Natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder using holographic interferometry

The natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder with a uniform wall temperature in an infinite space was experimentally investigated. Infinite fringe interferograms of the cylinder heated from 295.15 to 355.15 K were recorded using the holographic interferometry technique. The temperature field around the cylinder was reconstructed based on phase difference recovery using a MATLAB code. The distributions of the local and average Nusselt numbers over the cylinder were then obtained. A correlation of the average Nusselt number was proposed for a Rayleigh number range of 2.7–6.0 × 10⁴. The experimental results are in good agreement with previous correlations, with a deviation of ±10%. The holographic interferometry technique was found to be satisfactory and reliable for heat transfer analyses.     

Natural convection heat transfer between horizontal concentric rectangular pipes

Natural convection heat transfer between concentric rectangular pipes was studied numerically. It has been found that rolls of even numbers form in the region on the top surface of the inner pipe. The number of rolls depends on both the Rayleigh number and the aspect ratio. An oblong circulation of flow forms in the region between the side surface of the inner pipe and the surface of the outer pipe. The aspect ratio does not have much effect on the average Nusselt number at the side surface of the inner pipe. The relation between the Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers at the top surface resembles that of the Rayleigh-Bénard convection obtained by Silveston (Chandrasekhar, S. 1961. Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability, Oxford University Press, 68). The average Nusselt number at the bottom surface of the inner pipe decreases with increasing aspect ratio because the region where heat transfer is affected significantly by convection is limited. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Jpn Res, 27(4): 271–283, 1998     

Natural convection heat transfer of high temperature gas in an annulus between two vertical concentric cylinders

Water cooling panels have been adopted as the vessel cooling system of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) to cool the reactor core indirectly by natural convection and thermal radiation. In order to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of high temperature gas in a vertical annular space between the reactor pressure vessel and cooling panels of the HTTR, we carried out experiments and numerical analyses on natural convection heat transfer coupled with thermal radiation heat transfer in an annulus between two vertical concentric cylinders with the inner cylinder heated and the outer cylinder cooled. In the present experiments, Rayleigh number based on the height of the annulus ranged from 2.0 × 10⁷ to 5.4 × 10⁷ for helium gas and from 1.2 × 10⁹ to 3.5 × 10⁹ for nitrogen gas. The numerical results were in good agreement with the experimental ones regarding the surface temperatures of the heating and cooling walls. As a result of the experiments and the numerical analyses, the heat transfer coefficient of natural convection coupled with thermal radiation was obtained as functions of Rayleigh number, radius ratio, and the temperatures and emissivities of the heating and cooling wall surfaces. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 34(5): 293–308, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20070     

Natural convection heat transfer between concentric rectangular parallelepipeds

Natural convection heat transfer between concentric rectangular parallelpipeds was studied numerically for low Rayleigh numbers Ra(≦ 3500) with aspect ratios of the inner parallelepiped of 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, and 8.0. It has been found that the flow patterns for the higher Rayleigh numbers in the space over the inner parallelpiped are ring or rectangular rolls. The number of rolls increases with the aspect ratio. The flow pattern in the side space is an oblong circulation, which extends into the bottom space. The local Nusselt number distribution on the top surface of the inner parallelpiped has peaks at the stagnation points. The relation between the Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers on the top surface is similar to that of the Rayleigh–Bénard convection obtained by Silveston (Chandrasekhar S.Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability, 1961, p 68, Oxford University Press), while on the side and bottom surfaces the Nusselt number increases proportionately with the power of the Rayleigh number. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 30(2): 152–163, 2001     

Fluid flow and heat transfer of natural convection around large horizontal cylinders: Experiments with air

Natural convective flows of air around large horizontal cylinders were investigated experimentally. The main concerns were the turbulent transition mechanisms and the heat transfer characteristics of turbulent flows. The cylinders were heated with uniform heat flux and their diameters were varied from 200 to 1200 mm to enable experiments over a wide range of modified Rayleigh numbers, Ra_D^* = 1.0 × 10⁸ to 5.5 × 10¹¹. The flow fields around the cylinders were visualized with smoke to investigate the turbulent transition mechanisms. The results show that three‐dimensional flow separations occur first at the trailing edge of the cylinder when Ra_D^* exceeds 3.5 × 10⁹, and the separation points shift upstream with increasing Rayleigh numbers. These separations become a trigger to the turbulent transition and transitional and turbulent flows appear downstream of the separations at higher Rayleigh numbers. However, they occupy a relatively small portion of the cylinder surfaces even at the maximum Rayleigh numbers of the present experiments. The local heat transfer coefficients were also measured. The results show that the coefficients are increased significantly in the transitional and turbulent regions compared with the laminar coefficients. Moreover, the present results for air were compared with previous results for water and the effects of Prandtl number on the flow and heat transfer were discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(4): 293–305, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10080     

Correlating equations for free convection heat transfer from horizontal isothermal cylinders set in a vertical array

Steady laminar free convection from flat vertical arrays of equally-spaced, horizontal isothermal cylinders set in free air, is studied numerically. A specifically developed computer-code based on the SIMPLE-C algorithm is used for the solution of the mass, momentum and energy transfer governing equations. Simulations are performed for arrays of 2-6 circular cylinders, for center-to-center separation distances from 2 up to more than 50 cylinder-diameters, and for values of the Rayleigh number based on the cylinder-diameter in the range between 5 × 10² and 5 × 10⁵. It is found that the heat transfer rate at the bottom cylinder remains the same as a single cylinder. In contrast, the downstream cylinders may exhibit either enhanced or reduced Nusselt numbers depending on their location in the array and on the geometry of the array. Heat transfer dimensionless correlating equations are proposed both for any individual cylinder in the array and for the whole tube-array. New correlation-equations for the calculation of the heat transfer rate from a single cylinder to the surrounding air are also proposed and compared to those available in the open literature.     

An Experimental and Numerical Study of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Horizontal Annuli between Eccentric Cylinders

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Natural convection heat transfer in a circular enclosure

Natural convection heat transfer in a circular enclosure, one half of which was heated and the other half of which was cooled, was investigated experimentally, focusing on the effect of the inclination angle. The experiments were carried out with water. Flow and temperature field were visualized by using the aluminum and liquid-crystal suspension method. The results show that with downward heating the heat transfer coefficient increased as the inclination angle of the boundary between the heating wall and the cooling wall approached the vertical. But with upward heating, the heat transfer coefficient showed minimal change, exhibiting a small peak value when the inclination angle was γ ˜ –45°. The heat transfer coefficient of a flat circular enclosure was estimated from the circular enclosure's heat transfer coefficient. These results can be explained by the obtained flow and temperature fields. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 28(2): 152–163, 1999     

Natural convection heat transfer in eccentric horizontal annuli between a heated outer tube and a cooled inner tube with different orientation: The case of an elliptical outer tube

This study conducts numerical analyses and experiments on natural convection heat transfer in eccentric horizontal annuli between a heated outer tube and a cooled inner tube with different orientations. The outer tube is an elliptical tube, and the inner tube is a cylindrical tube. Experiments are conducted with the outer tube oriented to the vertical side and horizontal side, respectively. The numerical analyses were performed by changing the oriented angle and eccentricity parameters. Results obtained for different conditions are presented as temperature profiles, flow patterns, local Nusselt numbers, and total heat transfer. It is found that the heat transfer enhancement effect or heat transfer obstruction effect for the total heat transfer is changed by eccentricity and oriented angle. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 30(8): 624–635, 2001     

Natural convection heat transfer from upward-facing plates in saline water

Saltwater or brackish water is used as a coolant in most industries. Therefore, understanding the heat transfer processes and hydrodynamics during the natural convection in saline water is crucial for enhancing the efficiency of a heat exchanger. This study elaborates on the natural convection heat transfer in saline water under atmospheric conditions. A DC power supply is used to regulate the power given to the heater in a liquid pool for thermal analysis. The pool liquid comprises solutions with varying salinity from 0%, 0.2%, 0.5%, and 2%. The effect of varying salinity on the heat transfer coefficient and the thermal aspects encountered during the desalination process is analyzed. The temperature distribution across the surface of the heater is monitored using an infrared camera. It is studied for the solution of different salinities. The heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number are investigated during natural convection for normal water and salt solution of different concentrations. It is inferred from the study that in the regime of natural convection, there is no significant difference in the Nusselt number for normal water and saltwater for the lower value of temperature difference between the plate and pool. The heat transfer coefficient in 0.2% saline water is higher as compared to the other solutions.     

Two-dimensional mixed convection heat transfer from confined tandem square cylinders in cross-flow at low Reynolds numbers

A two-dimensional numerical simulation is carried out to understand the effects of thermal buoyancy and Prandtl number on flow characteristics and mixed convection heat transfer over two equal isothermal square cylinders placed in a tandem arrangement within a channel at low Reynolds numbers. The spacing between the cylinders is fixed with four widths of the cylinder. The numerical results are presented for the range of conditions as: 1 ≤ Re ≤ 30, 0.7 ≤ Pr ≤ 100 (the maximum value of Peclet number being 3000) and 0 ≤ Ri ≤ 1 for a fixed blockage parameter B = 10%. The unsteady numerical simulations are performed with a finite volume code based on the PISO algorithm in a collocated grid system. The representative streamlines, vortex structures and isotherm patterns are presented and discussed. In addition, the overall drag and lift coefficients, recirculation length and average Nusselt numbers are determined to elucidate the role of Reynolds, Prandtl and Richardson numbers on flow and heat transfer. It is found that the flow is completely steady for the chosen ranges of the parameters.     

Natural convection heat transfer from a hot rectangular and a square corrugated plate to a cold flat plate

IntroductionReduction of heat loss from the absorber plate of asolar collector through the cover plates improvescollector efficiency. Therefore, the natllral convectionheat loss across air layers bounded by tWo parallel platesis of special interest to the designers of solar collectors.Most of the investigations on heat transfer in aconfined space have been cAned out with parallel platesin horizontal and inclined positions. Hollands, et al.[l]experimentally investigated the heat trallsferchara…     

Natural convection heat transfer in the open space between two horizontal circular planes with different temperatures

A vertical cylinder maintained at room temperature is located right above a horizontal circular heated plane to constitute a narrow air space between the plane and the cylinder bottom surface. Natural convection heat transfer in the space is experimentally investigated. Average heat transfer coefficients of the heated plane are presented with the variation of space distance and Rayleigh number, and are compared with the predictions of the correlation equations which have been proposed for the space between two infinite parallel plates. Visualized flow patterns above the heated plane are also shown. The relation between the flow pattern and the heat transfer coefficient is discussed to clarify the mechanism of heat transfer in the narrow space. As a result, a heat transfer correlation is proposed, which is applicable over a wide range of space distances. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 30(6): 521–531, 2001     

Numerical simulation of natural convection heat transfer in the open space between two horizontal circular planes

Numerical simulations were conducted for natural convection heat transfer in a narrow gap between two horizontal plates in air. The lower plate is an infinite plate with a circular heating zone. The upper one is the bottom of a vertical cylinder, which is placed right above the circular heated plate and kept at room temperature. A set of Navier–Stokes equations and an energy equation are analyzed for a variety of combinations of gap clearance and Rayleigh number. The calculated average heat transfer values are shown to be in good agreement with the experimentally obtained ones reported in a previous paper. From the obtained isotherms, streamlines, and local Nusselt numbers, it is found that two types of convection appear in the gap space according to the conditions of Rayleigh number and gap clearance: one is a simple convection due to a single renewal flow which replaces heated air with ambient air and the other is a combined convection due to several vortex flows and a renewal flow. Furthermore, the flow rate of each flow controls the rate of heat transfer from the limited area which is covered by each flow. From this fact, the validity of the previously proposed heat transfer correlation is briefly discussed. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 30(6): 485–502, 2001     

Natural-convection heat transfer to air from a horizontal array of cylinders with different surface temperatures

Heat transfer measurements were made on natural convection around horizontal in-line arrays of cylinders whose surface temperatures were different from each other. Through the experiments for a three-cylinder array, a correlation was obtained for the heat transfer coefficient of the array-center cylinder. By using the correlation with some assumptions, the heat-flux distributions could be estimated for an array of five cylinders which were heated to their respective temperatures. Consequently, it was found that both the correlation and the method proposed here were useful in the estimation of heat-flux distributions for a horizontal array of cylinders. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 26(2): 116–121, 1997     

Maximum heat transfer density rate enhancement from cylinders rotating in natural convection

In this paper we investigate the thermal behaviour of an assembly of consecutive cylinders in a counter-rotating configuration cooled by natural convection with the objective of maximizing the heat transfer density rate (heat transfer rate per unit volume). A numerical model is used to solve the governing equations that describe the temperature and flow fields. The spacing between the consecutive cylinders is optimised for each flow regime (Rayleigh number) and cylinder rotation speed. It was found that the optimized spacing decreases as the Rayleigh number increases and the heat transfer density rate increases, for the optimized structure, as the cylinder rotation speed is increased. Results further shows that there is an increase in the heat transfer density rate of the rotating cylinders over stationary cylinders.     

Natural convection heat transfer enhancement in horizontal concentric annuli using nanofluids

Heat transfer enhancement in horizontal annuli using nanofluids is investigated. Water-based nanofluid containing various volume fractions of Cu, Ag, Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ nanoparticles is used. The addition of the different types and different volume fractions of nanoparticles were found to have adverse effects on heat transfer characteristics. For high values of Rayleigh number and high L/D ratio, nanoparticles with high thermal conductivity cause significant enhancement of heat transfer characteristics. On the other hand, for intermediate values of Rayleigh number, nanoparticles with low thermal conductivity cause a reduction in heat transfer. For Ra = 10³ and Ra = 10⁵ the addition of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles improves heat transfer. However, for Ra = 10⁴, the addition of nanoparticles has a very minor effect on heat transfer characteristics.     

Enhancement of natural convection heat transfer from an inclined heated plate using rectangular grids

The effect of an inclination angle on the natural convection heat transfer from an inclined heated plate with rectangular grids is investigated. Heat transfer coefficients are measured in air when the plates are inclined at angles from ?30 to +60 from a vertical plane, grid heights are in the range of 5 to 10 mm, and diagonal lengths of the grid are 25, 50, 100, and 200 mm. For each configuration, the surface heat flux ranges from 50 to 200 W/m². It is found that the rectangular grids increase local heat transfer coefficients when the grids are applied to an inclined plate. The rectangular grids increase the average heat transfer coefficients along the horizontal centerline of the plate by up to 20% compared to those coefficients of a smooth plate, even when the angles of inclination are ±30° © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(5): 408–419, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10043     

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.     

Enhancement of natural convection heat transfer from a vertical heated plate using inclined fins

An enhancement technique is developed for natural convection heat transfer from a vertical heated plate with inclined fins, attached on the vertical heated plate to isolate a hot air flow from a cold air flow. Experiments are performed in air for inclination angles of the inclined fins in the range of 30° to 90° as measured from a horizontal plane, with a height of 25 to 50 mm, and a fin pitch of 20 to 60 mm. The convective heat transfer rate for the vertical heated plate with inclined fins at an inclination angle of 60° is found to be 19% higher than that for a vertical heated plate with vertical fins. A dimensionless equation on the natural convection heat transfer of a vertical heated plate with inclined fins is presented. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 36(6): 334–344, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20168