Heat Transfer From the Heated Convex Wall of a Return Bend With Rectangular Cross Section
An experimental investigation has been performed to clarify the turbulent heat transfer characteristics along the heated convex wall of a return bend which has a rectangular cross section with large aspect ratio for various heights of the duct. The experiments are carried out under the condition that the convex wall is heated at constant heat flux while the concave wall is insulated. Water is used as the working fluid with duct heights of 15, 40, 60 and 80 mm, Reynolds numbers of 8 × 103 to 8 × 104, and Prandtl numbers ranging from 6.5 to 8.5. The mean and the local heat transfer coefficients are always smaller than those for the straight parallel plates and straight ducts. Both the local and the mean heat transfer coefficients decrease as the duct height increases. Near the outlet region of the return bend the local heat transfer coefficient increases in the flow direction as the height decreases. Behavior is just the opposite at the inlet. Correlation equations for the mean and the local Nusselt numbers are determined in the range of parameters covered.