Free Convection Heat Transfer from a Confined Horizontal Elliptic Cylinder

The laminar free convection heat transfer from an isothermal horizontal cylinder of elliptical cross-section confined between two adiabatic walls is investigated by the Mach-Zehnder interferometry technique. The ellipse major axis is vertical, and the minor to major axis ratio is kept constant to 0.53. This paper focuses on the effect of wall spacing and Rayleigh number variation on the local and average free convection heat transfer coefficient from the cylinder surface. The local and average Nusselt numbers were determined for the Rayleigh number range of 9 × 10 ² to 3.2 × 10 ³ and wall spacing to cylinder minor axis ratios of 1.9, 2.3, 2.67, 3.17, 3.8, 4.6, 6.12, 8, 13, ∞. Results are indicated with a single correlation that gives the average Nusselt number as a function of the ratio of the wall spacing to cylinder minor axis and the Rayleigh number. There is an optimum distance between the walls in which the Nusselt number is maximum. The experiment was also carried out on a cylinder of circular cross-section with the same periphery and length of the elliptic cylinder to allow a comparison with the results of other research.     

Natural convection from a confined horizontal cylinder: the optimum distance between the confining walls

The laminar natural convection from an isothermal horizontal cylinder confined between vertical walls, at low Rayleigh numbers, is investigated by theoretical, experimental and numerical methods. The height of the walls is kept constant, however, their distance is changed to study its effect on the rate of the heat transfer. Results are incorporated into a single equation which gives the Nusselt number as a function of the ratio of the wall distance to cylinder diameter, t/D, and the Rayleigh number. There is an optimum distance between the walls for which heat transfer is maximum.     

Natural convection in cavities with a thin fin on the hot wall

A numerical study has been carried out in differentially heated square cavities, which are formed by horizontal adiabatic walls and vertical isothermal walls. A thin fin is attached on the active wall. Heat transfer by natural convection is studied by numerically solving equations of mass, momentum and energy. Streamlines and isotherms are produced, heat and mass transfer is calculated. A parametric study is carried out using following parameters: Rayleigh number from 10⁴ to 10⁹, dimensionless thin fin length from 0.10 to 0.90, dimensionless thin fin position from 0 to 0.90, dimensionless conductivity ratio of thin fin from 0 (perfectly insulating) to 60. It is found that Nusselt number is an increasing function of Rayleigh number, and a decreasing function of fin length and relative conductivity ratio. There is always an optimum fin position, which is often at the center or near center of the cavity, which makes heat transfer by natural convection minimized. The heat transfer may be suppressed up to 38% by choosing appropriate thermal and geometrical fin parameters.     

Simulation of mixed convection heat transfer in a horizontal channel with an open cavity containing a heated hollow cylinder

The objective of this paper is to numerically investigate the mixed convective flow and heat transfer controlled by a heated hollow cylinder inside an open cavity attached with a horizontal channel. All the boundaries of the channel and cavity are perfectly insulated while the inner surface of the cylinder is heated uniformly by heat flux q. The equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy were solved using adequate boundary conditions by Galarkin's weighted residual finite element technique. The solution has been performed in the computational domain as a whole with proper treatment at the solid/fluid interface. Computations have been conducted for Ra = 10³–10⁵, Prandtl number Pr varying from 0.7 to 7 and ratio of solid to fluid thermal conductivities from 0.2 to 50. Results are presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, heat transfer rate in terms of the average Nusselt number (Nu_av), drag force (D), and maximum bulk temperature (θ_max). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21002     

NATURAL CONVECTION AND ENTROPY GENERATION FROM A CYLINDER WITH HIGH CONDUCTIVITY FINS

The problem of laminar natural convection from a horizontal cylinder with multiple equally spaced high conductivity fins on its outer surface was investigated numerically. The effect of several combinations of number of fins and fin height on the average effective Nusselt number was studied over a wide range of Rayleigh numbers. The results showed that there was an optimal combination of number of fins and fin height for maximum heat transfer from the cylinder for a given value of Rayleigh number. A high number of short fins slightly decreased the heat transfer from the cylinder. The calculated velocity and temperature profiles also were used to study the total entropy generation. The total entropy production was dominated by entropy generation due to thermal effects. The exception was at Ra _D = 10³ and a large cylinder diameter where entropy generation was dominated by entropy generation due to viscous effects. This information can be used to access the changes in the thermodynamic efficiency due to the addition of fins to enhance the natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder.     

Effects of diameter ratio of adiabatic circular cylinder and tilt angle on natural convection from a square open tilted cavity

A numerical analysis is carried out to study the performance of natural convection inside a square open tilted cavity filled with air. An adiabatic circular solid cylinder is placed at the center of the cavity and the sidewall in front of the breathing space is heated by a constant heat flux. The top and bottom walls are kept at the ambient constant temperature. Two‐dimensional forms of Navier–Stokes equations along with the energy equations are solved using the Galerkin finite element method. Results are obtained for a range of Grashof numbers from 10³ to 10⁶ at Pr = 0.71 while the tilt angle varies from 0 to 45° and the diameter ratio of the cylinder is considered to be 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 with constant physical properties. The parametric studies for a wide range of cylinder diameter ratios and cavity tilt angles show significant features of the present problem in terms of stream functions and temperature profiles. The computational results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient is strongly influenced by the above governing parameters. It is also found that the average Nusselt number decreases when the diameter ratio increases. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21001     

A numerical study of natural convection in a vertical cylinder bundle

Natural convection in a bundle of vertical cylinders, arranged in equilateral triangular spacing, has been investigated numerically using a boundary‐fitted coordinate system. Numerical calculations for center‐to‐center distance between cylinders S/D = 1.1 to 1.9, 3.0, 4.0, and 7.0 were made of natural convection of air at modified Grashof numbers Gr* from 10 to 10⁸. Local Nusselt number Nu for uniform wall heat flux indicates the same value at the axial locations except for the thermal entrance region. The region for respective cylinder spacing is noted to diminish with decreasing Grashof number. Numerical values of local Nusselt number Nu_i are in relatively good agreement with those obtained from the experiment for air. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(4): 330–341, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10095     

Natural convection heat transfer of molten salt nanofluids around vertical array of heated horizontal cylinders

Abstract

To analyze the natural convection heat transfer of molten salt nanofluids around vertical array of horizontal cylinders, a numerical simulation is performed with cylinder numbers in the range of N?=?2–8 and pitches in the range of S/D?=?5–10. The results show that the heat transfer of nanofluids around each cylinder is affected by the position in the tube row and its distance from the adjacent cylinder. The average Nusselt number (Nu_a) of the natural convection heat transfer over the whole array of cylinders is determined by cylinder spacing S/D, cylinder number N, and Ra. When S/D?=?5, Nu_a decreases as the cylinder number increases. When S/D?=?10, Nua increases as the cylinder number increases. Compared with the molten salts, the natural convection heat transfer of nanofluids is enhanced. This study provides a theoretical basis for the design of a single-tank energy storage system.     

Transient heat transfer in a heat‐generating fin with radiation and convection with temperature‐dependent heat transfer coefficient

The transient heat transfer in a heat‐generating fin with simultaneous surface convection and radiation is studied numerically for a step change in base temperature. The convection heat transfer coefficient is assumed to be a power law function of the local temperature difference between the fin and its surrounding fluid. The values of the power exponent n are chosen to include simulation of natural convection (laminar and turbulent) and nucleate boiling among other convective heat transfer modes. The fin is assumed to have uniform internal heat generation. The transient response of the fin depends on the convection‐conduction parameter, radiation‐conduction parameter, heat generation parameter, power exponent, and the dimensionless sink temperature. The instantaneous heat transfer characteristics such as the base heat transfer, surface heat loss, and energy stored are reported for a range of values of these parameters. When the internal heat generation exceeds a threshold the fin acts as a heat sink instead of a heat source. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21012     

Simulating magnetohydrodynamic natural convection flow in a horizontal cylindrical annulus using the lattice Boltzmann method

A numerical study is presented about the effect of a uniform magnetic field on free convection in a horizontal cylindrical annulus using the lattice Boltzmann method. The inner and outer cylinders are maintained at uniform temperatures and it is assumed the walls are insulating with a magnetic field. Detailed numerical results of heat transfer rate, temperature, and velocity fields have been presented for Pr=0.7, Ra=10³ to 5 × 10⁴, and Ha=0 to 100. The computational results show that in a horizontal cylindrical annulus the flow and heat transfer are suppressed more effectively by a radial magnetic field. It is also found that the flow oscillations can be suppressed effectively by imposing an external radial magnetic field. The average Nusselt number increases by increasing the radius ratio while it decreases by increasing the Hartmann number. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21008     

Study on heat transfer characteristics of porous metallic heat sink with conductive pipe under bypass effect

The work investigated the forced convection heat transfer of the heat sink situated in a rectangular channel by considering the bypass effect. The fluid medium was air. The relevant parameters were the Reynolds number (Re), the relative top by‐pass gap (C/H), and the relative side by‐pass gap (S/L). The size of the heat sink was 60 mm (L)×60 mm(W)×24 mm(H). Two heat sinks were employed as test specimens: (A) the 0.9‐porosity aluminum foam heat sink and (B) the 0.9‐porosity aluminum foam heat sink with a 20 mm diameter copper cylinder. The copper cylinder was used as a conductive pipe of heat sink. The average Nusselt number was examined under various forced convection conditions. Experimental results demonstrate that increasing by‐pass space decreased the Nusselt number. Besides, the average Nusselt number of mode B heat sink was higher than that of mode A heat sink by 30% for the case without by‐pass flow. The heat transfer enhancement by the copper cylinder would decline as the by‐pass space grew. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20247     

Thermal performance analysis of a tube finned surface

The present work submits an experimental work on the heat transfer and friction loss characteristic, employing a tube finned heating surface kept at a constant temperature in a rectangular channel. The tube fins attached on the surface (o.d.=29 mm) were arranged as either in‐line or staggered. The parameters for the study were Reynolds number (3700–30 000), depending on hydraulic diameter, the distance between the tube fins in the flow direction (S_y/D=1.72–3.45) and the fin arrangement. The change in the Nusselt number with these parameters was determined. For both tube fin arrangements, it was observed that increasing Reynolds number increased Nusselt number, and maximum heat transfer occurred at S_y/D=2.59. Thermal performances for both arrangements were also determined and compared with respect to heat transfer from the same surface without fins. With staggered array, a heat transfer enhancement up to 25 per cent for S_y/D=3.45 in staggered array was achieved in constant pumping power. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of combined effect of natural convection and radiation heat transfer from annular finned vertical cylinder

The present numerical study reports the combined effect of natural convection and radiation heat from a vertical cylinder with annular fins. The study involves simulation for laminar as well as turbulent regimes. For the present study, Rayleigh's number is varied in the range ${10}^8-{10}^{12}$, emissivity in the range $0.2-0.8$, and the fin spacing ratio (s/d) in the range $0.1-10$. The radiation heat transfer has been found to share a considerable amount in the total heat transfer of the system for the laminar regime, but in the turbulent regime, its effect is minimal and can be neglected. When the fin spacing ratio is reduced, the total heat transfer increases for both the turbulent and laminar flow conditions. But the radiation heat increases with a reduction in fin spacing ratio for laminar and in case of turbulent flow radiation heat rate reduces with a reduction in s/d ratio. For the range of Rayleigh numbers considered in the present study, the Nusselt number increases with the increment of the fin spacing ratio. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a remarkable enhancement in the heat transfer rate in laminar cases with the fins. For turbulent cases, the fin efficiency lies between 40% and 50%.     

Effects of Wall-Located Heat Barrier on Conjugate Conduction/Natural-Convection Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Enclosures

The effects of a heat barrier, located in the ceiling wall of an enclosure, on conjugate conduction/natural convection are investigated numerically. The vertical walls of the enclosure are differentially heated and the horizontal walls are adiabatic. Heatline technique is used to visualize heat transport. The variations of average Nusselt number, dimensionless heat transfer rate through the ceiling wall, and dimensionless overall heat transfer rate are studied. Calculations are performed for different Rayleigh numbers (10³ ≤ Ra ≤ 10⁶), thermal conductivity ratios (1 ≤ K ≤ 100), dimensionless locations of the heat barrier (0 < X _h  < 1),and two dimensionless ceiling wall thicknesses (D = 0.05 and D = 0.20). For high thermal conductivity ratio (K = 100), the heat barrier considerably reduces the dimensionless overall heat transfer rate. The effect of the heat barrier on dimensionless heat transfer rate through the enclosure increases as the Rayleigh number decreases. For low Rayleigh number (i.e., Ra = 10³), a location exists in the ceiling wall for which the dimensionless overall heat transfer rate is minimum.     

Heat transfer around a circular cylinder in separated air flow

An experimental study has been conducted to determine the heat transfer characteristics around a circular cylinder attached to the separated flow of air shed from a fence. The fence was located vertically to the flow with a height of H = 40 mm. d/H was constant at 0.638, where d is the cylinder diameter of 25.5 mm. X/H were 0.50 and 0.775 and Y/H ranged from 0.525 to 1.50, where X and Y are, respectively, the distances between the axis of the cylinder and the front face of the fence, and the bottom wall of the test section. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter and the velocity of the undisturbed flow ranged from 1.9 × 10⁴ to 6.0 × 10⁴. It was found that the maximum local Nusselt number changes drastically in the vicinity of Y/H = 1.0–1.11 and that the maximum mean Nusselt number occurs in the neighborhood of Y/H = 1.24–1.43 for X/H = 0.50 and 1.3–1.4 for X/H = 0.775. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 28(3): 211–226, 1999     

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of natural convection and heat transfer from multiple heated blocks

This study is aimed to investigate the natural convection heat transfer from discrete heat sources (similar to heated microchips) using Bhatnagar‐Gross‐Krook lattice Boltzmann method via graphics process unit computing. The simulation is carried out separately for three and six heated blocks model for different Rayleigh numbers and fixed Prandtl number, $Pr=0.71$ (air). The uniformly heated blocks are placed at the bottom wall inside a rectangular enclosure. The enclosure is maintained by the cold temperature at its left and right walls. The top and bottom surface is maintained by adiabatic conditions apart from the regions where blocks are attached to the bottom wall. The numerical code is validated with the benchmark heat transfer problem of side‐heated square cavity as well as with an experimental study for one discrete heat source. The rate of heat transfer is presented in terms of the local Nusselt and average Nusselt number for each block. It is found that the heat transfer rate becomes maximized in the leftmost and rightmost blocks due to the adjacent cold walls. It is found that the number of blocks and their positions play a substantial role in determining their collective performance on the heat transfer rate.     

Convective‐radiative fins with simultaneous variation of thermal conductivity,heat transfer coefficient,and surface emissivity with temperature

This paper is a numerical study of thermal performance of a convective‐radiative fin with simultaneous variation of thermal conductivity, heat transfer coefficient, and surface emissivity with temperature. The convective heat transfer is assumed to be a power function of the local temperature between the fin and the ambient which allows simulation of different convection mechanisms such as natural convection (laminar and turbulent), boiling, etc. The thermal conductivity and the surface emissivity are treated as linear functions of the local temperature between the fin and the ambient which provide a satisfactory representation of the thermal property variations of most fin materials. The thermal performance is governed by seven parameters, namely, convection–conduction parameter Nc, radiation–conduction parameter Nr, thermal conductivity parameter A, emissivity parameter B, the exponent n associated with convective heat transfer coefficient, and the two temperature ratios, θ_a and θ_s, that characterize the temperatures of convection and radiation sinks. The effect of these parameters on the temperature distribution and fin heat transfer rate are illustrated and the results interpreted in physical terms. Compared with the constant properties model, the fin heat transfer rate can be underestimated or overestimated considerably depending on the values of the governing parameters. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20408     

Brownian Motion Effects on Natural Convection of Alumina–Water Nanofluid in 2‐D Enclosure

This article reports a numerical study of natural convection heat transfer in a differentially heated enclosure filled with a Al₂O₃–water nanofluid. Fluent v6.3 is used to simulate nanofluid flow. Simulations have been carried out for the pertinent parameters in the following ranges: the Rayleigh number, Ra = 10⁶, 10⁷, and the volumetric fraction of alumina nanoparticles, ? = 0 ? 4%. The effect of Brownian motion on the heat transfer is considered and examined. The numerical results show a decrease in heat transfer with an increase in particle volume fraction. Similar to experimental results, the Nusselt number increases with the Rayleigh number in the numerical results. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21121     

Numerical validation of natural convection heat transfer with horizontal rectangular fin array using straight knurling patterns on fins—correlation for Nusselt number

Natural convection heat transfer from horizontal rectangular fin array with various knurling patterns has been studied experimentally by the present authors to investigate the effect of knurl‐produced surface roughness of fin on the heat transfer rate. The parameters like knurling height from base, knurling depth, fin spacing, and supply wattage were considered for parametric study. In the present paper, numerical method (CFD) is used to simulate natural convection phenomena with knurled fins and results are validated with the experimental data available from literature. The numerical results show similar trends compared with experimental data and one can use this method to study various fin configurations for knurling patterns. The flow patterns from experiments and numerical method are compared for different supply wattages and fin spacing to back up the conclusion. It is also observed that the variation in nondimensional roughness depth and spacing (D _kn/H and S/H) have more effect on Nusselt number than roughness height parameter (H _kn/H). Further, the method is extended to study numerically large number of fin configurations with knurling patterns to gather sufficient data for Nusselt number with respect to fin geometric parameters as above and establish correlation for heat transfer coefficient for such type of fins.     

Natural convection heat transfer from a heat sink with hollow/perforated circular pin fins

Experiments were performed on natural convection heat transfer from circular pin fin heat sinks subject to the influence of its geometry, heat flux and orientation. The geometric dependence of heat dissipation from heat sinks of widely spaced solid and hollow/perforated circular pin fins with staggered combination, fitted into a heated base of fixed area is discussed. Over the tested range of Rayleigh number, 3.8 × 10⁶ ≤ Ra ≤ 1.65 × 10⁷, it was found that the solid pin fin heat sink performance for upward and sideward orientations shows a competitive nature, depending on Rayleigh number and generally shows higher heat transfer coefficients than those of the perforated/hollow pin fin ones in both arrangement. For all tested hollow/perforated pin fin heat sinks, however, the performance for sideward facing orientation was better than that for upward facing orientation. This argument is supported by observing that the augmentation factor was around 1.05–1.11, depending on the hollow pin diameter ratio, D_i/D_o. Meanwhile, the heat sink of larger hollow pin diameter ratio, D_i/D_o offered higher heat transfer coefficient than that of smaller D_i/D_o for upward orientation, and the situation was reversed for sideward orientation. The heat transfer performance for heat sinks with hollow/perforated pin fins was better than that of solid pins. The temperature difference between the base plate and surrounding air of these heat sinks was less than that of solid pin one and improved with increasing D_i/D_o.