Experimental Investigation of spherical food product at different air velocities and radial positions during forced convection cooling

Using pre-cooling technique, food products of perishable nature are desired to be conserved from spoiling. Fruits and vegetables and are suggested to be precooled just after harvesting to avoid any food decay. The precooling enhance their storage life and keeps up quality of vegetables and fruits. Thus, an experimental analysis has been carried out to study temperature variation of spherical food product, i.e. mosambi, during the precooling process. In the current study, the effect of three different air velocities, i.e. 4.3, 4.8 and 5.0 m/s, during precooling of spherical food product has been observed in a forced convection environment. Also, determination of the thermophysical properties of the spherical food product for three different radial positions, i.e. XC= 0.042 m (centre), XM= 0.028 mm (middle) and XS= 0.014 m (surface), has been carried out. The effect of different air velocities and different radial positions on temperature profile of food product was detected. It has been noticed that proper choice of cold air velocity can decrease cooling time of spherical food product, hence resulting in energy saving.

Sodium-Potassium Alloy Heat Pipe under Geyser Boiling Experimental Study: Heat Transfer Analysis

In the geyser boiling mode, the working fluid state is divided into a boiling process and a quiet process, and the sodium-potassium (Na-K) alloy heat pipe can discontinuously transfer heat at each boiling. The overheating of the liquid working fluid at the bottom causes short-term boiling and forms slug bubble, the strong condensing ability quickly conducts heat from the evaporator section. And geyser boiling can occur before the working fluid forms continuous flow, so it transfers more heat at lower temperatures than natural convection cooling. In this study, the heat transfer process of a Na-K alloy heat pipe with forced convection cooling under different heating power was experimental studied. The geyser boiling mode can make the Na-K alloy heat pipe work below 650 °C and reduce the start-up time. In the process of geyser boiling, the heat transfer quantity was increased by the boiling frequency and the amount of vapor produced in a single boiling. The boiling temperature had no obvious change with the increased of heating power, and the condenser section temperature increased with the heating power.

Experimental study of a natural convection flow in a cubic enclosure with a partially heated inner block

In many industrial contexts, buoyancy driven flows are the only cooling strategy in case of breakdown of the forced convection cooling system. In order to study those flows in a simplified configuration, a buoyancy-driven flow is generated inside a cubic enclosure by a partially heated block (Ra = 1.4 × 109). The flow is studied experimentally in the vertical median plane, in the part of the enclosure where the flow is generated i.e. close to the heated side of the block. Velocity fields, mean profiles and RMS statistics are analyzed. The results show the presence of boundary layer flows with a central zone nearly at rest and stratified. RMS velocities are intensified with elevation.

Flow and Thermal Resistance Network Modeling of Finned Heat Sinks With Bypass Mounted in Rectangular Enclosure

This study describes a thermal design method of forced convection cooling in high-density packaging electronic equipment for upstream design processes by flow and thermal resistance network analysis. Forced convection cooling by combining fans and heat sinks is the most standard strategy for dissipating heat from electronic equipment. In recent years, the thermal design of electronic equipment becomes more critical, and fast thermal design is required due to the rapid development of final products. We have been developing the flow and thermal resistance network analysis as the quick thermal design method for electronic equipment. However, an accurate prediction of forced convection cooling performance by finned heat sinks mounted in high-density packaging electronic equipment is generally tricky. Some bypasses, which are clearances between the heat sinks and enclosure walls or other components, exist around the heat sinks. Therefore, a flow rate distribution between the heat sink fins and the bypasses should be predicted. Many researchers have investigated hydrodynamic characteristics and heat transfer characteristics of finned heat sinks. However, many previous studies have been conducted on the finned heat sink performance when there are no bypasses. In order to achieve an optimum design of the finned heat sinks in the upstream configuration regardless of the heat sink dimensions, a systematic database of hydrodynamic characteristics and heat transfer characteristics of the finned heat sinks with bypasses should be investigated. This paper discusses the development of function models of pressure drop, flow rate distribution, and heat transfer of the finned heat sinks with the bypasses for the resistance network analysis through experiments and CFD analysis. Several types of finned heat sinks with 40 mm in width and 80 mm in length were prepared, and these were mounted in a rectangular enclosure with 45 mm in width and height. First, the pressure drop characteristic around the heat sink was investigated. In addition, the flow rate distribution between the heat sink and the bypass was evaluated separately. A flow branching coefficient was developed to predict the flow rate distribution around the heat sink combined with the pressure drop coefficient. Using the developed flow branching coefficient, the flow and thermal resistance network model around the finned heat sink was developed. The results from the proposed resistance network model showed good agreement with those from the experiment.

EDITORIAL

The editorial of Thermal Engineering of this issue continues the discussion on scientific research needs in vital areas in which thermal engineering has important participation. The main goal is to motivate the readers, within their specialties, to identify possible subjects for their future research. Natural Convection is present in the most diverse applications of Thermal Engineering, such as controlling and reducing temperatures in electronic systems, reducing the thermal efficiency of cooling in machining processes by the Leidenfrost effect and even in biological systems. With the increasing technological evolution and the development of industrial automation, microelectronics, quantum computing, signal processing, mobile telephony, etc., transmission systems operate increasingly with smaller spacing and higher integration rates between components, with greater power density and heat generation. As a result, there is a growing demand for cooling systems with greater safety, reliability, and efficiency. Therefore, natural convection cooling systems are viable alternatives due to their characteristics of: (A) protection and safety of the transmission system, especially in cases of mechanical and/or electrical failures of the forced cooling system; (B) high reliability and safety of operation; (C) low maintenance costs and (D) no noise. However, due to their low thermal efficiency, such cooling systems are still limited to applications with the low power density and/or combined with forced convection cooling systems. In this sense, the natural convection area is increasingly being researched to create and enable even smaller and more robust high power density transmission systems, with greater economic feasibility (lower costs of acquisition, manufacturing, and maintenance) and exclusively refrigerated (or with minimal use of forced cooling components) by natural convection; all without reducing the efficiency or reliability of these systems. One of the main technologies for thermal optimization of cooling systems researched is the inclusion of geometric surface modifications, through fins (extended surfaces) or corrugated surfaces. The use of corrugated surfaces has been gaining more space in the academic community and industry, standing out for: (A) increasing the area of exposure to the heated surface and the transfer of energy to the circulating fluid; (B) induce changes in the flow in the vicinity of the heated surface, such as the formation of vortices, recirculations, and zones of rarefaction and stagnation; and (C) anticipate and facilitate the flow transition process for the turbulent regime. The study of natural convection – in its most diverse applications and areas of theoretical, applied, and experimental investigation – has been widely explored by Thermal Engineering, arousing more and more the academic community's interest and motivating further research in this area. The mission of Thermal Engineering is to document the scientific progress in areas related to thermal engineering (e.g., energy, oil and renewable fuels). We are confident that we will continue to receive articles’ submissions that contribute to the progress of science. Sílvio Aparecido Verdério JúniorProfessor of Mechanical Engineering

Kirigami-processed cellulose nanofiber films for smart heat dissipation by convection

Heat dissipation has become increasingly important in electronics. Conventional convection cooling systems have significant material and dimensional constraints, and they have difficulty meeting the heat dissipation, miniaturization, and flexibility requirements of next-generation smart electronics. Here, we used kirigami (the traditional art of paper cutting) with a thermally conductive cellulose nanofiber film to propose a flexible cooling system through convective heat dissipation. By stretching the Amikazari (net decoration) pattern produced by kirigami and allowing air convection through its aperture at 3.0 m/s, the thermal resistance was reduced to approximately one-fifth of that without kirigami and convection. The kirigami apertures defined the outlet air velocity, resulting in a significant increase in the heat-transfer coefficient. Our kirigami heat dissipation concept enables the design of electronics using a variety of film materials as shape-variant cooling structures, which will inspire a wide range of thermal engineering and electronics applications.