Experimental investigation into convective heat transfer of nanofluids at the entrance region under laminar flow conditions

This paper reports an experimental work on the convective heat transfer of nanofluids, made of γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and de-ionized water, flowing through a copper tube in the laminar flow regime. The results showed considerable enhancement of convective heat transfer using the nanofluids. The enhancement was particularly significant in the entrance region, and was much higher than that solely due to the enhancement on thermal conduction. It was also shown that the classical Shah equation failed to predict the heat transfer behaviour of nanofluids. Possible reasons for the enhancement were discussed. Migration of nanoparticles, and the resulting disturbance of the boundary layer were proposed to be the main reasons.     

Experimental investigation of turbulent heat transfer and flow characteristics of SiO2/water nanofluid within helically corrugated tubes

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of nanofluid on turbulent heat transfer and pressure drop inside concentric tubes. Water and SiO₂ with mean diameter of 30 nm were chosen as base fluid and nano-particles, respectively. Experiments were performed for plain tube and five roughened tube with various heights and pitches of corrugations. Results show that adding the nano-particles in tube with high height and small pitch of corrugations augments the heat transfer significantly with negligible pressure drop penalty. It is discussed on relative Nusselt number and thermal performance of heat exchanger.     

Experimental study of convective heat transfer and pressure drop of TiO2/water nanofluid

In this paper, an experimental study of convective heat transfer and pressure drop of turbulent flow of TiO₂-water nanofluid through a uniformly heated horizontal circular tube has been performed. The spherical TiO₂ nanoparticles with a nominal diameter of 15 nm are functionalized by a new chemical treatment and then dispersed in distilled water to form stable suspensions containing 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% volume concentrations of nanoparticles. Results indicate that heat transfer coefficients increase with increasing the nanofluid volume fraction and it is not changed with altering the Reynolds number. The enhancement of the Nusselt number is about 8% for nanofluid with 2.0% nanoparticle volume fraction at Re = 11,800.     

Investigation of turbulent convective heat transfer and pressure drop of TiO2/water nanofluid in circular tube

Turbulent heat transfer behavior of titanium dioxide/water nanofluid in a circular pipe was investigated experimentally where the volume fraction of nanoparticles in the base fluid was less than 0.25%. The experimental measurements have been carried out in the fully-developed turbulent regime for various volumetric concentrations. The results indicated that addition of small amounts of nanoparticles to the base fluid augmented heat transfer remarkably. There was no much effect on heat transfer enhancement with increasing the volume fraction of nanoparticles. The measurements also showed that the pressure drop of nanofluid was slightly higher than that of the base fluid and increased with increasing the volume concentration. In this paper, experimental results have been compared with the existing correlations for nanofluid convective heat transfer coefficient in turbulent regime. Finally, a new correlation of the Nusselt number will be presented using the results of the experiments with titanium dioxide nanoparticles dispersed in water.     

Scaling heat transfer in fully developed turbulent channel flow

An analysis is given for fully developed thermal transport through a wall-bounded turbulent fluid flow with constant heat flux supplied at the boundary. The analysis proceeds from the averaged heat equation and utilizes, as principal tools, various scaling considerations. The paper first provides an accounting of the relative dominance of the three terms in that averaged equation, based on existing DNS data. The results show a clear decomposition of the turbulent layer into zones, each with its characteristic transport mechanisms. There follows a theoretical treatment based on the concept of a scaling patch that justifies and greatly extends these empirical results. The primary hypothesis in this development is the monotone and limiting Peclet number dependence (at fixed Reynolds number) of the difference between the specially scaled centerline and wall temperatures. This fact is well corroborated by DNS data. A fairly complete qualitative and order-of-magnitude quantitative picture emerges for a complete range in Peclet numbers. It agrees with known empirical information. In a manner similar to previous analyses of turbulent fluid flow in a channel, conditions for the existence or nonexistence of logarithmic-like mean temperature profiles are established. Throughout the paper, the classical arguments based on an assumed overlapping of regions where the inner and outer scalings are valid are avoided.     

Simple power-type heat transfer correlations for turbulent pipe flow in tubes

Heat transfer in the turbulent flow of fluid in a pipe is analyzed. Nusselt number as a function of the Reynolds and Prandtl number is given. Power-type correlations were proposed within a wide range of Reynolds and Prandtl number. Relationships for the Nusselt number compare well with experimental data. The paper presents three power-type correlations of a simple form, which are valid for Reynolds numbers range from 3·103 ≤ Re ≤ 106, and for three different ranges of Prandtl number: 0.1 ≤ Pr ≤ 1.0, 1.0 Pr ≤ 3.0, and 3.0 Pr ≤ 103. Heat transfer correlations developed in the paper were compared with experimental results available in the literature. The comparisons performed in the paper confirm the good accuracy of the proposed correlations. They are also much simpler compared with the relationship of Gnielinski, which is also widely used in the heat transfer calculations.     

Flow and convective heat transfer characteristics of water-based Al2O3 nanofluids in fully developed laminar flow regime

We have measured the pressure drop and convective heat transfer coefficient of water-based Al₂O₃ nanofluids flowing through a uniformly heated circular tube in the fully developed laminar flow regime. The experimental results show that the data for nanofluid friction factor show a good agreement with analytical predictions from the Darcy’s equation for single-phase flow. However, the convective heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluids increases by up to 8% at a concentration of 0.3 vol% compared with that of pure water and this enhancement cannot be predicted by the Shah equation. Furthermore, the experimental results show that the convective heat transfer coefficient enhancement exceeds, by a large margin, the thermal conductivity enhancement. Therefore, we have discussed the various effects of thermal conductivities under static and dynamic conditions, energy transfer by nanoparticle dispersion, nanoparticle migration due to viscosity gradient, non-uniform shear rate, Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis on the remarkable enhancement of the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids. Based on scale analysis and numerical solutions, we have shown, for the first time, the flattening of velocity profile, induced from large gradients in bulk properties such as nanoparticle concentration, thermal conductivity and viscosity. We propose that this flattening of velocity profile is a possible mechanism for the convective heat transfer coefficient enhancement exceeding the thermal conductivity enhancement.     

Numerical study of forced convective heat transfer of Nanofluids: Comparison of different approaches

Forced convective of a nanofluid that consists of water and Al₂O₃ in horizontal tubes has been studied numerically. Computed results were validated with existing well established correlation. Two-phase Eulerian model has been implemented for the first time to study such a flow field. A single-phase model and two-phase mixture model formulations were also used for comparison. The comparison of calculated results with experimental values shows that the mixture model is more precise. It is illustrated that the single-phase model and the two-phase Eulerian model underestimates the Nusselt number. Effects of nanoparticles concentration on the thermal parameters are also discussed.     

Effect of thermophysical properties models on the predicting of the convective heat transfer coefficient for low concentration nanofluid

The term of nanofluid refers to a solid–liquid mixture with a continuous phase which is a nanometer sized nanoparticle dispersed in conventional base fluids. In order to study the heat transfer behavior of the nanofluids, precise values of thermal and physical properties such as specific heat, viscosity and thermal conductivity of the nanofluids are required. There are a few well-known correlations for predicting the thermal and physical properties of nanofluids which are often cited by researchers to calculate the convective heat transfer behaviors of the nanofluids. Each researcher has used different models of the thermophysical properties in their works. This article aims to summarize the various models for predicting the thermophysical properties of nanofluids which have been commonly cited by a number of researchers and use them to calculate the experimental convective heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluid flowing in a double-tube counter flow heat exchanger. The effects of these models on the predicted value of the convective heat transfer of nanofluid with low nanoparticle concentration are discussed in detail.     

Experimental study of forced convective heat transfer of nanofluids in a microchannel

The forced convective heat transfer for flow of water and aqueous nanofluids (containing colloidal suspension of silica nanoparticles) inside a microchannel was studied experimentally for the constant wall temperature boundary condition. Applications of nanofluids have been explored in the literature for cooling of micro-devices due to the anomalous enhancements in their thermo-physical properties as well as due to their lower susceptibility to clogging. The effect of flow rate on thermal performance of nanofluid is analyzed in this study. Variations of thermo-physical properties of the nanofluid samples were also measured. The experimental results show that heat transfer increases with flow rate for both water and nanofluid samples; however, for the nanofluid samples, heat transfer enhancements occur at lower flow rates and heat transfer degradation occurs at higher flow rates (compared to that of water). Electron microscopy of the heat-exchanging surface revealed that surface modification of the microchannel flow surface occurred due to nanoparticle precipitation from the nanofluid. Hence, the fouling of the microchannels by the nanofluid samples is believed to be responsible for the progressive degradation in the thermal performance, especially at higher flow rates. Hence, these results are observed to be consistent with previous experimental studies reported in the literature.     

Experimental study of turbulent convective heat transfer and pressure drop of dilute CuO/water nanofluid inside a circular tube

Turbulent convective heat transfer performance and pressure drop of very dilute (less than 0.24% volume) CuO/water nanofluid flowing through a circular tube were investigated experimentally. Measurements showed that addition of small amounts of nanosized CuO particles to the base fluid increased heat transfer coefficients considerably. In average 25% increase in heat transfer coefficient was observed with 20% penalty in pressure drop. Enhancement ratio did not show significant variation with concentration of CuO in nanofluid in the range studied in this work.     

Effect of Prandtl number on the turbulent thermal field in annular pipe flow

The effect of Prandtl number on the turbulent thermal statistics in fully developed annular pipe flow, with isoflux boundary conditions, is investigated by use of direct numerical simulation, for two values of Reynolds number. The Prandtl number has marked influence on the thermal field. With decreasing Pr, the conductive sublayer at both walls spreads from the walls to the core region, while the root mean square of temperature fluctuations and the turbulent heat fluxes are reduced near both walls. Asymptotic behaviours of these quantities are analyzed.     

Exergy transfer characteristics of forced convective heat transfer through a duct with constant wall heat flux

The examination of exergy transfer characteristics caused by forced convective heat transfer through a duct with constant wall heat flux for thermally and hydrodynamic fully developed laminar and turbulent flows has been presented. The exergy transfer Nusselt number is put forward and the dependence relationships of the exergy transfer Nusselt number on the heat transfer Nusselt number, Reynolds number and Prandtl number are obtained. Expressions involving relevant variables for the local and mean convective exergy transfer coefficient, non-dimensional exergy flux and exergy transfer rate, etc. have been derived. By reference to a smooth duct, the numerical results of exergy transfer characteristics for fluids with different Prandtl number are obtained and the effect of the Reynolds number and non-dimensional cross-sectional position on exergy transfer characteristics is analyzed. In addition, the results corresponding to the exergy transfer and energy transfer are compared.     

Experimental investigation of oxide nanofluids laminar flow convective heat transfer

In the present investigation nanofluids containing CuO and Al₂O₃ oxide nanoparticles in water as base fluid in different concentrations produced and the laminar flow convective heat transfer through circular tube with constant wall temperature boundary condition were examined. The experimental results emphasize that the single phase correlation with nanofluids properties (Homogeneous Model) is not able to predict heat transfer coefficient enhancement of nanofluids. The comparison between experimental results obtained for CuO / water and Al₂O₃ / water nanofluids indicates that heat transfer coefficient ratios for nanofluid to homogeneous model in low concentration are close to each other but by increasing the volume fraction, higher heat transfer enhancement for Al₂O₃ / water can be observed.     

Numerical study of flow and heat transfer characteristics of alumina-water nanofluids in a microchannel using the lattice Boltzmann method

In the present study, mathematical modeling is performed to simulate force d convection flow of Al₂O₃/water nanofluids in a microchannel using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Simulations are conducted at low Reynolds numbers (Re ≦ 16). Results indicate that the average Nusselt number increases with the increase of Reynolds number and particle volume concentration. The fluid temperature distribution is more uniform with the use of nanofluid than that of pure water. Furthermore, great deviations of computed Nusselt numbers using different models associated with the physical properties of a nanofluid are revealed. The results of LBM agree well with the classical CFD method for predictions of flow and heat transfer in a single channel and a microchannel heat sink concerning the conjugate heat transfer problem, and consequently LBM is robust and promising for practical applications.     

Inverse design involving combined radiative and turbulent convective heat transfer

This work considers an inverse boundary design problem which involves radiation and convection heat transfer. The objective is finding the heat flux distribution required on heaters located on the top and side walls of a two-dimensional enclosure that satisfies both the temperature and heat flux distributions prescribed on the design surface of the enclosure. A turbulent air flow is generated by a fan located inside the chamber. The problem is described by a system of non-linear, ill-conditioned equations, which is solved by an iterative procedure. The solution are obtained by regularizing the system of equations by means of the TSVD method.     

滑移区气体-颗粒流动与传热特性研究

针对气体-颗粒微尺度流动与传热过程开展数值模拟研究,所构建模型中气体处理为可压缩、变物性流体,并在颗粒表面采用速度滑移和温度跳跃边界条件以考虑气体稀薄效应。在数值模拟基础上,研究分析稀薄效应对颗粒与其周围气体流动与换热的影响程度,并进一步提出新的阻力系数与传热努谢尔特数关联式。研究结果表明,气体稀薄效应将减小颗粒阻力系数,同时抑制颗粒与其周围气体的传热过程。     

Transient convective heat transfer of steam-water two-phase flow in a helical tube under pressure drop type oscillations

Experiments for subcooled water flow and for steam-water two-phase flow were conducted to investigate the effects of pulsation upon transient heat transfer characteristics in a closed-circulation helical-coiled tube steam generator. The non-uniform property of local heat transfer with steady flow was examined. The secondary flow and the effect of interaction between the flow oscillation and secondary flow were analyzed on basis of the experimental data. Some new phenomena were observed and explained. Correlations were proposed for average and local heat transfer coefficients both under steady and oscillatory flow conditions. The results showed that there exist considerable variations in local and peripherally time-averaged Nusselt numbers for pulsating flow. Investigations of pressure drop type oscillations and their thresholds for steam-water two-phase flow in a uniformly heated helical tube were also reported.     

Influence of nanofluids on parallel flow square microchannel heat exchanger performance

The effects of using various types of nanofluids and Reynolds numbers on heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in a square shaped microchannel heat exchanger (MCHE) is numerically investigated in this study. The performance of an aluminum MCHE with four different types of nanofluids (aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), silicon dioxide (SiO₂), silver (Ag), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂)), with three different nanoparticle volume fractions of 2%, 5% and 10% using water as base fluid is comprehensively analyzed. The three-dimensional steady, laminar developing flow and conjugate heat transfer governing equations of a balanced MCHE are solved using the finite volume method. The MCHE performance is evaluated in terms of temperature profile, heat transfer rate, heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, wall shear stress pumping power, effectiveness, and overall performance index. The results reveal that nanofluids can enhance the thermal properties and performance of the heat exchanger while having a slight increase in pressure drop. It was also found that increasing the Reynolds number causes the pumping power to increase and the effectiveness to decrease.     

Exergy transfer characteristics of forced convective heat transfer through a duct with constant wall temperature

The exergy transfer characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer inside a circular duct under fully developed laminar and turbulent forced convection are presented. Temperature is kept constant at the duct wall. The exergy transfer Nusselt number is put forward and the analytical expressions for exergy transfer Nusselt number are obtained as functions of heat transfer Nusselt number, Reynolds number, Prandtl number, etc. The variations of the local and mean convective exergy transfer coefficient, non-dimensional exergy flux, exergy transfer rate, etc. with operating parameters are presented graphically. By reference to a smooth duct and taking air as working fluid, a numerical analysis of the influence of the Reynolds number and non-dimensional cross-sectional position on exergy transfer characteristics has been conducted. The results show that the process parameters and configuration in the fluid flow and heat transfer inside a duct should be properly selected so that the forced convection process could have the best exergy utilization. In addition, the results corresponding to the exergy transfer and energy transfer are compared.