ribs, cavities and secondary channels. The influence of length and width of the ribs on heat transfer enhancement, secondary flows, flow distribution and temperature distribution are examined at different Reynolds numbers. The effectiveness of each heatsink is evaluated using the performance factor. Design/methodology/approach A three-dimensional solid-fluid conjugate heat transfer numerical model is used to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics in microchannels. One symmetrical channel is adopted for the simulation to reduce the computational cost and time. Flow inside the channels is assumed to be single-phase and laminar. The governing equations are solved using finite volume method. Findings The numerical results are analyzed in terms of average Nusselt number ratio, average base temperature, friction factor ratio, pressure variation inside the channel, temperature distribution, velocity distribution inside the channel, mass flow rate distribution inside the secondary channels and performance factor of each microchannels. Results indicate that impact of rib width is higher in enhancing the heat transfer when compared with its length but with a penalty on the pressure drop. The combined effects of secondary channels, ribs and cavities helps to lower the temperature of the microchannel heat sink and enhances the heat transfer rate. Practical implications The fabrication of microchannels are complex, but recent advancements in the additive manufacturing techniques makes the fabrication of the design considered in this numerical study feasible. Originality/value The proposed microchannel heatsink can be used in practical applications to reduce the thermal resistance, and it augments the heat transfer rate when compared with the baseline design.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Rios ◽  
Mehdi Kabirnajafi ◽  
Takele Gameda ◽  
Raid Mohammed ◽  
Jiajun Xu

The present study experimentally and numerically investigates the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a novel nanostructured heat transfer fluid, namely, ethanol/polyalphaolefin nanoemulsion, inside a conventionally manufactured minichannel of circular cross section and a microchannel heat exchanger of rectangular cross section manufactured additively using the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) process. The experiments were conducted for single-phase flow of pure polyalphaolefin (PAO) and ethanol/PAO nanoemulsion fluids with two ethanol concentrations of 4 wt% and 8 wt% as well as for two-phase flow boiling of nanoemulsion fluids to study the effect of ethanol nanodroplets on the convective flow and heat transfer characteristics. Furthermore, the effects of flow regime of the working fluids on the heat transfer performance for both the minichannel and microchannel heat exchangers were examined within the laminar and transitional flow regimes. It was found that the ethanol/PAO nanoemulsion fluids can improve convective heat transfer compared to that of the pure PAO base fluid under both single- and two-phase flow regimes. While the concentration of nanoemulsion fluids did not reflect a remarkable distinction in single-phase heat transfer performance within the laminar regime, a significant heat transfer enhancement was observed using the nanoemulsion fluids upon entering the transitional flow regime. The heat transfer enhancement at higher concentrations of nanoemulsion within the transitional regime is mainly attributed to the enhanced interaction and interfacial thermal transport between ethanol nanodroplets and PAO base fluid. For two-phase flow boiling, heat transfer coefficients of ethanol/PAO nanoemulsion fluids were further enhanced when the ethanol nanodroplets underwent phase change. A comparative study on the flow and heat transfer characteristics was also implemented between the traditionally fabricated minichannel and additively manufactured microchannel of similar dimensions using the same working fluid of pure PAO and the same operating conditions. The results revealed that although the DMLS fabricated microchannel posed a higher pressure loss, a substantial heat transfer enhancement was achieved as compared to the minichannel heat exchanger tested under the same conditions. The non-post processed surface of the DMLS manufactured microchannel is likely to be the main contributor to the augmented heat transfer performance. Further studies are required to fully appreciate the possible mechanisms behind this phenomenon as well as the convective heat transfer properties of nanoemulsion fluids.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeung Sang Go ◽  
Geunbae Lim ◽  
Hayong Yun ◽  
Sung Jin Kim ◽  
Inseob Song

Abstract This paper presented design guideline of the microfin array heat sink using flow-induced vibration to increase the heat transfer rate in the laminar flow regime. Effect of the flow-induced vibration of a microfin array on heat transfer enhancement was investigated experimentally by comparing the thermal resistances of the microfin array heat sink and those of a plain-wall heat sink. At the air velocities of 4.4m/s and 5.5 m/s, an increase of 5.5% and 11.5% in the heat transfer rate was obtained, respectively. The microfin flow sensor also characterized the flow-induced vibration of the microfin. It was determined that the microfin vibrates with the fundamental natural frequency regardless of the air velocity. It was also shown that the vibrating displacement of the microfin is increased with increasing air velocity and then saturated over a certain value of air velocity. Based on the numerical analysis of the temperature distribution resulted from microfin vibration and experimental results, a simple heat transfer model (heat pumping model) was proposed to understand the heat transfer mechanism of a microfin array heat sink. Under the geometric and structural constraints, the maximum heat transfer enhancement was obtained at the intersection of the minimum thickness of the microfin and constraint of the bending angle.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 4583-4606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najiyah Safwa Khashi’ie ◽  
Norihan Md Arifin ◽  
Ioan Pop ◽  
Roslinda Nazar ◽  
Ezad Hafidz Hafidzuddin ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to scrutinize the analysis of non-axisymmetric Homann stagnation point flow and heat transfer of hybrid Cu-Al2O3/water nanofluid over a stretching/shrinking flat plate. Design/methodology/approach The similarity transformation which fulfils the continuity equation is opted to transform the coupled momentum and energy equations into the nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions which are elucidated in the tables and graphs are obtained using the bvp4c solver. Findings Non-unique solutions (first and second) are feasible for both stretching and shrinking cases within the specific values of the parameters. First solution is the physical/real solution based on the execution of stability analysis. An upsurge of the ratio of the ambient fluid strain rate to the plate strain rate can delay the boundary layer separation, whereas a boost of the ratio of the ambient fluid shear rate to the plate strain rate only accelerates the separation of boundary layer. The heat transfer rate of hybrid nanofluid is greater for the stretching case than the shrinking case. However, for the shrinking case, the heat transfer rate intensifies with the increment of the copper (Cu) nanoparticles volume fraction, whereas a contrary result is found for the stretching case. Originality/value The present numerical results are original and new. It can contribute to other researchers on electing the relevant parameters to optimize the heat transfer process in the modern industry, and the right parameters to generate non-unique solution so that no misjudgment on flow and heat transfer features.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihua Li ◽  
Jane H. Davidson ◽  
Susan C. Mantell

The use of polymer tubes for heat exchanger tube bundles is of interest in many applications where corrosion, mineral build-up and/or weight are important. The challenge of overcoming the low thermal conductivity of polymers may be met by using many small-diameter, thin-walled polymer tubes and this route is being pursued by industry. We propose the use of unique shaped tubes that are easily extruded using polymeric materials. The shaped tubes are streamlined to reduce form drag yet the inside flow passage is kept circular to maintain the pressure capability of the tube. Special treatment is required to predict convective heat transfer rates because the temperature distribution along the outer surface of the shaped tubes is nonuniform. The average forced convection Nusselt number correlations developed for these noncircular tubes can not be used directly to determine heat transfer rate. In this paper, heat transfer rates of shaped tubes are characterized by treating the tubes as a base circular tube to which longitudinal fin(s) are added. Numerical solution of an energy balance on the fin provides the surface temperature distribution and a shaped tube efficiency, which can be used in the same manner as a fin efficiency to determine the outside convective resistance. The approach is illustrated for three streamlined shapes with fins of lenticular and oval profile. The presentation highlights the effects of the geometry and the Biot number on the tube efficiency and heat transfer enhancement. Convective heat transfer is enhanced for the oval shaped tube for 2000⩽Re⩽20,000 when Bi<0.3. For polymeric materials, the Biot number in most applications will be greater than 0.3, and adding material to the base tube reduces the heat transfer rate. The potential benefit of reduced form drag remains.


2015 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Zheng ◽  
Yonghui Xie ◽  
Di Zhang ◽  
Haoning Shi

Passive flow control and heat transfer enhancement technique has become an attractive method for device internal cooling with low resistance penalty. In the present paper, the flow and heat transfer characteristics in the small scale rectangular channel with different groove–protrusions are investigated numerically. Furthermore, the combination effect with ribs is studied. The numerical results show that on the groove side, the flow separation mainly occurs at the leading edge, and the reattachment mainly occurs at the trailing edge in accordance with the local Nusselt number distribution. On the protrusion side, the separation mainly occurs at the protrusion back porch and enhances the heat transfer at the leading edge of the downstream adjacent groove. The rectangle case provides the highest dimensionless heat transfer enhancement coefficient Nu/Nu0, dimensionless resistance coefficient f/f0, and thermal performance (TP) with the highest sensitivity of Re. When ribs are employed, the separation bubble sizes prominently decrease, especially inside the second and third grooves. The Nu/Nu0 values significantly increase when ribs are arranged, and the one-row case provides the highest heat transfer enhancement by ribs. Besides, the two-row case provides the highest Nu/Nu0 value without ribs, and the three-row case shows the lowest Nu/Nu0 value whether ribs are arranged or not.


Author(s):  
Khalid N. Alammar ◽  
Lin-wen Hu

Numerical analysis is performed to examine axisymmetric laminar flow and heat transfer characteristics of colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles in water (nanofluids). Effect of volume fraction on flow and heat transfer characteristics is investigated. Four different materials, Alumina, Copper, Copper Oxide, and Graphite are considered. Heat transfer and property measurements were conducted previously for Alumina nanofluid. The measurements have shown that nanofluids can behave as homogeneous mixtures. It is found that oxide-based nanofluids offer the least heat transfer enhancement compared to elements-based nanofluids. When normalized by friction pressure drop, it is shown that graphite can have the highest effective heat transfer enhancement. For a given volume flow rate, all nanofluids exhibited linear increase in heat transfer enhancement with increasing colloids volume fraction, up to 0.05.


Heat Transfer enhancement needs buoyancy force. This is to be achieved by making perforations on fin surfaces. The present paper is a study on the enhancement of heat transfer in terms of density, velocity and temperature with three different perforation geometry (parallel square, inclined square and circular). CFD was used to carry out the study of density variation, velocity and temperature drop among different perforated fins. This type of perforated fin has an improvement in heat transfer rate over its dimensionally equivalent solid fin.


Author(s):  
Ravi Arora ◽  
Anna Lee Tonkovich ◽  
Mike J. Lamont ◽  
Thomas Yuschak ◽  
Laura Silva

The two important considerations in the design of a heat exchanger are — the total heat transfer rate and the allowable pressure drop. The allowable pressure drop defines the maximum flow rate through a single microchannel and economics drives the design towards this flow rate. Typically the flow rate in the microchannel is in laminar flow regime (Re < 2000) due to smaller hydraulic diameter. The laminar flow heat transfer in a smooth microchannel is limited by the boundary layer thickness. Commonly the heat transfer rate is enhanced by passively disrupting the laminar boundary layer using protrusions or depressions in the channel walls. More often these methods are best applicable at small range of Reynolds number where the heat transfer rate enhancement is more than the pressure drop increase and break down as the flow rate is changed outside the range. The benefit of a flow disruption method can be reaped only if it provides higher heat transfer enhancement than the increase in the pressure drop at the working flow rates in the microchannel. A heat transfer efficient microchannel design has been developed using wall features that create stable disrupted flow and break the laminar boundary layer in a microchannel over a wide range of flow rates. The paper experimentally investigates the developed design for the heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop increase compared to a smooth wall microchannel. A simple microchannel device was designed and fabricated with and without wall features. The experiments with single gas phase fluid showed promising results with the developed wall feature design as the heat transfer rate increase was 20% to 80% more than the pressure drop increase in the laminar regime. The wall feature design was an important variable to affect the magnitude of performance enhancement in different flow regime. A general criterion was developed to judge the efficacy of wall feature design that can be used during a microchannel heat exchanger design.


Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahir Faris Abdullah ◽  
Rozli Zulkifli ◽  
Zambri Harun ◽  
Shahrir Abdullah ◽  
Wan Wan Ghopa ◽  
...  

Here, the researchers carried out an experimental analysis of the effect of the TiO2 nanosolution concentration on the heat transfer of the twin jet impingement on an aluminum plate surface. We used three different heat transfer enhancement processes. We considered the TiO2 nanosolution coat, aluminum plate heat sink, and a twin jet impingement system. We also analyzed several other parameters like the nozzle spacing, nanosolution concentration, and the nozzle-to-plate distance and noted if these parameters could increase the heat transfer rate of the twin jet impingement system on a hot aluminum surface. The researchers prepared different nanosolutions, which consisted of varying concentrations, and coated them on the metal surface. Thereafter, we carried out an X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis for determining the structure and the homogeneous surface coating of the nanosolutions. This article also studied the different positions of the twin jets for determining the maximal Nusselt number (Nu). The researchers analyzed all the results and noted that the flow structure of the twin impingement jets at the interference zone was the major issue affecting the increase in the heat transfer rate. The combined influence of the spacing and nanoparticle concentration affected the flow structure, and therefore the heat transfer properties, wherein the Reynolds number (1% by volume concentration) maximally affected the Nusselt number. This improved the performance of various industrial and engineering applications. Hypothesis: Nusselt number was affected by the ratio of the nanoparticle size to the surface roughness. Heat transfer characteristics could be improved if the researchers selected an appropriate impingement system and selected the optimal levels of other factors. The surface coating with the TiO2 nanosolution also positively affected the heat transfer rate.


Author(s):  
Koorosh Goudarzi ◽  
H. Jamali ◽  
V. Kalaei

In this experimental study, Aluminums Oxide (Al2O3) in Pure Water (PW) as nanofluid was used for heat transfer enhancement in car radiator together with electric field. Electric field with different voltage 8, 11, 14 kV and nanofluids with volume concentrations of 0.08%, 0.5% and 1% were investigated. From the experiments, it was found that the unit with electric field pronounced better heat transfer rate, especially at low fan speed. In addition heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer rate in engine cooling system increased with the usage of nanofluids Al2O3/PW compared to Pure Water alone. With the use of nanofluid with concentration of 1% and electric field for fan speed 600 and 1200 rpm, thermal performance factors were in a range between, 1.8–3.2 and 1.6–1.74, respectively. Thermal performance factor is more than 1 in all of cases, and it can be concluded that this technique can be used in car radiators to improve heat transfer.


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