Endwall heat transfer and pressure drop in rectangular channels with attached and detached circular pin-fin array

Endwall heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in four rectangular channels with a channel aspect ratio of 4 and the staggered arrays of circular pin-fins with four clearances (C) between pin-tips and the measured endwall of 0, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 pin-diameter (d) are examined comparatively at Reynolds numbers (Re) of 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000 and 30,000 to determine the effects of pin-tip leakages on the endwall heat transfer and on channel inlet-to-exit pressure drops. The accelerated flows through pin-to-endwall clearances modify the protrusion-endwall interactions that affect the horseshoe vortices as well as the downstream wakes and shear layer separations. By way of increasing C/d ratio from 0 to 3/4, the area averaged endwall Nusselt numbers decrease with substantial reductions in channel inlet-to-exit pressure drops. The endwall heat transfer level with detached pin-fins at C/d = 1/4 is somewhat less than that with attached pin-fins but the pressure drop coefficient of the former is much lower than that of the later, which leads to the highest thermal performance factor among the four comparative cases in the Re range examined by this study. A set of correlations that evaluate the area averaged endwall Nusselt number and the pressure drop coefficient with Re and C/d as the controlling parameters are derived.     

Measurement of endwall heat transfer and pressure drop in a pin-fin wedge duct

This paper discusses the measurements of endwall heat transfer and pressure drop in a wedge-shaped duct inserted with an array of circular pin fins. The endwall surface is coated with a thin layer of thermochromic liquid crystals and a transient test is run to obtain detailed heat transfer distributions. Parametric studies include Reynolds number (10,000?Re?50,000), outlet flow orientation (straight and lateral) and pin configuration (staggered and in-line). The wedge duct has a convergent angle of 12.7°. The pin spacing-to-diameter ratios along the longitude and transverse directions are fixed at s_x/d=s_y/d=2.5. Pin-less wedge duct results are also obtained for comparison. Results indicated that the straight wedge duct with a staggered pin array is most recommended because of its significant endwall heat transfer and moderate pressure-drop penalty; while the turned wedge duct with a staggered pin array is least recommended since it yields the highest pressure drops and raises severe hot spots. A similarity of the pin Reynolds-number dependence of row-averaged Nusselt number is developed in the present wedge duct of accelerating flow.     

Laminar convective heat transfer and pressure drop in the corrugated channels

The results of the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop in the corrugated channel under constant heat flux are presented in the present study. The test section is the channel with two opposite corrugated plates which all configuration peaks lie in an in-line arrangement. The corrugated plates with three different corrugated tile angles of 20°, 40°, and 60° are tested with the height of the channel of 12.5 mm. The experiments are done for the heat flux and the Reynolds number in the ranges of 0.5–1.2 kW/m² and 500–1400, respectively. Effect of relevant parameters on the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop are discussed. Due to the presence of recirculation zones, the corrugated surface has significant effect on the enhancement of heat transfer and pressure drop.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop in corrugated channels

The convective heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of flow in corrugated channels have been experimentally investigated. Experiments were performed on channels of uniform wall temperature and of fixed corrugation ratio over a range of Reynolds number, 3220 ≤ Re ≤ 9420. The effects of channel spacing and phase shift variations on heat transfer and pressure drop are discussed. Results of corrugated channels flow showed a significant heat transfer enhancement accompanied by increased pressure drop penalty. The average heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop enhanced by a factor of 2.6 up to 3.2 and 1.9 to 2.6 relative to those for parallel plate channel, respectively, depending upon the spacing and phase shift. The friction factor increased with increasing channel spacing and its phase shift. The effect of spacing variations on heat transfer and friction factor was more pronounced than that of phase shift variation, especially at high Reynolds number. Comparing results of the tested channels by considering the flow area goodness factor (j/f), it was better for corrugated channel with spacing ratio, ? ≤ 3.0 and of phase shift, Ø ≤ 90°. Comparisons of the present data with those available in literature are presented and discussed.     

Pressure drop and heat transfer of square pin-fin arrays in in-line and staggered arrangements

This work experimentally studied the pressure drop and heat transfer of a square pin-fin array in a rectangular channel by using the transient single-blow technique. The variable parameters are the relative longitudinal pitch (X_L = 1.5, 2, 2.8), the relative transverse pitch (X_T = 1.5, 2, 2.8) and the arrangement (in-line or staggered). Compared with the open articles, the present relative pitches are smaller and independently variable. The performance of the square pin-fins as the cooling devices is compared with that of the circular pin-fins. Besides, empirical formulas for the pressure loss and the heat transfer are suggested. Finally, the optimal inter-fin pitches are provided based on the largest Nusselt number under the same pumping power, while the optimal inter-fin pitches of square pin-fins are X_T = 2 and X_L = 1.5 for the arrays in in-line arrangements as well as X_T = 1.5 and X_L = 1.5 for the arrays in staggered arrangements.     

Local convective boiling heat transfer and pressure drop of nanofluid in narrow rectangular channels

This paper reports an experimental study on convective boiling heat transfer of nanofluids and de-ionized water flowing in a multichannel. The test copper plate contains 50 parallel rectangular minichannels of hydraulic diameter 800 μm. Experiments were performed to characterize the local heat transfer coefficients and surface temperature using copper–water nanofluids with very small nanoparticles concentration. Axial distribution of local heat transfer is estimated using a non-intrusive method. Only responses of thermocouples located inside the wall are used to solve inverse heat conduction problem. It is shown that the distribution of the local heat flux, surface temperature, and local heat transfer coefficient is dependent on the axial location and nanoparticles concentration. The local heat transfer coefficients estimated inversely are close to those determined from the correlation of Kandlikar and Balasubramanian [An extension of the flow boiling correlation to transition, laminar and deep laminar flows in minichannels and microchannels, Heat Transfer Eng. 25 (3) (2004) 86–93.] for boiling water. It is shown that the local heat flux, local vapor quality, and local heat transfer coefficient increase with copper nanoparticles concentration. The surface temperature is high for de-ionized water and it decreases with copper nanoparticles concentration.     

Generalized correlations for predicting heat transfer and pressure drop in plate heat exchanger channels of arbitrary geometry

Characteristics of the flow in chevron plate heat exchangers are investigated through visualization tests of channels with β = 28° and β = 61°. Mathematical model is then developed with the aim of deriving correlations for prediction of f and Nu for flow in channels of arbitrary geometry (β and b/l). Thermal and hydraulic characteristics are evaluated using analytical solutions for the entrance and fully developed regions of a sinusoidal duct adapted to the basic single cell. The derived correlations are finally adjusted so as to agree with experimental results from tests on channels with β = 28° and β = 65°. f and Nu calculated by the presented correlations are shown to be consistent with experimental data from the literature at Re = 2–10,000, β = (15–67)° and b/l = 0.26–0.4.     

Shape design of millimeter-scale air channels for enhancing heat transfer and reducing pressure drop

The present study is aimed at shape design of a millimeter-scale air channel for increasing heat transfer to the air from the heated channel wall and reducing pressure drop between the inlet and the outlet. The approach is developed by combining a direct problem solver with an optimization method. A two-dimensional theoretical model is used to develop a direct problem solver, which provides the numerical predictions of the thermal and flow fields associated with the varying shape profile during the iterative optimization process. Meanwhile, the simplified conjugate-gradient method (SCGM) is used as the optimization method which continuously updates the shape until the objective function is minimized. In this paper, a method based on a point-by-point technique for constructing the shape profile is employed. This method is particularly suitable for determining the irregular profiles that cannot be approximated by the polynomial functions. The optimal shapes at different inlet velocities are obtained. It is found that the search process is robust and always leads to the same optimal solution regardless of the initial guess.     

Numerical investigation of heat transfer and pressure drop in enhanced tubes

This study investigates passive heat transfer enhancement techniques to determine the distribution of temperature and static pressure in test tubes, the friction factor, the heat flux, the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet fluid temperatures, the pressure drop penalty and the numerical convective heat transfer coefficient, and then compares the results to the experimental data of Zdaniuk et al. It predicts the single-phase friction factors for the smooth and enhanced tubes by means of the empirical correlations of Blasius and Zdaniuk et al. This study performed calculations on a smooth tube and two helically finned tubes with different geometric parameters also used in the analyses of Zdaniuk et al. It also performed calculations on two corrugated tubes in the simulation study. In Zdaniuk et al.'s experimental setup, the horizontal test section was a 2.74 m long countercurrent flow double tube heat exchanger with the fluid of water flowing in the inner copper tube (15.57–15.64 mm i.d.) and cooling water flowing in the annulus (31.75 mm i.d.). Their test runs were performed at a temperature around 20 °C for cold water flowing in the annulus while Reynolds numbers ranged from 12,000 to 57,000 for the water flowing in the inner tube. A single-phase numerical model having three-dimensional equations is employed with either constant or temperature dependent properties to study the hydrodynamics and thermal behaviors of the flow. The temperature contours are presented for inlet, outlet and fully developed regions of the tube. The variations of the fluid temperature and static pressure along tube length are shown in the paper. The results obtained from a numerical analysis for the helically tubes were validated by various friction factor correlations, such as those found by Blasius and Zdaniuk et al. Then, numerical results were obtained for the two corrugated tubes as a simulation study. The present study found that the average deviation is less than 5% for the friction factors obtained by the Fluent CFD program while Blasius's correlation has the average deviation of less than 10%. The corrugated tubes have a higher heat transfer coefficient than smooth tubes but a lower coefficient than helically finned tubes. The paper also investigates the pressure drop penalty for the heat transfer enhancement.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop in a new type of corrugated channels

An experimental investigation of heat transfer and pressure drop from a new type of corrugated channels is presented. The investigation has been carried out for Reynolds numbers in the range of $\text{800 <}\text{Re}\text{< 5000}$ for one corrugated and one smooth channel. It is found that the heat transfer from the corrugated channel is up to 3.5 times higher than for the smooth one. The pressure drop is however large (5 – 6 times the value of a smooth channel) and it is suggested that the corrugation height and length should be altered in order to balance the increases in heat transfer and pressure drop.     

Condensing heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of hydrocarbon refrigerants

This paper presents the experimental results of condensing heat transfer coefficients and pressure gradients of HC refrigerants (e.g. R-1270, R-290 and R-600a) and R-22 in horizontal double pipe heat exchangers, having two different internal diameters of 12.70 mm and 9.52 mm (OD), respectively. Both the local condensing heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops (inside the tube) of hydrocarbon refrigerants were higher than R-22. The average condensing heat transfer coefficient increased with the mass flux. The experimental heat transfer coefficients agreed with the correlations of Shah, Travis and Cavallini–Zecchin’s to within ±20%. These results can be useful in the design of new heat exchangers involving hydrocarbon refrigerants for future air-conditioning systems.     

Endwall convective heat transfer for bluff bodies

The endwall heat transfer characteristics of forced flow past bluff bodies have been investigated using liquid crystal thermography (LCT). The bluff body is placed in a rectangular channel with both its ends attached to the endwalls. The Reynolds number varies from 50,000 to 100,000. In this study, a single bluff body and two bluff bodies arranged in tandem are considered. Due to the formation of horseshoe vortices, the heat transfer is enhanced appreciably for both cases. However, for the case of two bluff bodies in tandem, it is found that the presence of the second bluff body decreases the heat transfer as compared to the case of a single bluff body. In addition, the results show that the heat transfer exhibits Reynolds number similarity. For a single bluff body, the Nusselt number profiles collapse well when the data are scaled by Re^0.55; for two bluff bodies arranged in tandem, the heat transfer scaling is changed to Re^0.51, indicating that the power index of Reynolds number is flow dependent.     

Study on the convective heat transfer and pressure drop in the micro-channel heat sink

Experiments have been performed to investigate the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop in the micro-channel heat sinks under constant heat flux conditions. The experiments are performed for the Reynolds number and heat flux in the ranges of 200–1000 and 1.80–5.40 kW/m², respectively. The micro-channel heat sink with two different channel heights and two different channel widths are accomplished by wire electrical discharge machine. Effects of different geometrical configurations parameters of the micro-channel and heat flux on the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop are considered. The micro-channel geometry configuration has significant effect on the enhancement heat transfer and pressure drop. The results of this study are expected to lead to guidelines that will allow the design of the micro-channel heat exchangers with improved heat transfer performance of the electronic devices.     

板式换热器传热和阻力特性的实验研究

利用搭建的液-液型板式换热器试验平台,根据实验数据运用定性雷诺数法拟合出传热关联式,找出Nu与摩擦因子f之间的通用关系式,为板式换热器的设计计算提供了依据。运用传热量与功率的消耗比来评价板式换热器的性能,找出了影响其性能的主要因素,进一步澄清了单纯依靠提高流速来增加传热性能是不经济的。     

Heat transfer and pressure drop in spacer-filled channels for membrane energy recovery ventilators

This article investigates various support spacers for airflow through membrane-bound channels in energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) to enhance heat and mass transfer. Although liquid flow through membrane-bound channels has been extensively investigated, little work has looked at airflow through these channels. This article presents theoretical pressure drop and heat transfer for an open channel and for simple triangular corrugation (or plain-fin) spacers, which are common in heat exchangers and in some ERVs. It then presents the experimental pressure drop and heat transfer for two new corrugated mesh spacers, with one spacer in three orientations. Results indicate that these can improve heat transfer with little pressure-drop penalty compared to the triangular corrugation spacers. Results also show that unsteady flow occurs in the mesh spacers once a certain flow rate is reached. The optimal spacer depends on the application, which is shown with a cost savings estimate for a hypothetical ERV. Simpler performance metrics that do not require cost estimates can be used to compare two spacers, as long as their limitations are considered.     

Saturated flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop in silicon microchannel arrays

Flow boiling in arrays of parallel microchannels is investigated using a silicon test piece with imbedded discrete heat sources and integrated local temperature sensors. The microchannels considered range in width from 102 μm to 997 μm, with the channel depth being nominally 400 μm in each case. Each test piece has a footprint of 1.27 cm by 1.27 cm with parallel microchannels diced into one surface. Twenty five microsensors integrated into the microchannel heat sinks allow for accurate local temperature measurements over the entire test piece. The experiments are conducted with deionized water which enters the channels in a purely liquid state. Results are presented in terms of temperatures and pressure drop as a function of imposed heat flux. The experimental results allow a critical assessment of the applicability of existing models and correlations in predicting the heat transfer rates and pressure drops in microchannel arrays, and lead to the development of models for predicting the two-phase pressure drop and saturated boiling heat transfer coefficient.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of peripheral-finned tube heat exchangers

The peripheral-finned tube is a new geometry aimed at avoiding moisture-condensate blockage hindering of the air-side heat transfer, by allowing for robust air flow pathways. It consists of a porous structure formed by periodic, radial-hexagonal fin arrangements of different radial extents mounted with a 30° offset from its neighboring level. Here, the air-side pressure drop and the heat transfer characteristics of five different heat exchanger prototypes with different geometric characteristics, such as the radial fin length, fin distribution, and heat exchanger length, were evaluated experimentally in an open-loop wind-tunnel calorimeter. The results demonstrate the effective performance, i.e., the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics, of this new heat exchanger. A one-dimensional theoretical model based on the porous media treatment was also developed to predict the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the heat exchanger. The model incorporates the actual fin geometry into the calculation of the air-side porosity. The air-side permeability is calculated according to the Kozeny–Carman model and the particle-diameter based analysis. The model predicts the experimental data within a few percent RMS, depending on the correlations used for the friction coefficient and interstitial Nusselt number.     

Parametric study of unsteady flow and heat transfer in a pin-fin heat exchanger

A numerical study has been carried out to analyze the unsteady three-dimensional flow and heat transfer in a parallel-plate channel heat exchanger with in-line arrays of periodically mounted rectangular cylinders (pins) at various Reynolds number and geometrical configurations. The three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes and energy equations are solved using higher order temporal and spatial discretizations. The simulations have been carried out for a range of Reynolds number based on cylinder width (180-600) and a Prandtl number of 6.99 (corresponding to water). Conjugate heat transfer calculations have been employed to account for the conduction in the solid cylinder and convection in the fluid. The thermal performance factor (TPF) increases significantly when the flow becomes unsteady. The choice of aspect ratio of the cylinders is judged by their relative increase in friction factor and heat transfer at transitional Reynolds number. The TPF is found to increase with the increase in pitch of the cylinders. The increase in channel height enhances the TPF though the heat transfer decreases at higher channel height.     

Exergy transfer effectiveness on heat exchanger for finite pressure drop

In this paper, exergy transfer effectiveness is defined to describe the performance of heat exchangers operating above/below the surrounding temperature with/without finite pressure drop. It is discussed systemically that the effects of heat transfer units number, the ratio of the heat capacity of cold fluids to that of hot fluids and flow patterns on exergy transfer effectiveness of heat exchangers. Furthermore, the results of exergy transfer effectiveness with a finite pressure drop are compared with those without pressure drop when different objective media, such as ideal gas and incompressible liquid, etc. are applied. The detailed comparisons of the exergy transfer effectiveness with heat transfer effectiveness are also performed for the parallel flow, counter flow and cross flow heat exchangers operating above/below the surrounding temperature.