An Experimental Study of Convective Heat Transfer in Radially Rotating Rectangular Ducts

1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 604-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Soong ◽  
S. T. Lin ◽  
G. J. Hwang

The paper presents an experimental study of convective heat transfer in radially rotating isothermal rectangular ducts with various height and width aspect ratios. The convective heat transfer is affected by secondary flows resulting from Coriolis force and the buoyancy flow, which is in turn due to the centrifugal force in the duct. The growth and strength of the secondary flow depend on the rotational Reynolds number; the effect of the buoyancy flow is characterized by the rotational Rayleigh number. The aspect ratio of the duct may affect the secondary flow and the buoyancy flow, and therefore is also a critical parameter in the heat transfer mechanism. In the present work the effects of the main flow, the rotational speed, and the aspect ratio γ on heat transfer are subjects of major interest. Ducts of aspect ratios γ=5, 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.2 at rotational speed up to 3000 rpm are studied. The main flow Reynolds number ranges from 700 to 20,000 to cover the laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow regimes in the duct flow. Test data and discussion are presented.

Author(s):  
Shawn Siroka ◽  
Melissa Shallcross ◽  
Stephen Lynch

Cylindrical pins, often called pin fins, are used to create turbulence and promote convective heat transfer within many devices, ranging from computer heat sinks to the trailing edge of jet engine turbine blades. Previous experiments have measured the time-averaged heat transfer over a single pin as well as the flow fields around the pin. However, in this study, focus is placed on the instantaneous heat flux around the centerline of a low aspect-ratio pin within an array. Time-mean and unsteady convective heat flux are measured around the circumference of an isothermal heated test pin via a microsensor located at the surface. The pin is positioned at various locations within a staggered array in a large-scale wind tunnel. Reynolds numbers from 3,000 to 50,000, based on pin diameter and maximum velocity between pins, are tested with a streamwise spacing of 1.73 diameters between rows, a spanwise spacing of 2 diameters, and a pin height of 1 diameter. The time-averaged and standard deviation of convective heat flux around the pin is higher over most of the pin surface for pins in downstream row positions of an array relative to the first row pin, except in the wake which has similar levels for all rows. For a given pin position in the array, as the Reynolds number increases, the point of minimum heat transfer moves circumferentially upstream on the pin fin, corresponding to earlier transition of the pin boundary layer. Also, for a given Reynolds number, the minimum heat transfer point on the pin circumference moves upstream for pins further into the array, due to the high turbulence levels within the array which cause early transition. For a single pin row with no downstream pins, heat transfer fluctuations are very high on the backside of the pin due to the significant unsteadiness in the pin wake, but heat transfer fluctuations are suppressed for a pin with downstream rows due to the confining effects of the close spacing. The results from this study can be used to design pin-fin arrays that take advantage of unsteadiness and increase overall convective heat transfer for various industry components.


Author(s):  
Sobin Alosious ◽  
S. R. Sarath ◽  
Anjan R. Nair ◽  
K. Krishnakumar

In this study, forced convective heat transfer inside a circular tube automobile radiator is experimentally and numerically investigated. The investigation is carried out using Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids with water as their base fluid. A single radiator circular tube with the same dimensions is numerically modeled. Numerical model is validated using the experimental study results. In the experimental study, Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids of 0.05% volume concentrations (ϕ) were recirculated through the radiator for the Reynolds number (Re) between 260 and 1560. The numerical investigation is conducted for the nanoparticle volume concentration from 0% to 6.0% and 260 < Re < 1560. The investigation shows an enhancement of convective heat transfer coefficient (h) with the increase in nanoparticle volume concentration and with the Reynolds number. A maximum enhancement of 38% and 33% were found for Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids of ϕ = 1% and Re = 1560. For the same cooling load of the radiator, the pumping power can be reduced by 8% and 10%, when Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids (ϕ = 0.8%) were used. Enhancement in convective heat transfer can be utilized to reduce the radiator surface area required. However, the addition of nanofluid results in an enhancement of density (ρ) and viscosity (μ) along with a reduction in specific heat capacity (Cp). Hence, the selection of nanoparticle volume concentration should consider its effect on the thermophysical properties mentioned earlier. It is found that the preferred concentration is between 0.4% and 0.8% for both Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids. In our investigations, it is observed that the convective heat transfer performance of Al2O3 nanofluid is better than the CuO nanofluid.


1979 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Meyer ◽  
J. W. Mitchell ◽  
M. M. El-Wakil

Local and average heat transfer coefficients for natural convection between parallel plates separated by slats to create enclosures of moderate aspect ratio have been experimentally determined using an interferometric technique. The effects of Rayleigh number, tilt and slat angle, and aspect ratio on the Nusselt number have been determined. The Rayleigh number range tested was up to 7 × 104, and the aspect ratio (ratio of enclosure length to plate spacing) varied between 0.25 and 4. The angles of tilt of the enclosure with respect to the horizontal were 45, 60 and 90 deg. Slat angles of 45, 60, 90 and 135 deg were studied. The results obtained in a previous investigation [1] for aspect ratios of 9 to 36 are included to show continuity. The results indicate that the convective heat transfer is a strong function of the aspect ratio for aspect ratios less than 4. For aspect ratios in the range of 0.5 to 4, spacers between the plates increase, rather than decrease, natural convection heat transfer compared to that for long enclosures. Slat angles less than 90 deg (i.e., oriented downward) reduce convective heat transfer.


1982 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Meyer ◽  
J. W. Mitchell ◽  
M. M. El-Wakil

The effects of cell wall thickness and thermal conductivity on natural convective heat transfer within inclined rectangular cells was studied. The cell walls are thin, and the hot and cold surfaces are isothermal. The two-dimensional natural convection problem was solved using finite difference techniques. The parameters studied were cell aspect ratios (A) of 0.5 and 1, Rayleigh numbers (Ra) up to 105, a Prandtl number (Pr) of 0.72 and a tilt angle (φ) of 60 deg. These parameters are of interest in solar collectors. The numerical results are substantiated by experimental results. It was found that convection coefficients for cells with adiabatic walls are substantially higher than those for cells with conducting walls. Correlations are given for estimating the convective heat transfer across the cell and the conductive heat transfer across the cell wall. These correlations are compared with available experimental and numerical work of other authors.


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.


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