A Study of Convective Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Phenomena in Curved Microchannels

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heng-Chih Tang ◽  
Tien-Chien Jen ◽  
Yi-Hsin Yen ◽  
Jyh-Tong Teng
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Hydraulic Diameter ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Dean Number

The research conducted in this paper was based on numerical simulation analysis that investigated the relationships between convective heat transfer and pressure drops and the flow patterns between conventional straight channels and curved microchannels. The main goal is to thoroughly investigate thermo-fluidic phenomena in curved microchannels and to determine the optimal design for the curved microchannel cooling system. Commercial numerical software (ESI-CFD) was used to simulate all cases studied in this paper. The computer simulated results were compared with actual experimental results to evaluate its accuracy. Six cases of different dimensions were studied. Results obtained from this study showed that when the dimensions of curved microchannels are smaller than 40 μm in height, conventional macro fluidic theory can still be used, since the numerically simulated results are in good agreement (<6% difference) with those obtained experimentally. Hydraulic diameter is the factor affects the pressure drop. Larger hydraulic diameter causes smaller pressure drop while smaller hydraulic diameter results in higher pressure drop. Secondary flow patterns and Nusselt numbers are also illustrated in this paper. When the Dean number is lower than 400, the pressure drop of fluid in 40 μm height models is similar to that found in straight microchannels. For the velocity profiles in the curved microchannels, the main stream is at the center of the curved microchannel first. But it is gradually offsets to the outer wall when the mass flow rates increases. The centrifugal force due to the curve geometry is the main reason that results in the shifting of the main flow toward the outer wall of the microchannel.

Effects of Curvature and Convective Heat Transfer in Curved Square Duct Flows

2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (5) ◽  
pp. 1013-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Mondal ◽  
Y. Kaga ◽  
T. Hyakutake ◽  
S. Yanase
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Heated Wall ◽  
Dean Number ◽  
Square Duct ◽  
Nusselt Numbers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Steady Solutions

Non-isothermal flows with convective heat transfer through a curved duct of square cross section are numerically studied by using a spectral method, and covering a wide range of curvature, δ, 0<δ≤0.5 and the Dean number, Dn, 0≤Dn≤6000. A temperature difference is applied across the vertical sidewalls for the Grashof number Gr=100, where the outer wall is heated and the inner one cooled. Steady solutions are obtained by the Newton-Raphson iteration method and their linear stability is investigated. It is found that the stability characteristics drastically change due to an increase of curvature from δ = 0.23 to 0.24. When there is no stable steady solution, time evolution calculations as well as their spectral analyses show that the steady flow turns into chaos through periodic or multi-periodic flows if Dn is increased no matter what δ is. The transition to a periodic or chaotic state is retarded with an increase of δ. Nusselt numbers are calculated as an index of horizontal heat transfer and it is found that the convection due to the secondary flow, enhanced by the centrifugal force, increases heat transfer significantly from the heated wall to the fluid. If the flow becomes periodic and then chaotic, as Dn increases, the rate of heat transfer increases remarkably.

Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient and Pressure Drop of Al2O3-Water Nanofluid in a Single-Phase Microchannel for Cooling of High Heat Output Devices

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo E. Valencia ◽  
Miguel A. Ramos ◽  
Antono J. Bula
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Nusselt Number ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Heat Output ◽  
Flux Boundary Condition

The paper describes an experimental procedure performed to obtain the convective heat transfer coefficient of Al2O3 nanofluid working as cooling fluid under turbulent regimen through arrays of aluminum microchannel heat sink having a diameter of 1.2 mm. Experimental Nusselt number correlation as a function of the volume fractions, Reynolds, Peclet and Prandtl numbers for a constant heat flux boundary condition is presented. The correlation for Nusselt number has a good agreement with experimental data and can be used to predict heat transfer coefficient for this specific nanofluid, water/Al2O3. Furthermore, the pressure drop is also analyzed considering the different nanoparticles concentration.

Effects of Creep Flow and Viscous Dissipation in the Slip Regime for Isoflux Rectangular Microchannels

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer van Rij ◽  
Tim Ameel ◽  
Todd Harman
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Viscous Dissipation ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Numerical Algorithm ◽  
Slip Flow ◽  
Creep Flow ◽  
Nusselt Numbers

The effects of rarefaction on convective heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics are numerically evaluated for uniform wall heat flux rectangular microchannels. Results are obtained by numerically solving the momentum and energy equations with both first- and second-order slip velocity and temperature jump boundary conditions. The resulting velocity and temperature fields are then evaluated to obtain the microchannel Poiseuille and Nusselt numbers. In addition to the effects of rarefaction, the effects of aspect ratio, thermal creep flow, and viscous dissipation are investigated for locally fully developed Poiseuille and Nusselt numbers. The constant wall heat flux results obtained in this study are compared to constant wall temperature results obtained previously, using the same numerical algorithm, at various aspect ratios including the limiting case of parallel plate microchannels. In addition to supplying previously unreported data on slip flow convective heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics, these results verify the numerical algorithm for more complex future slip flow analyses.

Convective Heat Transfer Characteristics of Silver-Water Nanofluid Under Laminar and Turbulent Flow Conditions

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazarus Godson ◽  
B. Raja ◽  
D. Mohan Lal ◽  
S. Wongwises
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Experimental Results

The convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of silver-water nanofluids is measured in a counter flow heat exchanger from laminar to turbulent flow regime. The experimental results show that the convective heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluids increases by up to 69% at a concentration of 0.9 vol. % compared with that of pure water. Furthermore, the experimental results show that the convective heat transfer coefficient enhancement exceeds the thermal conductivity enhancement. It is observed that the measured heat transfer coefficient is higher than that of the predicted ones using Gnielinski equation by at least 40%. The use of the silver nanofluid has a little penalty in pressure drop up to 55% increase 0.9% volume concentration of silver nanoparticles.

Numerical Study of Turbulent Flow and Convective Heat Transfer Characteristics in Helical Rectangular Ducts

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunfei Xing ◽  
Fengquan Zhong ◽  
Xinyu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Rectangular Cross Section ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Axial Direction ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Centrifugal Effect

Three-dimensional turbulent forced convective heat transfer and its flow characteristics in helical rectangular ducts are simulated using SST k–ω turbulence model. The velocity field and temperature field at different axial locations along the axial direction are analyzed for different inlet Reynolds numbers, different curvatures, and torsions. The causes of heat transfer differences between the inner and outer wall of the helical rectangular ducts are discussed as well as the differences between helical and straight duct. A secondary flow is generated due to the centrifugal effect between the inner and outer walls. For the present study, the flow and thermal field become periodic after the first turn. It is found that Reynolds number can enhance the overall heat transfer. Instead, torsion and curvature change the overall heat transfer slightly. But the aspect ratio of the rectangular cross section can significantly affect heat transfer coefficient.

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