Finite Analytic Solution of Convective Heat Transfer for Tube Arrays in Crossflow: Part I—Flow Field Analysis

The convective motion in two types of tube array is solved numerically by the Finite Analytic Method. The Finite Analytic Method utilizes the local analytic solution of governing differential equations in obtaining its discretized algebraic representation. Both in-line tube arrays and staggered tube arrays with longitudinal and transverse pitches of 2 are studied. The geometries are expressed in boundary-fitted coordinates on which the Navier–Stokes equations and energy equation are solved. Solutions for Reynolds numbers of 40, 120, 400, and 800 are obtained. Differences in stream function, vorticity function, and location of separation and reattachment for flow past in-line tube arrays and staggered tube array are predicted and compared. The zone of separation for both arrays tends to increase with increasing Reynolds number. The predicted results on flow field and heat transfer are shown to agree with available experimental measurements.

Finite Analytic Numerical Solution Axisymmetric Navier-Stokes and Energy Equations

Connective heat transfer for steady-state laminar flow in axisymmetric coordinates is considered. Numerical solutions for flow pattern and temperature distribution are obtained by the finite analytic numerical method applied to the Navier-Stokes equations expressed in terms of vorticity and stream function, and the energy equation. The finite analytic numerical method differs from other numerical methods in that it utilizes a local analytic solution in an element of the problem to construct the total numerical solution. Finite analytic solutions of vorticity, stream function, temperature, and heat transfer coefficients for flow with Reynolds numbers of 5, 100, 1000, and 2000, and Prandtl numbers of 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 with uniform grid sizes, are reported for an axisymmetric pipe with a sudden expansion and contraction. The wall temperature is considered to be isothermal and differs from the inlet temperature. It is shown that the finite analytic is stable, converges rapidly, and simulates the convection of fluid flow accurately, since the local analytic solution is capable of simulating automatically the influence of skewed convection through the element boundary on the interior nodal values, thereby minimizing the false numerical diffusion.