Pseudo 3D modeling of suction and injection effects on fully developed laminar flow and heat transfer in rectangular fuel cell channels

Author(s):  
A Doosti Abukheyli ◽  
H Hassanzadeh ◽  
SA Mirbozorgi

In this paper, the flow in the rectangular fuel cell channel with different aspect ratios has been numerically simulated. The bottom wall of the rectangular channel is porous and subjected to a uniform mass injection or suction, while the other three walls are nonporous or impermeable. Assuming the hydro-dynamically and thermally fully developed flow, the mass, momentum, and energy equations have been solved with a two-dimensional code. The present numerical results are in good agreement with the numerical results in the literature. The wall friction coefficients and Nusselt numbers were obtained for different aspect ratios, different wall Reynolds numbers (for suction and injection), and different thermal boundary conditions. The results show that for each aspect ratio, friction coefficient ( fRe) is larger for injection than for suction. Also at unit expect ratio, a/ b = 1, the fRe have minimum value for each wall Reynolds number ( Rem) and with increasing and decreasing aspect ratio, fRe increases. The changes of Nusselt ( Nu) number with Rem and aspect ratio is dependent on the thermal boundary conditions and definition of Nu number (for combined boundary condition).

Author(s):  
Liu Wenhua ◽  
Mo Yang ◽  
Li Ling ◽  
Qiao Liang ◽  
Yuwen Zhang

Turbulent flow and heat transfer in rectangular channel has an important significance in engineering. Conventional approach to caculate Nusselt number of rectangular channel approximately is to take the equivalent diameter as the characteristic length and use the classic circular channel turbulent heat transfer coefficient correlations. However, under these conditions, the caculation error of Nusselt number can reach to 14% and thus this approach can not substantially describe the variation of Nusselt number of rectangular cross-sections with different aspect ratios. Therefore, caculation by using equivalent diameter as the characteristic length in classic experiment formula needs to be corrected. Seven groups of rectangular channel models with different aspect ratios have been studied numerically in this paper. By using standard turbulence model, the flow and heat transfer law of air with varing properties has been studied in 4 different sets of conditions in Reynolds number. The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement. The simulation results show that with the increase of aspect ratio, the cross-sectional average Nusselt number increased, Nusselt number of circumferential wall distributed more evenly and the difference between the infinite plate channel and square channel went up to 25%. The effects of corner region and long\short sides on heat transfer have also been investigated in this paper. Results show that in rectangular channel, heat transfer in corner region is significantly weaker than it in other region. With the increase of aspect ratio, effect on the long side of heat transfer of the short side is gradually reduced, and then eventually eliminates completely in the infinite flat place. Based on the studies above, correction coefficient for rectangular channels with different aspect ratios has been proposed in this paper and the accuracy of the correction coefficient has been varified by numerical simulations. This can reflect the variation of Nusselt number under different aspect ratios more effectively and thus has current significance for project to calculate Nusselt number of heat transfer in rectangular channel.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Kunstmann ◽  
Jens von Wolfersdorf ◽  
Uwe Ruedel

An investigation was conducted to assess the thermal performance of W-shaped, 2W-shaped and 4W-shaped ribs in a rectangular channel. The aspect ratios (W/H) were 2:1, 4:1, and 8:1. The ribs were located on one channel wall. The rib height (e) was kept constant with a rib height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh) of 0.02, 0.03, and 0.06. The rib pitch-to-height ratio (P/e) was 10. The Reynolds numbers investigated (Re > 90 000) are typical for combustor liner cooling configurations of gas turbines. Local heat transfer coefficients using the transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique and overall pressure losses were measured. The rib configurations were investigated numerically to visualize the flow pattern in the channel and to support the understanding of the experimental data. The results show that the highest heat transfer enhancement is obtained by rib configurations with a rib section-to-channel height ratio (Wr/H) of 1:1. W-shaped ribs achieve the highest heat transfer enhancement levels in channels with an aspect ratio of 2:1, 2W-shaped ribs in channels with an aspect ratio of 4:1 and 4W-shaped ribs in channels with an aspect ratio of 8:1. Furthermore, the pressure loss increases with increasing complexity of the rib geometry and blockage ratio.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ramanathan ◽  
R. Kumar

This paper presents the numerical results of natural convective flows between two vertical, parallel plates within a large enclosure. A parametric study has been conducted for various Prandtl numbers and channel aspect ratios. The results are in good agreement with the reported results in the literature for air for large aspect ratios. However, for small aspect ratios, the present numerical results do not agree with the correlations given in the literature. The discrepancy is due to the fact that the published results were obtained for channels where the diffusion of thermal energy in the vertical direction is negligible. The results obtained in this paper indicate that vertical conduction should be considered for channel aspect ratios less than 10 for Pr = 0.7. Correlations are presented to predict the maximum temperature and the average Nusselt number on the plate as explicit functions of the channel Rayleigh number and the channel aspect ratio for air. The plate temperature is a weak function of Prandtl number for Prandtl numbers greater than 0.7, if the channel Rayleigh number is chosen as the correlating parameter. For Prandtl numbers less than 0.1, the plate temperature is a function of the channel Rayleigh number and the Prandtl number. A correlation for maximum temperature on the plate is presented to include the Prandtl number effect for large aspect ratio channels.


2017 ◽  
Vol 377 ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sankar ◽  
S. Kiran ◽  
G.K. Ramesh ◽  
Oluwole Daniel Makinde

Natural convection from the linearly heated inner and/or outer walls of a vertical annular cavity has been numerically investigated. The bottom wall is uniformly heated and top cylindrical wall is thermally insulated. In this analysis, we considered two different thermal boundary conditions, namely case (I) and case (II) to understand the effect of non-uniform heating of inner and/or outer walls on the convective flow and subsequently the local and global heat transfer rate. For case (I), the inner and outer walls are heated linearly, while the linearly heated inner wall and cooled outer wall is considered in case (II). An implicit finite difference scheme is applied to solve the model equations of the problem. The numerical simulations in terms of streamlines and isotherms, local and global Nusselt numbers are presented to illustrate the effects of Rayleigh number and non-uniform thermal boundary conditions for a fixed Prandtl number of Pr = 0.7.


Author(s):  
Vyacheslav (Slava) Akkerman

Abstract Boundary conditions constitute one of the key factors influencing combustion in chambers with large aspect ratios such as narrow channels or pipes. Specifically, the flame shape and propagation velocity are impacted by wall friction and wall heat transfer. Both factors continuously influence the shape of the flame front, thereby resulting in its larger surface area as compared to a planar flame front. Such a corrugated flame consumes more fuel per unit time and thereby propagates faster than the planar flame at the same thermal-chemical conditions. Consequently, a flame accelerates due to the boundary conditions. In the recent years, there have been many studies scrutinizing the role of boundary conditions in flame acceleration scenario by means of analytical formulations, numerical studies or experimental measurements. However, the majority of these works was limited to equidiffusive flames, where the thermal-to-mass diffusivity ratio (the Lewis number; Le) is unity. In this respect, the present work removes this limitation by analyzing non-equidiffusive (Le < 1 or Le > 1) flames propagating in pipes of various widths. Specifically, a parametric study has been conducted by means of simulations of the basic hydrodynamic and combustion equations. In this particular study, two-dimensional channels with smooth walls and different thermal conditions such as isothermal and adiabatic walls, have been employed for various Lewis numbers in the range 0.2 ≤ Le ≤ 2.0, and for various Reynolds number associated with the flame propagation in the range 5 ≤ Re ≤ 30. As a result, a strong coupling between the wall conditions and the variations of the Lewis and Reynolds numbers is demonstrated. Specifically, it is observed that the increase in the Lewis number results in moderation of flame tip acceleration. It is also found that there is a change in the burning rate and surface area of the flame front at the lower Lewis numbers, where flames appear unstable against the diffusional-thermal flame instability. Moreover, a substantial difference between the cases of isothermal and adiabatic wall conditions is demonstrated.


Author(s):  
W. Terrell

The goal of this paper is to examine the effects of size and aspect ratio (H/L) of open cavities on heat and mass transfer during open door conditions of refrigerator cabinets. An experimental investigation was conducted using test cavities constructed from foam board insulation and interior covered with aluminum plates acting as calorimeters. Various size cavities with heights of 15.24 cm, 30.48 cm, and 45.72 cm along with aspect ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 were tested. Cavities were heated to an initial temperature of 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, and 80°C before being exposed to the ambient air. In addition, tests were conducted in which the cavities were cooled before being exposed to the ambient. The relative humidity was varied from 60% to 75% and initial temperatures varied from 5°C, 1°C, and −5°C. The cavity mass fluxes were measured to validate the heat/mass transfer analogy for the tests. Experimental results were also presented for Rayleigh numbers from 5.88 × 106 to 2.21 × 108 with Nusselt numbers ranging from 15.48 to 53.51. The Nusselt numbers for cavities with an aspect ratio of one and two were in good agreement with each other. The Nusselt numbers for the cavity with an aspect ratio of 0.5 were slightly lower than the other cavities at given Rayleigh values.


Author(s):  
C. T. Wang ◽  
C. P. Chang ◽  
C. K. Shaw ◽  
J. Y. Cheng

Fuel cells possessing high potency and low pollution are well known and are considered the new generation of power technology. This study presents a novel bionic concept flow slab design to improve fuel cell performance. A series of 2D simulations was executed at Re=10 and 100 for the bionic flow and traditional flow slabs. In addition, the effect of aspect ratio was studied using 3D simulation. Numerical results obtained show that this novel bionic flow slab design will exhibit better performance than traditional flow slabs regardless of Reynolds numbers and aspect ratios because it possesses a more uniform velocity and a lower pressure drop. Finally, the performance in the bionic flow slab’s reaction area was determined to be superior. These findings show that the bionic concept and flow slab design addressed in this paper will be useful in enhancing fuel cell performance.


Author(s):  
Lesley M. Wright ◽  
Eungsuk Lee ◽  
Je-Chin Han

The effect of rotation on smooth narrow rectangular channels and narrow rectangular channels with pin-fins is investigated in this study. Pin-fins are commonly used in the narrow sections within the trailing edge of the turbine blade; the pin-fins act as turbulators to enhance internal cooling while providing structural support in this narrow section of the blade. The rectangular channel is oriented at 150° with respect to the plane of rotation, and the focus of the study involves narrow channels with aspect ratios of 4:1 and 8:1. The enhancement due to both conducting (copper) pin-fins and non-conducting (plexi-glass) pins is investigated. Due to the varying aspect ratio of the channel, the height-to-diameter ratio (hp/Dp) of the pins varies from two, for an aspect ratio of 4:1, to unity, for an aspect ratio of 8:1. A staggered array of pins with uniform streamwise and spanwise spacing (xp/Dp = sp/Dp = 2.0) is studied. With this array, 42 pin-fins are used, giving a projected surface density of 3.5 pins/in2 (0.543 pins/cm2), for the leading or trailing surfaces. The range of flow parameters include Reynolds number (ReDh = 5000–20000), rotation number (Ro = 0.0–0.302), and inlet coolant-to-wall density ratio (Δρ/ρ = 0.12). Heat transfer in a stationary pin-fin channel can be enhanced up to 3.8 times that of a smooth channel. Rotation enhances the heat transferred from the pin-fin channels 1.5 times that of the stationary pin-fin channels. Overall, rotation enhances the heat transfer from all surfaces in both the smooth and pin-fin channels. Finally, as the rotation number increases, spanwise variation increases in all channels.


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