Investigation on forced convective heat transfer of molten salts in circular tubes

In this paper, experiments are carried out to obtain convective heat transfer coefficients of turbulent flow and transition flow of molten Hitec salts in a circular tube. The present experimental data together with experimental data of four kinds of molten salts from the existing literature are correlated for transitional and turbulent convective flow respectively. In addition, the Prandtl number dependence of convective heat transfer with different working fluids is examined. It is shown that the present experimental data are in good agreement with existing correlations.     

Heat transfer enhancement and performance of the molten salt receiver of a solar power tower

This paper investigates the interaction between the heat transfer performance and the thermal efficiency of a molten salt receiver used in the solar power tower plant. A test-bed is built, and a series of experiments of heat transfer enhancement for two types of molten salt receiver tubes, including smooth and spiral tubes, have been carried out under the high temperature and the high heat flux conditions. The experimental results show that the Nusselt numbers of spiral tube with heat transfer enhancement are in the range of 400–1200, which is about 3 times than that of the smooth one on average. The wall temperature of the spiral tube is decreased by about 30 °C comparing with that of the smooth tube under the identical heat transfer conditions. The results of the experiment show that, by using the spiral tube as the heat transfer tube, the heat transfer performance of the molten salt receiver is obviously improved, and the radiation and convection losses are significantly reduced. The results will be helpful for the design of the molten salt receiver.     

Bounds on natural convective heat transfer in a porous layer with fixed heat flux

Using the background field variational method, bounds on natural convective heat transfer in a porous layer heated from below with fixed heat flux are derived from the primitive equations. The enhancement of heat transfer beyond the minimal conduction value (the Nusselt number Nu) is bounded in terms of the non-dimensional forcing scale set by the ‘effective’ Rayleigh number (Rˆ) according to Nu ≤ 0.354Rˆ^1/2 and in terms of the conventional Rayleigh number (Ra) defined by the temperature drop across the layer according to Nu ≤ 0.125Ra. It is presented that fixing the heat flux at the boundaries does not change the linear dependence between Nusselt number and Rayleigh number at high Rayleigh number region.     

Comparison of molten salt heat recovery options in the Cu-Cl cycle of hydrogen production

This paper presents a comparative review of different options for recovering heat from molten CuCl in the Cu-Cl cycle of hydrogen production. Various technologies exist for recovering heat from the molten CuCl in the cycle, but each has its advantages and challenges. In this paper, different parameters such as heat transfer rate, additional materials in the cycle, energy efficiency, temperature retention, economics, material issues, and design feasibility are considered in the evaluation of methods. It is shown that casting/extrusion, atomization methods, with a separate vessel using water as a coolant and rotary/spinning atomization using air as a coolant, can be considered as the most efficient and reliable methods for heat recovery from molten CuCl.     

An experimental and numerical study on heat transfer enhancement for gas heat exchangers fitted with porous media

The present experimental and numerical work investigates the effect of metallic porous materials, inserted in a pipe, on the rate of heat transfer. The pipe is subjected to a constant and uniform heat flux. The effects of porosity, porous material diameter and thermal conductivity as well as Reynolds number on the heat transfer rate and pressure drop are investigated. The results are compared with the clear flow case where no porous material was used. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that higher heat transfer rates can be achieved using porous inserts at the expense of a reasonable pressure drop. Also, it is shown that for an accurate simulation of heat transfer when a porous insert is employed its effective thermal conductivity should be carefully evaluated.     

Development of a heat storage demonstration unit on the basis of Mg2FeH6 as heat storage material and molten salt as heat transfer media

The development and preliminary tests of a 5 kg Mg₂FeH₆ heat storage system which is useable for short and long-term storage applications at temperatures around 500 °C are described. The heat transfer for the heat storage process (dehydrogenation of the hydride Mg₂FeH₆) and heat release (hydrogenation of the hydride precursor 2Mg-Fe) is done by the flow of molten salt in appropriate heat exchangers serving as heat source or heat sink. The construction of the tube bundle reactor as a heat storage tank is presented. 1.6 kWh of heat could be released and 1.5 kWh of heat could be stored during the first experimental tests. Difficulties, which occured during the preliminary tests, are described.     

Analysis of local convective heat transfer in a spark ignition engine

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code is applied to simulate fluid flow, heat transfer and combustion in a four-stroke single cylinder engine with pent roof combustion chamber geometry, having two inlet valves and two exhaust valves. Heat flux and heat transfer coefficient on the cylinder head, cylinder wall, piston, intake and exhaust valves are determined with respect to crank angle position. Results for a certain condition are compared for total heat transfer coefficient of the cylinder engine with available correlation proposed by experimental measurement in the literature and close agreement are observed. It was found that the local value of heat transfer coefficient varies considerably in different parts of the cylinder, but they have equivalent trend with crank angle. Based on the results, new correlations are suggested to predict maximum and minimum convective heat transfer coefficient in the combustion chamber of a SI engine.     

Mixed convective heat transfer of water in a pipe under supercritical pressure

Because of the rapid properties variation of fluid under supercritical pressure, there is a violent secondary flow in a heated pipe, which will certainly complicate the heat transfer of fluid in a pipe under supercritical pressure. In this paper, a numerical study is conducted for the laminar developing mixed convective heat transfer of water under supercritical pressure. The velocity field and temperature field are given, and the influence of different parameters on flow and heat transfer is investigated in detail. The results show that secondary flow has a great influence on velocity and temperature distributions and thus affects the friction factor and the Nusselt number remarkably. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 34(8): 608–619, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20079     

Three dimensional numerical and experimental study of forced convection heat transfer on solar collector surface

In this study, experimental and three dimensional numerical work was carried out to determine the average heat transfer coefficients for forced convection air flow over a rectangular flat plate. Three dimensional numerical simulations were obtained using a commercial finite volume based fluid dynamics code called Fluent 6.3. The experiments were performed for mass transfer using the naphthalene sublimation technique. The results were presented in terms of heat transfer parameters using the analogy between heat and mass transfer. All the experimental results are correlated within an accuracy of ± 12%.     

Turbulent flow heat transfer and pressure loss in a double pipe heat exchanger with louvered strip inserts

In the present work, heat transfer and friction characteristics were experimentally investigated, employing louvered strips inserted in a concentric tube heat exchanger. The louvered strip was inserted into the tube to generate turbulent flow which helped to increase the heat transfer rate of the tube. The flow rate of the tube was in a range of Reynolds number between 6000 and 42,000. The turbulent flow devices were consisted of (1) the louvered strips with forward or backward arrangements, and (2) the louvered strip with various inclined angles (θ = 15°, 25° and 30°), inserted in the inner tube of the heat exchanger. In the experiment, hot water was flowed through the inner tube whereas cold water was flowed in the annulus. The experimental data obtained were compared with those from plain tubes of published data. Experimental results confirmed that the use of louvered strips leads to a higher heat transfer rate over the plain tube. The increases in average Nusselt number and friction loss for the inclined forward louvered strip were 284% and 413% while those for the backward louvered strip were 263% and 233% over the plain tube, respectively. In addition, the use of the louvered strip with backward arrangement leads to better overall enhancement ratio than that with forward arrangement around 9% to 24%.     

Convection heat transfer from tube banks in crossflow: Analytical approach

The main objective of this analytical study is to investigate heat transfer from tube banks in crossflow under isothermal boundary condition. For this purpose, a control volume is selected from the fourth row of a tube as a typical cell to study the heat transfer from an in-line or staggered arrangement. An integral method of boundary layer analysis is employed to derive closed form expressions for the calculation of average heat transfer from the tubes of a bank, that can be used for a wide range of parameters including longitudinal pitch, transverse pitch, Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. The models for in-line and staggered arrangements are applicable for use over a wide range of parameters when determining heat transfer from tube banks.     

Solar linear Fresnel collector using molten nitrates as heat transfer fluid

The use of molten nitrates as heat transfer fluid in a solar Fresnel Linear Concentrator is proposed. A system specifically designed to work with molten nitrates is presented, with an analysis of its optical and thermal properties and the discussion of advantages and disadvantages with respect to existing systems.     

Natural convective heat transfer in uniformly heated vertical pipe annuli

Natural convective heat transfer in vertical concentric pipe annuli is investigated both numerically and experimentally for a fluid having a Prandtl number of 0.7. Numerical calculations for three cases of different heating conditions for pipes (heated inner pipe, heated outer pipe, both pipes heated) are made of laminar flows for different inner‐to‐outer‐pipe diameter ratios d_i/d_o from 0.2 to 0.8. For each case, the thermal entrance length x/b at the modified Grashof numbers Gr^*=10² to 5 × 10⁵ is well correlated with Grashof number Gr^* and annulus length to clearance ratio L/b. Local Nusselt numbers Nu_i and Nu_o in the thermally fully developed region have certain constant values dependent on the diameter ratio d_i/d_o, regardless of Gr^* and L/b. Average Nusselt numbers Nu_i and Nu_o in the thermal entrance region are also independent of Gr^* and L/b. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 30(8): 676–688, 2001     

Two-dimensional laminar fluid flow and heat transfer in a channel with a built-in heated square cylinder

A numerical investigation was conducted to analyze the unsteady flow field and heat transfer characteristics in a horizontal channel with a built-in heated square cylinder. Hydrodynamic behavior and heat transfer results are obtained by the solution of the complete Navier–Stokes and energy equations using a control volume finite element method (CVFEM) adapted to the staggered grid. The Computation was made for two channel blockage ratios (β=1/4 and 1/8), different Reynolds and Richardson numbers ranging from 62 to 200 and from 0 to 0.1 respectively at Pr=0.71. The flow is found to be unstable when the Richardson number crosses the critical value of 0.13. The results are presented to show the effects of the blockage ratio, the Reynolds and the Richardson numbers on the flow pattern and the heat transfer from the square cylinder. Heat transfer correlation are obtained through forced and mixed convection.     

A transient analysis of three-dimensional heat and mass transfer in a molten carbonate fuel cell at start-up

In this paper, we investigate the time-dependent heat and mass transfer in a molten carbonate fuel cell at start-up. Thus, a three-dimensional, transient mathematical model is presented through a comprehensive inclusion of various physical, chemical and electrochemical processes that occur within the different components of molten carbonate fuel cells. The model is proposed as a predictive tool to provide a three-dimensional demonstration of variable variations at system start-up. The local distribution of field variables and quantities are showcased. It reveals that the electrochemical reaction rate is dominated by the over-potential, not by the reactants' molar fraction. Reversible heat generation and consumption mechanisms of the cathode and anode are dominant in the first 10 s while the heat conduction from the solid materials to the gas phase is negligible. Meanwhile, activation and ohmic heating have nearly the same impact within the anode and cathode. Based on these findings, the importance of heat conduction and its main features are finally assessed.     

Transient natural convective heat transfer in porous medium with solidification of binary mixture

In this paper an enthalpy porosity method associated with finite control volume scheme and SIMPLE iteration was employed to solve Navier–Stokes equation coupled with energy equation through Ergun equation and Boussinesq approximation for studying the effect of two-dimensional transient natural convective heat transfer from a closed region of porous medium with the different porosity on solidification in carbon–iron system. As shown in the results, it is fund that the thickness of solidification layer is increased with time due to thermal coupled flow induced by natural convection; and the wall temperature is faster changed in porous medium with larger porosity, which corresponds to slow the growth of the solidification layer in binary system.     

A numerical method for natural convection and heat conduction around and in a horizontal circular pipe

Natural convection around a horizontal circular pipe coupled with heat conduction in the solid structure is numerically investigated using a preconditioning method for solving incompressible and compressible Navier–Stokes equations. In this method, fundamental equations are completely reduced to an equation of heat conduction when the flow field is static (zero velocity). Therefore, not only compressible flows but also very slow flows such as natural convection in a flow field and heat conduction in a static field can be simultaneously calculated using the same computational algorithm. In this study, we first calculated the compressible flow around a NACA0012 airfoil with conduction in the airfoil and then simulated natural convections around a horizontal circular pipe with a different heat conductivity. Finally, we numerically investigated the effect of heat conductivity of the pipe on natural convection.     

Natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal isothermal elliptical cylinder with internal heat generation

This work examines the natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal isothermal cylinder of elliptic cross section in a Newtonian fluid with temperature dependent internal heat generation. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a non-dimensional form and the resulting nonlinear systems of partial differential equations are solved numerically applying cubic spline collocation method. Results for the local Nusselt number and the local skin-friction coefficient are presented as functions of eccentric angle for various values of heat generation parameters, Prandtl numbers and aspect ratios. Results show that both the heat transfer rate and skin friction of the elliptical cylinder with slender orientation are higher than the elliptical cylinder with blunt orientation. Moreover, an increase in the heat generation parameter for natural convection flow over an isothermal horizontal elliptic cylinder leads to a decrease in the heat transfer rate from the elliptical cylinder and an increase in the skin friction of the elliptical cylinder.     

Mixed convective heat transfer in rectangular enclosures driven by a continuously moving horizontal plate

The fluid flow and heat transfer induced by the combined effects of the mechanically driven lid and the buoyancy force within rectangular enclosures were investigated in this work. The fluid filled enclosures are heated and lid-driven either on the upper or on the lower horizontal wall, thermally isolated on the right vertical wall, and cooled on the other walls. The basis of the investigation was the numerical solutions of the equations for the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy transport using the finite difference method. The effects of the flow governing parameters including the Richardson and the Prandtl numbers, and the length-to-height aspect ratio, respectively, in the range 10⁻²  Ri  10², 10⁻³  Pr  10, and 1  AR  4 for a fixed Reynolds number, Re = 100, were studied. The results are presented in the form of the hydrodynamic and thermal fields, and the profiles for vertical and horizontal components of velocity, temperature, and the local heat flux. The fluid flow and energy distributions within the enclosures and heat flux on the heated wall are enhanced by the increase in the Richardson number. While an increase in the Prandtl number improves the heat flux on the heated wall, an increase in aspect ratio suppresses it. The results can be used as base line data in the design of systems in which mixed convection heat transfer in rectangular enclosures occurs.     

Laminar convective heat transfer from a circular cylinder exposed to a low frequency zero-mean velocity oscillating flow

Heat transfer characteristics of a circular cylinder exposed to a slowly oscillating flow with zero-mean velocity were investigated. The flow oscillation amplitude and frequency were changed in the range where the flow remains laminar and fluid particle travels back and forth over much larger distance compared to the cylinder diameter. The time- and space-averaged Nusselt number was measured by transient method, while two-dimensional numerical simulation was conducted to discuss the instantaneous flow and thermal fields around the cylinder. It was found that the time- and space-averaged Nusselt number can be correlated with the oscillating Reynolds number and Richardson number. Unique heat transfer characteristics under oscillating flow condition can be seen at the phases when the cross-sectional mean velocity is small or increasing from small value. During such period, heat transfer can be enhanced due to the local fluid motion induced by the vortices around the cylinder, which once moved away but returned back by the reversed flow. This heat transfer enhancement, however, is countered by the local warming effect of the hot vortices clinging around the cylinder at such phases.