Tracheid and Pit Dimensions Hardly Vary in the Xylem of Pinus sylvestris Under Contrasting Growing Conditions

Maintaining sufficient water transport via the xylem is crucial for tree survival under variable environmental conditions. Both efficiency and safety of the water transport are based on the anatomical structure of conduits and their connections, the pits. Yet, the plasticity of the xylem anatomy, particularly that of the pit structures, remains unclear. Also, trees adjust conduit dimensions to the water transport distance (i.e., tree size), but knowledge on respective adjustments in pit dimensions is scarce. We compared tracheid traits [mean tracheid diameter d, mean hydraulic diameter dh, cell wall reinforcement (t/b)2], pit dimensions (diameters of pit aperture Da, torus Dt, margo Dm, and pit border Dp), and pit functional properties (margo flexibility F, absolute overlap Oa, torus overlap O, and valve effect Vef) of two Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands of similar tree heights but contrasting growth rates. Furthermore, we analyzed the trends of these xylem anatomical parameters across tree rings. Tracheid traits and pit dimensions were similar on both sites, whereas Oa, O, and F were higher at the site with a lower growth rate. On the lower growth rate site, dh and pit dimensions increased across tree rings from pith to bark, and in trees from both sites, dh scaled with pit dimensions. Adjusted pit functional properties indicate slightly higher hydraulic safety in trees with a lower growth rate, although a lack of major differences in measured traits indicated overall low plasticity of the tracheid and pit architecture. Mean hydraulic diameter and pit dimension are well coordinated to increase the hydraulic efficiency toward the outer tree rings and thus with increasing tree height. Our results contribute to a better understanding of tree hydraulics under variable environmental conditions.

The Effect of Hydraulic Diameter on Flow Boiling within Single Rectangular Microchannels and Comparison of Heat Sink Configuration of a Single and Multiple Microchannels

Phase change heat transfer within microchannels is considered one of the most promising cooling methods for the efficient cooling of high-performance electronic devices. However, there are still fundamental parameters, such as the effect of channel hydraulic diameter Dh, whose effects on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are not clearly defined yet. The objective of the present work is to numerically investigate the first transient flow boiling characteristics from the bubble inception up to the first stages of the flow boiling regime development, in rectangular microchannels of varying hydraulic diameters, utilising an enhanced custom VOF-based solver. The solver accounts for conjugate heat transfer effects, implemented in OpenFOAM and validated in the literature through experimental results and analytical solutions. The numerical study was conducted through two different sets of simulations. In the first set, flow boiling characteristics in four single microchannels of Dh = 50, 100, 150, and 200 μm with constant channel aspect ratio of 0.5 and length of 2.4 mm were examined. Due to the different Dh, the applied heat and mass flux values varied between 20 to 200 kW/m2 and 150 to 2400 kg/m2s, respectively. The results of the two-phase simulations were compared with the corresponding initial single-phase stage of the simulations, and an increase of up to 37.4% on the global Nu number Nuglob was revealed. In the second set of simulations, the effectiveness of having microchannel evaporators of single versus multiple parallel microchannels was investigated by performing and comparing simulations of a single rectangular microchannel with Dh of 200 μm and four-parallel rectangular microchannels, each having a hydraulic diameter Dh of 50 μm. By comparing the local time-averaged thermal resistance along the channels, it is found that the parallel microchannels configuration resulted in a 23.3% decrease in the average thermal resistance R¯l compared to the corresponding single-phase simulation stage, while the flow boiling process reduced the R¯l by only 5.4% for the single microchannel case. As for the developed flow regimes, churn and slug flow dominated, whereas liquid film evaporation and, for some cases, contact line evaporation were the main contributing flow boiling mechanisms.

Thermal Analysis of Microchannels Heat Sink using Super-hydrophobic Surface

Electronics devices are the major part of modern technology and with the rapid growth of miniaturizations of electronic devices, the heat dissipation from these devices have been the objective for researchers. This heat dissipation has to done effectively otherwise this will affect the life of device and will result decrement in efficiency. Increasing the heat transfer rates from electronic devices has long been a quest. Microchannel heat sink is one of the best option for removing heat from the electronics devices due to its compact size which provides high surface area to volume ratio that enables higher heat transfer rates. Microchannels are the flow passages having hydraulic diameter ranges from 10 micrometer (µm) to 200µm. Microchannel heat sink enhances the feasibility of electronics device. Microchannels with hydrophobic surface are a promising candidate for cooling of electronics devices, as hydrophobic surface can be used to create friction free regions with a channel which effectively reduce pumping power, flow pressure drop and frictional factor compared to Microchannel without Hydrophobic surface. This paper deals with the detailed behavior of Microchannel with hydrophobic surface. In this work, rectangular cross section with 0.8 mm (800 micron) hydraulic diameter super hydrophobic microchannel is used. Keywords: Microchannel, Hydrophobic surface, Heat transfer rate, Frictional factor.

Effect of Discrete Ribs on Heat Transfer and Friction Inside Narrow Rectangular Cross Section Cooling Passage of Gas Turbine Blade

The performance of a gas turbine during the service life can be enhanced by cooling the turbine blades efficiently. The objective of this study is to achieve high thermohydraulic performance (THP) inside a cooling passage of a turbine blade having aspect ratio (AR) 1:5 by using discrete W and V-shaped ribs. Hydraulic diameter (Dh) of the cooling passage is 50 mm. Ribs are positioned facing downstream with angle-of-attack (α) of 30° and 45° for discrete W-ribs and discerte V-ribs respectively. The rib profiles with rib height to hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh) or blockage ratio 0.06 and pitch (P) 36 mm are tested for Reynolds number (Re) range 30000-75000. Analysis reveals that, area averaged Nusselt numbers of the rib profiles are comparable, with maximum difference of 6% at Re 30000, which is within the limits of uncertainty. Variation of local heat transfer coefficients along the stream exhibited a saw tooth profile, with discrete W-ribs exhibiting higher variations. Along spanwise direction, discrete V-ribs showed larger variations. Maximum variation in local heat transfer coefficients is estimated to be 25%. For experimented Re range, friction loss for discrete W-ribs is higher than discrete-V ribs. Rib profiles exhibited superior heat transfer capabilities. The best Nu/Nuo achieved for discrete Vribs is 3.4 and discrete W-ribs is 3.6. In view of superior heat transfer capabilities, ribs can be deployed in cooling passages near the leading edge, where the temperatures are very high. The best THPo achieved is 3.2 for discrete V-ribs and 3 for discrete W-ribs at Re 30000. The ribs can also enhance the power-toweight ratio as they can produce high thermohydraulic performances for low blockage ratios.

Application of the Hydraulic Diameter of Interdendritic Space for Calculating the Ultimate Tensile Strength of Gray Cast Iron

A comparative analysis of methods for estimating the gray cast iron ultimate tensile strength σu by the hydraulic diameter of interdendritic space DHydIP and the volume fraction of primary austenite dendrites fdc is performed. Almost the same accuracy of cast iron castings σu estimation according to both these parameters DHydIP and fdc of the primary microstructure is shown.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Based Investigation of the Performance of Hybrid Heat Sinks

This article discusses the mathematical modeling of a straight microchannel heat sink, embedded with pin-fins, for purposes of liquid cooling of microelectronic chips. The influence of three different geometrical parameters, pin fins’ diameter, pitch, and hydraulic diameter, on the heat sinks performance is studied. The studies are performed for Reynolds numbers varying from 250 to 2000, and the results are quantified based on thermal resistance and pressure drop. The heat sinks embedded with pin fins have better performance in terms of thermal resistance but at the same time have higher pressure drop. Studies revealed that increasing the pin fins’ diameter, pitch, and hydraulic diameter have an influence on the thermal resistance; the thermal resistance is found to be decreasing with increasing these parameters for the same Reynolds number. For the cases studied, the reduction in thermal resistance of straight microchannels embedded with pin fins varied from 18% to 60% compared with that of traditional straight microchannels for different heat sinks configurations and Reynolds number. On the other hand, the pressure drop is increasing with an increase in pin fins’ diameter and pitch, while it is found to be decreasing with increasing the hydraulic diameter.

Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of Heat Sinks With Microchannel Embedded With Pin-fins

In this work, an investigation of the heat sink performance employing sinusoidal microchannels embedded with pin fins was conducted. The effect of the sine wave frequency, the pin fins’ diameter, and the hydraulic diameter of the microchannel are studied. The results are quantified in terms of thermal resistance and pressure drop. The study was done using Reynolds numbers varying from 250 to 2000. As Reynolds number increases, the heat sink’s thermal resistance decreased while the pressure drop increased accordingly for all scenarios. The sinusoidal microchannels showed better performance — lower thermal resistance — but with the cost of higher pressure drop compared to the straight microchannel heat sink. The heat sink’s performance was improved by increasing the frequency, diameter of pin fins, and hydraulic diameter; however, this reduction in thermal resistance was associated with an increase in pressure drop. The reduction in thermal resistance of the different configurations of the sinusoidal microchannels was between 17% and 69% compared to the straight microchannel heat sink.

Influence of Narrow Rectangular Channel ( AR = 1 : 4 ) on Heat Transfer and Friction for V- and W-Shaped Ribs in Turbine Blade Applications

Effective cooling of blades with a nominal pressure drop is essential for performance augmentation and thermal management of gas turbines. Hence, present work is aimed at determining the heat transfer enhancement and friction for W- and V-shaped ribs inside a rectangular cooling channel having hydraulic diameter ( D h ) of 0.048 m and aspect ratio ( AR ) 1 : 4. Ribs are fixed facing downstream with angle of attack ( α ) 45° on opposite walls. Pitch ( P ) between two successive ribs is 25 mm for both cases. Continuous V- and W-shaped ribs with height to channel hydraulic diameter ratio ( e / D h ) 0.052 and 0.0416 and pitch to height ratio ( P / e ) 10 and 12.5, respectively, have been examined for Reynolds number ( Re ) range 20000-80000. Heat transfer augmentation achieved at Re 80000 is 1.94 and 1.8 times higher than Re 20000 for V- and W-shaped ribs, respectively. Streamwise and spanwise variations in local Nusselt number ratio are highest for V-shaped ribs, which are estimated to be 31% and 12%. For W-shaped ribs, variations are 17.5% and 3.5%. Nusselt number ( Nu ) is highest along span length 0.5 w for V-shaped ribs due to dominance of apex induced secondary flow. For W-shaped ribs, Nusselt number along the span lengths is found to be nearly same view uniformity in secondary flow. Maximum enhancement ( Nu / N u o ) estimated for both the rib shapes is 3.9 at Re 20000. Due to increased rib height, friction losses for V-shaped ribs are higher than W-shaped ribs. Maximum friction loss increment is estimated to be 85% for V-shaped ribs and 42% for W-shaped ribs between Re 20000 and 40000. For both rib shapes, impact of ribs is found to be greatest at Re 40000. Thermohydraulic performance ( THP ) for W-shaped ribs is superior to V-shaped ribs. Best THP achieved for W- and V-shaped ribs are 3.7 and 3.4 at Re 20000.