Flow and heat transfer in rotating two-pass rectangular channels (AR=2) by Reynolds stress turbulence model

Numerical predictions of three-dimensional turbulent flow and heat transfer are presented for a rotating two-pass smooth rectangular channel with channel aspect ratio of 2:1. The focus of this study is to investigate the effect of rotation, channel orientation and the sharp 180° turn on the flow and heat transfer distributions. Two channel orientations are studied: β=90° and β=135°. A multi-block Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method was employed in conjunction with a near-wall second-moment turbulence closure. The Reynolds number (Re) is fixed at 10,000 while the rotation number (Ro) is varied from 0 to 0.22. Two inlet coolant-to-wall density ratios Δρ/ρ are studied (0.115 and 0.22). The numerical results are compared with the experimental data for both stationary and rotating two-pass rectangular channels.     

Unsteady RANS simulation of turbulent flow and heat transfer in ribbed coolant passages of different aspect ratios

The flow and heat transfer in ribbed coolant passages of aspect ratios (AR) 1:1, 4:1, and 1:4 are numerically studied through the solution of the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations. The URANS procedure, which utilizes a two equation k–ε model for the turbulent stresses, is shown to resolve large-scale bulk unsteadiness. The computations are carried out for a fixed Reynolds number of 25,000 and density ratio of 0.13, while the Rotation number is varied between 0.12 and 0.50.At higher rotation numbers (⩾0.5) at least three inter-rib modules are required to ensure periodicity in the streamwise direction. The flow exhibits unsteadiness in the Coriolis-driven secondary flow and in the separated shear layer. The average duct heat transfer is the highest for the 4:1 AR case. For this case, the secondary flow structures consist of multiple roll cells that direct flow both to the trailing and leading surfaces. The 1:4 AR duct shows flow reversal along the leading surface at high rotation numbers. For this AR, the potential for conduction-limited heat transfer along the leading surface is identified. The friction factor reveals an increase with the rotation number, and shows a significant increase at higher rotation numbers (∼Ro = 0.5).     

Effect of rotation on heat transfer in two-pass square channels with five different orientations of 45° angled rib turbulators

The effect of various 45° angled rib turbulator arrangements on the Nusselt number ratio in a rotating, two-pass, square channel is investigated for three Reynolds numbers (5000, 10,000, 25,000), with rotation number up to 0.11, and two channel orientations with respect to the axis of rotation (β=90° and 135°). Five different arrangements of rib turbulators are placed on the leading and trailing surfaces at an angle of +45° or −45° to the main stream flow. The rib height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/D) is 0.125; the rib pitch-to-height ratio (P/e) is 10; and the inlet coolant-to-wall density ratio (Δρ/ρ) is maintained around 0.11. The results show that the rotating ribbed surface Nusselt number ratios increase by a factor of 2 compared to the rotating smooth surface results. The results also show that the heat transfer enhancement depends on the rib-angle orientation (+45° or −45°) to the main stream flow in the first or second pass of the channel for both rotating and non-rotating conditions. Overall, the parallel rib cases show better heat transfer enhancement than the crossed rib case for both rotating and non-rotating conditions. The 90° channel orientation with respect to the axis of rotation produces greater rotating effect on heat transfer over the 135° channel orientation.     

Heat transfer enhancement by flow bifurcations in asymmetric wavy wall channels

The enhancement characteristics of heat transfer, through a transition scenario of flow bifurcations, in asymmetric wavy wall channels, are investigated by direct numerical simulations of the mass, momentum and energy equations, using the spectral element method. The heat transfer characteristics, flow bifurcation and transition scenarios are determined by increasing the Reynolds numbers for three geometrical aspect ratios r = 0.25, 0.375, and 0.5, and Prandtl numbers 1.0 and 9.4. The transition scenarios to transitional flow regimes depend on the aspect ratio. For the aspect ratios r = 0.25 and 0.5, the transition scenario is characterized by one Hopf flow bifurcation. For the aspect ratio r = 0.375, the transition scenario is characterized by a first Hopf flow bifurcation from a laminar to a periodic flow, and a second Hopf flow bifurcation from a periodic to quasi-periodic flow. The periodic and quasi-periodic flows are characterized by fundamental frequencies ω₁, and ω₁ and ω₂, respectively. For all the aspect ratios and Prandtl numbers, the time-average mean Nusselt number and heat transfer enhancement increases with the Reynolds number as the flow evolves from a laminar to a transitional regime. For both Prandtl numbers, the highest increase in the Nusselt number occurs for the aspect ratio r = 0.5; whereas, the lowest increases happen to r = 0.25. The increase of the Nusselt number occurs at the expense of a higher pumping power, which, for both Prandtl numbers, grows as the aspect ratio increases from r = 0.25 to r = 0.5 for reaching a specific Nusselt number. This enhancement is obtained without the necessity of high volumetric flow rates associated with turbulent flow regimes, which demand much higher pumping powers. Significant heat transfer enhancements are obtained when the asymmetric wavy channel is operated in the appropriate transitional Reynolds number range.     

Single-Phase Cryogenic Flow and Heat Transfer Through Microscale Pin Fin Heat Sinks

Single-phase heat transfer and pressure drop of liquid nitrogen in microscale heat sinks are studied experimentally in this paper. Effects of geometrical variations are characterized on the thermofluidic performance of staggered microscale pin fin heat sinks. Pitch-to-diameter ratio and aspect ratio of the micro pin fins are varied. The pin fins have square shape with 200 or 400 μm width and are oriented at 45 degrees to the flow direction. Thermal performance of the heat sinks is evaluated for Reynolds numbers (based on pin fin hydraulic diameter) from 108 to 570. Results are presented in a nondimensional form in terms of friction factor, Nusselt number, and Reynolds number and are compared with the predictions of existing correlations in the literature for micro pin fin heat sinks. Comparison of flow and heat transfer performance of the micro pin fin heat sinks reveals that at a particular critical Reynolds number of ～250, pin fin heat sinks with the same aspect ratio but larger pitch ratio show a transition in both friction factor and Nusselt number. In order to better characterize this transition, visualization experiments were performed with the Fluorinert PF5060 using an infrared camera. At the critical Reynolds number, for the larger pitch ratio pin fin heat sink, surface thermal intensity profiles suggest periodic flapping of the flow behind the pin fins at a Strouhal number of 0.227.     

Analysis of turbulent flow and heat transfer over a double forward facing step with obstacles

A numerical study has been conducted to analyze the turbulent forced convection heat transfer for double forward facing step flow with obstacles. Obstacles have rectangular cross-sectional area with different aspect ratio that is located before each step. The numerical solutions of continuity, momentum and energy equations were solved by using a commercial code which uses finite volume techniques. The effect of turbulence was modeled by using a k–ε model. The effects of step height, obstacle aspect ratio and Reynolds number on the flow and heat transfer are investigated. The obtained results show that the rate of heat transfer is enhanced as aspect ratio of obstacle increases and this trend is affected by the step height. Also the results verified that the pressure drop decreases as obstacle aspect ratio increases.     

Features of convective heat transfer in heated helium channel flow

The aim of the present work is to choose an optimal method for thermohydraulic calculation of the gas flow in channels with intense heating at the flow Reynolds number below 10,000. These conditions are typical of the cooling channels of the High-Flux-Test Module of the International-Fusion-Materials-Irradiation-Facility (IFMIF/HFTM). A low Reynolds number and a high heating rate can result in partial relaminarization of the initially turbulent flow, and hence in a decrease in the heat transfer. A number of turbulence models offered by the commercial STAR-CD code were tested on the basis of the comparison of the numerical predictions with experimental data. This comparison showed that the low-Reynolds-number k-ε turbulence models predict the heat transfer characteristics close to the experimental data. The k-ε linear low Reynolds number turbulence model of Lien was applied as more appropriate for the thermohydraulic analysis of the IFMIF high flux test module.     

Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics in Rib-/Deflector-Roughened Cooling Channels with Various Configuration Parameters

The present paper deals with a detailed numerical investigation of the turbulent flow inside a stationary rib-/deflector–roughened cooling channel. Various downstream-shaped deflectors including sloping-board deflectors [Cases A1, A2], guide-shaped deflectors [Cases B1, B2], and drop-shaped deflectors [Cases C1, C2] and configuration parameters such as channel aspect ratio (AR = 0.5, 1 and 2), and rib-pitch-to-rib-height ratio (P/e = 5, 8, and 10) are investigated. The main objective is to design an appropriate deflector to improve the flow characteristics in the wake of the deflectors and guide the flow between two neighboring rib turbulators to enhance the heat transfer performance. A quasi-three-dimensional flow structure, supported by the stream tracer field in some planes, is established to improve and deepen the understanding as well as the analysis of the complex flow field in the rib-/deflector–roughened channels. In addition, the thermal performance corresponding to various rib-pitch-to-rib-height ratios and aspect ratios emphasizes the role of the configuration parameters in the heat transfer and flow resistance performance. The results demonstrate that the deflectors trip the boundary layer and blend the fluid flow, and that the sloping board deflectors contribute to enlarging the turbulence level of the whole cooling channel, more than in the wake region. It is found that Cases A1 and A2 provide the best heat transfer performance, while Case C1 presents the largest thermal enhancement factor Nu/Nu₀/(f/f₀)^1/3 at high Reynolds number. The wide-aspect-ratio channel with deflectors and large pitch-to–height ratio ribs exhibits much better heat transfer performance.     

Prediction of Heat Transfer Coefficient in Saturated Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Parallel Rectangular Microchannel Heat Sinks: An Experimental Study

This study focuses mainly on the prediction of saturated flow boiling heat transfer in microchannels. A wide range of experiments has been carried out with de-ionized water to obtain a comprehensive data set. Experiments of mass fluxes of 51–728.7 kg/m²s, wall heat fluxes of 36–221.7 kW/m², vapor qualities of 0.01–0.69, liquid Reynolds number of 7.72–190, aspect ratios of 0.37–5.00 (with a constant hydraulic diameter of 100 µm) and hydraulic diameters of 100–250 µm (for constant aspect ratio = 1). A new correlation including the aspect ratio effect is proposed to predict the heat transfer coefficient for saturated flow boiling in microchannels. The proposed correlation shows very good predictions with an overall mean absolute error of 16.9% and 86.4%, 96.2% and 99.5% of the predicted data falling within ±30, ±40 and ±50% error bands, respectively.     

Numerical Analysis of Jet Impingement Heat Transfer at High Jet Reynolds Number and Large Temperature Difference

Jet impingement heat transfer from a round gas jet to a flat wall was investigated numerically for a ratio of 2 between the jet inlet to wall distance and the jet inlet diameter. The influence of turbulence intensity at the jet inlet and choice of turbulence model on the wall heat transfer was investigated at a jet Reynolds number of 1.66 × 10⁵ and a temperature difference between jet inlet and wall of 1600 K. The focus was on the convective heat transfer contribution as thermal radiation was not included in the investigation. A considerable influence of the turbulence intensity at the jet inlet was observed in the stagnation region, where the wall heat flux increased by a factor of almost 3 when increasing the turbulence intensity from 1.5% to 10%. The choice of turbulence model also influenced the heat transfer predictions significantly, especially in the stagnation region, where differences of up to about 100% were observed. Furthermore, the variation in stagnation point heat transfer was examined for jet Reynolds numbers in the range from 1.10 × 10⁵ to 6.64 × 10⁵. Based on the investigations, a correlation is suggested between the stagnation point Nusselt number, the jet Reynolds number, and the turbulence intensity at the jet inlet for impinging jet flows at high jet Reynolds numbers.     

Heat transfer and turbulent flow friction in a circular tube fitted with conical-nozzle turbulators

The paper deals with an experimental study of the influence of conical-nozzle turbulator inserts on heat transfer and friction characteristics in a circular tube. In the present work, the turbulators are placed in the test tube section with two different types: (1) diverging nozzle arrangement (D-nozzle turbulator) and (2) converging nozzle arrangement (C-nozzle turbulator). The turbulators are thoroughly inserted inside the tube with various pitch ratios, PR = 2.0, 4.0, and 7.0. The Reynolds number based on the bulk average properties of the air is in a range of 8000 to 18,000 and the experimental data obtained are compared with those obtained from the plain tube and from the literature. The experimental results reveal that increasing the Reynolds number at a given pitch ratio of the turbulators leads to the significant increase in Nusselt number indicating enhanced heat transfer coefficient due to rising convection as the flow increases. However, the friction factor at a given Reynolds number considerably increases with the reduction of pitch ratio and Reynolds number. The D-nozzle arrangement, creating stronger reverse/turbulence flow, provides higher the heat transfer rate and friction factor than the C-nozzle arrangement. The heat transfer rates obtained from using both nozzle-turbulators, in general, are found to be higher than that from the plain tube at a range of 236 to 344%, depending on Reynolds number and the turbulator arrangements. In addition, proposed correlations from the present experimental data for Nusselt number and friction factor are also presented.     

Calculation of turbulent flow and heat transfer in a porous-baffled channel

This study presents the numerical predictions on the turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics for rectangular channel with porous baffles which are arranged on the bottom and top channel walls in a periodically staggered way. The turbulent governing equations are solved by a control volume-based finite difference method with power-law scheme and the k-ε turbulence model associated with wall function to describe the turbulent structure. The velocity and pressure terms of momentum equations are solved by SIMPLE (semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equation) method.The parameters studied include the entrance Reynolds number Re (1×10⁴-5×10⁴), the baffle height (h=10, 20 and 30 mm) and kind of baffles (solid and porous); whereas the baffle spacing S/H are fixed at 1.0 and the working medium is air. The numerical calculations of the flow field indicate that the flow patterns around the porous- and solid-type baffles are entirely different due to different transport phenomena and it significantly influences the local heat transfer coefficient distributions. Relative to the solid-type baffle channel, the porous-type baffle channel has a lower friction factor due to less channel blockage.Concerning the heat transfer effect, both the solid-type and porous-type baffles walls enhanced the heat transfer relative to the smooth channel. It is further found that at the higher baffle height, the level of heat transfer augmentation is nearly the same for the porous-type baffle, the only difference being the Reynolds number dependence. As expected, the centerline-averaged Nusselt number ratio increases with increasing the baffle height because of the flow acceleration.     

Three‐dimensional turbulent forced convection around a hot cubic block exposed to a cross‐flow and an impinging jet

A numerical study of a three‐dimensional, turbulent, forced convection flow around a hot cubic block exposed to cross‐flow and an impinging jet is carried out. The standard k‐ε turbulence model is used to study the effects of Reynolds number ratio on the flow and heat transfer. For each value of the Reynolds number of the jet, the Reynolds number ratio is equal to 1, 1.5, and 2. The influence of the channel height and the jet axis location are also examined. The governing equations are solved by using Ansys Fluent software 14.5. Results show that the heat transfer increases with the increase in the Reynolds number ratio. At the top of the cube, better cooling occurs with an increase in the speed of the impinging jet. A reduction in the height of the channel and the displacement of the axis of the jet toward the channel inlet improve the heat transfer. Our simulations are compared with experimental data found in the literature, using different turbulence models.     

Direct numerical simulation of wall-normal rotating turbulent channel flow with heat transfer

Direct numerical simulation of wall-normal rotating channel flow with heat transfer has been performed for the rotation number N_τ from 0 to 0.1, the Reynolds number 194 based on the friction velocity of non-rotating case and the half-height of the channel, and the Prandtl number 1. The objective of this study is to reveal the effects of rotation on the characteristics of turbulence and heat transfer. Some statistical turbulence and heat transfer quantities, including the mean velocity, temperature and their fluctuations, turbulent heat fluxes, and turbulence structures, are investigated. Based on the present calculated results, two typical rotation regimes are identified. When 0 < N_τ < 0.06, the turbulence statistics correlated with the spanwise velocity fluctuation are enhanced since the shear rate of spanwise mean flow induced by Coriolis force increases; however, the other statistics are suppressed. When N_τ > 0.06, all the turbulence statistics are suppressed significantly. To elucidate the effects of rotation on the turbulent heat transfer, the budget terms in the transport equation of turbulent heat fluxes are analyzed. Remarkable change of the direction of near-wall streak structures of the velocity and temperature fluctuations, nearly in alignment with the absolute mean flow direction, is revealed. An attempt to evaluate the mean spacing and the direction of streaky structures near the wall has been examined based on the two-point correlations of the velocity and temperature fluctuations.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow and combined convective heat transfer in a square duct with axial rotation

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flow and convective heat transfer in a square duct with axial rotation were carried out. The pressure-driven flow is assumed to be hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed, for which the Reynolds number based on the friction velocity and hydraulic diameter is kept at constant (Re_τ = 400). In the finite length duct, two opposite walls are perfectly insulated and another two opposite walls are kept at constant but different temperatures. Four thermal boundary conditions were chosen in combination with axial rotation to study the effects of rotation and Grashof number on mean flow, turbulent quantities and momentum budget. The results show that thermal boundary conditions have significant effects on the topology of secondary flows, profiles of streamwise velocity, distribution of temperature and other turbulent statistic quantities but have marginal effects on the bulk-averaged quantities; Coriolis force affects the statistical results very slightly because it exerts on the plane normal to main flow direction and the rotation rate is low; Buoyancy effects on the turbulent flow and heat transfer increase with the increase of Grashof number (Gr), and become the major mechanism of the development of secondary flow, turbulence increase, and momentum and energy transport at high Grashof number.     

Local heat transfer distribution on a smooth flat plate impinged by a slot jet

Experimental investigation of local heat transfer distribution on a smooth flat plate impinged by a normal slot jet is conducted. Present study concentrates on the influence of jet-to-plate spacing (z/b) and Reynolds number on the fluid flow and heat transfer distribution. A single slot jet with an aspect ratio (l/b) of about 50 is chosen to get the fully developed flow at the nozzle exit. Reynolds number based on slot width is varied from 4200 to 12,000 and jet-to-plate spacing (z/b) is varied from 0.5 to 12. The local heat transfer coefficients are estimated from the thermal images obtained from infrared thermal imaging camera. Measurement for the static wall pressure is carried out for various jet-to-plate spacings at a Reynolds number of 12,000. Normalized value of turbulence and velocity are measured using hot wire anemometer along the streamwise direction (x/b) for jet-to-plate spacings (z/b) of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. The entire flow field is divided into three regimes namely stagnation region (laminar boundary layer associated with favorable pressure gradient), transition region (associated with increase in turbulence intensities and heat transfer) and turbulent wall jet region. Semi-empirical correlation for the Nusselt number in the stagnation region is proposed. Heat transfer characteristics in the transition region are explained based on the fluid dynamic behavior from the hot wire measurements. Semi-empirical correlation for the Nusselt number in the wall jet region is presented using the velocity profile obtained from the hot wire measurements.     

Effect of Channel-Confinement and Rotation on the Two-Dimensional Laminar Flow and Heat Transfer across a Cylinder

Effect of channel-confinement and rotation on the flow and heat-transfer across a cylinder is studied for various blockage ratio (β = 0–50%), nondimensional rotational velocity (α = 0–2), and Reynolds number (Re = 35–170). The cylinder is maintained at a constant wall temperature with air as the working fluid. Criss-cross motion of the shed-vortices is noticed for the channel-confined flow across a rotating cylinder at intermediate blockage ratio. The effect of channel-confinement (rotation) is an enhancement (reduction) in the drag force and heat transfer. A downward lift force is generated under the influence of counterclockwise rotation, which increases with increasing blockage ratio. Rotation and channel-confinement have a stabilizing effect and can be used for flow control.     

Numerical Simulation of Deflecting Flow in a Symmetric Enlarged Channel

Numerical results of three-dimensional separated flow and heat transfer in a rectangular channel with a suddenexpansion are presented in this paper.Numerical simulations of Navier-Stokes and energy equations are carriedout using the finite difference method.The results of three-dimensional calculations are compared with thetwo-dimensional ones,and effects of the aspect ratio of channel upon the flow are shown.The transition fromsymmetric to asymmetric flow appears at lower Reynolds number as increasing the aspect ratio.The details oflocal heat transfer characteristics in two different separated flow regions on two downstream walls are clarified.Two-dimensionality of the flow and heat transfer almost disappears for the aspect ratio considered.     

Predictions of Flow and Heat Transfer in Low Emission Combustors

Flow and heat transfer predictions in modern low emission combustors are critical to maintaining the liner wall at reasonable temperatures. This study is the first to focus on a critical issue for combustor design. The objective of this paper is to understand the effect of different swirl angle for a dry low emission (DLE) combustor on flow and heat transfer distributions. This paper provides the effect of fuel nozzle swirl angle on velocity distributions, temperature, and surface heat transfer coefficients. A simple test model is investigated with flow through fuel nozzles without reactive flow. The fuel nozzle angle is varied to obtain different swirl conditions inside the combustor. The effect of flow Reynolds number and swirl number are investigated using FLUENT. Different RANS-based turbulence models are tested to determine the ability of these models to predict the swirling flow. For comparison, different turbulence models such as standard k ? ε, realizable k ? ε, and shear stress transport (SST) k?ω turbulence model were studied for non-reactive flow conditions. The results show that, for a high degree swirl flow, the SST k?ω model can provide more reasonable predictions for recirculation and high velocity gradients. With increasing swirl angle, the average surface heat transfer coefficient increases while the average static temperature will decrease. Preliminary analysis shows that the k?ω model is the best model for predicting swirling flows. Also critical is the effect of the swirling flows on the liner wall heat transfer. The strength and magnitude of the swirl determines the local heat transfer maxima location. This location needs to be cooled more effectively by various cooling schemes.