Mixed Convection Heat Transfer from an In-Line Row of Square Cylinders in Cross-Flow at Low Reynolds Number

This article presents a two-dimensional numerical study on the unsteady laminar mixed convection heat transfer from a row of five in-line isothermal square cylinders placed in an unconfined medium and subjected to cross-flow of a Newtonian fluid at low Reynolds number (Re = 125). The hydrodynamic and thermal transport phenomena are captured for the separation ratios (spacing to cylinder size ratio, s/d) of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4. The mixed convection heat transfer is studied for Richardson numbers (Ri) ranging from 0 to 3 with a fixed Prandtl number (Pr = 0.71). Numerical calculations are performed by using a PISO algorithm-based finite volume solver in a collocated grid system. The instantaneous vorticity fields along with the isotherm patterns are systematically presented and discussed for different separation ratios and Richardson numbers. Depending on the engineering application, the temperature difference between the surface and the free stream could vary to make buoyancy of primary importance, entailing major modification of the flow field. Additionally, the instantaneous and mean drag and lift coefficients, Strouhal numbers, and mean Nusselt numbers are determined and discussed.     

Mixed Convection Heat Transfer From an Equilateral Triangular Cylinder in Cross Flow at Low Reynolds Numbers

A two-dimensional numerical study is undertaken to investigate the influences of cross buoyancy on the vortex shedding phenomena behind a long heated equilateral triangular cylinder for the low-Reynolds-number laminar regime. The flow is considered in an unbounded medium; however, fictitious confining boundaries are chosen on the lateral sides to make the problem computationally feasible. Numerical calculations are performed by using a finite-volume method based on the pressure-implicit with splitting of operators algorithm in a collocated grid system. The range of Reynolds number is chosen to be 10–100 with a fixed Prandtl number, 0.71. The mixed convection effect is studied for the Richardson number range of 0–1. The effects of superimposed thermal buoyancy on flow and isotherm patterns are presented and discussed. The global flow and heat transfer quantities such as the overall drag and lift coefficients, local and surface average Nusselt numbers, and Strouhal number are calculated and discussed for various Reynolds and Richardson numbers.     

Unsteady Forced Convection Heat Transfer Over a Semicircular Cylinder at Low Reynolds Numbers

An unsteady two-dimensional numerical simulation is performed to investigate the laminar forced convection heat transfer for flow past a semicircular cylinder in an unconfined medium. The Reynolds number considered in this study ranges from 50 to 150 with a fixed Prandtl number (Pr = 0.71). Two different configurations of the semicircular cylinder are considered; one when the curved surface facing the flow and the other when the flat surface facing the flow. Fictitious confining boundaries are chosen on the lateral sides of the computational domain that makes the blockage ratio B = 5% in order to make the problem computationally feasible. A finite volume-based technique is used for the numerical computation. The flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed with the streamline and isotherm patterns at various Reynolds numbers. The dimensionless frequency of vortex shedding (Strouhal number), drag coefficient, and Nusselt numbers are presented and discussed. Substantial differences in the global flow and heat transfer quantities are observed for the two different configurations of the obstacle chosen in the study. It is observed that the heat transfer rate is enhanced substantially when the curved surface is facing the flow in comparison to the case when the flat surface is facing the flow.     

The Effects of Reynolds and Prandtl Numbers on Flow and Heat Transfer Across Tandem Square Cylinders in the Steady Flow Regime

The effects of Reynolds and Prandtl numbers on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics over two equal isothermal square cylinders placed in a tandem arrangement in cross flow have been investigated in this article. 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 and 0.7 ≤ Pr ≤ 1000 for three different blockage parameters B = 0.05, 0.25, and 0.5. Numerical simulations are performed with a finite volume code based on the PISO algorithm in a collocated grid system. The representative streamlines and isotherm patterns are presented and discussed. In addition, the overall drag coefficient and average Nusselt number are determined to elucidate the role of Reynolds and Prandtl numbers on flow and heat transfer. It is found that the flow is completely steady for the chosen ranges of the parameters.     

Turbulent Opposing Mixed Convection Heat Transfer in a Vertical Flat Channel with One-Side Heating

The paper presents experimental data on turbulent local heat transfer in a flat vertical channel with one-side heating for opposing mixed convection in wide ranges of airflow parameters (Re = 4 × 10³–4 × 10⁴; Gr_q = 1.7 × 10⁸–1.4 × 10¹⁰; pressures p = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 MPa). Analysis has been performed by application of different buoyancy parameters. General correlation was suggested to predict the heat transfer rate. The experimental data were compared with the available correlations for vertical tubes.     

Free Convection Heat Transfer from Vertical Slender Cylinders: A Review

The effect of transversal curvature of a vertical cylinder becomes important where the thermal boundary layer thickness is comparable or thicker then the radius of cylinder. The cylinder slenderness criterion for laminar free convection for fluids of Prandtl numbers from 0.01 to 100 is presented. The classical analysis of the laminar free convection heat transfer from vertical cylinders is shown. Some results of numerical calculations of the turbulent boundary layer on a vertical cylinder using modified integral method are given. Experimental data concerning the laminar-turbulent transition suggest that the critical Grashof number for a vertical flat plate is Gr _cr ≈ 10⁹ and for a vertical cylinder is Gr _cr ≈ 4 × 10⁹. Theoretical, numerical, and experimental data for free convection heat transfer from vertical slender circular cylinders are surveyed. A separate section of the paper is devoted to the presentation of the list of selected correlation equations. Some of them are compared graphically. In the laminar region, the correlation equation based on the numerical calculations is validated with the recent experimental results for Prandtl number of 0.71 and for the cylinder height to diameter ratio from 1 to 60. In the turbulent region, few experimental data are available, and some results indicate that the effect of transversal curvature on the average convective heat transfer is very weak.     

Wall‐Confined Flow and Heat Transfer Around a Square Cylinder at Low Reynolds and Hartmann Numbers

This article discusses the results obtained through a two‐dimensional numerical simulation following a finite volume approach on the forced convection heat transfer for the hydromagnetic flow around a square cylinder at low Reynolds and Hartmann numbers. The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a viscous incompressible and electrically conducting fluid is assumed to take place in a rectangular channel subjected to externally imposed magnetic fields and the cylinder is fixed within the channel. The magnetic fields may be applied either along the streamwise or transverse directions. Simulations are performed for the range of kinetic Reynolds number 10 ≤ Re ≤ 60 with Hartmann number 0 ≤ Ha ≤ 15 and for different thermal Prandtl numbers, Pr = 0.02 (liquid metal), 0.71 (air), and 7 (water) for a blockage ratio β = 0.25. A steady flow can be expected for the above range of conditions. Besides the channel wall, the magnetic field imparts additional stability to the flow as a consequence of which the recirculation region behind the obstacle reduces with increasing magnetic field strength for a particular Re. The critical Hartmann numbers for the complete suppression of flow separation in the case of a transversely applied magnetic field are computed. The rate of heat transfer is found almost invariant at low Re whereas it increases moderately for higher Re with the applied magnetic field. The heat transfer increases in general with the Reynolds number for all Hartmann numbers. Finally, the influence of obstacle shape on the thermohydrodynamic quantities is noted. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 43(5): 459–475, 2014; Published online 3 October 2013 in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21091     

Mixed Convection Heat Transfer in a Grooved Channel with Injection

Improved heat transfer is very important for the energy efficiency, higher performance, and size reduction of a system. In this context, the paper presents an efficient way for improving mixed convection heat transfer in a grooved channel by dividing total flow into main flow and injection under the assisting flow configuration. The influences of the pertinent injection parameters (e.g., position, size, and injection flow) are investigated systematically for Richardson number 0.1–10 and Reynolds number 50–200 using an in-house CFD code. The results reveal that performance with injection is always superior and heat transfer enhancement is found to increase from 50 to 218% depending upon injection, Richardson number, and Reynolds number.     

Numerical Investigation of Forced Convection Conjugate Heat Transfer from Offset Square Cylinders Placed in a Confined Channel Covered by Solid Wall

Flow over two isothermal offset square cylinders in a confined channel is simulated for different Reynolds numbers to disclose the forced convection heat transfer from the heated square cylinders to the ambient fluid. The spacing between the cylinder in the normal direction and the blockage ratio are fixed. The channel walls are covered by solid walls of thickness equal to the size of the cylinder and conjugate heat transfer is considered by including these walls. Heat transfer from the cylinders to the ambient fluid as well as that conducted within the solid wall through the conjugate interface boundary are investigated in connection with Reynolds number and are reported for both steady and periodic flows. Simulation is carried out for Reynolds number varying from 10 to 100 with air as the fluid. The onset of the vortex begins when the Reynolds number equals 48. The conjugate interface temperature declines when the Reynolds number grows. The isotherms in the solid wall show two dimensionality near the cylinder region.     

Buoyancy-Aided Mixed Convection Between Shear-Thinning Non-Newtonian Nanofluids and Unbounded Elliptic Cylinders in a Vertical Channel

Abstract

This work presents buoyancy-driven mixed convective flow and heat transfer phenomena of an isothermally heated horizontal elliptic cylinder in vertically upward unbounded flow of power-law type non-Newtonian nanofluids using ANSYS Fluent. The governing continuity, momentum and energy equations for the shear-thinning power-law nanofluids along with suitable boundary conditions are simultaneously solved within the limitations of Boussinesq approximation. The semi implicit method for pressure-linked equations algorithm along with the quadratic upstream interpolation for convective kinematics scheme for discretizing the convective terms in both momentum and energy equations are adopted. The ranges of parameters considered for this study are: volume fraction of nanoparticles, 0.005–0.045; aspect ratio of elliptic cylinder, 0.5–2.5; and Richardson number, 0–40; and a representative Reynolds number of 20. The streamline patterns, surface pressure coefficient distributions, total drag coefficients, isotherm contours, and Nusselt numbers are presented for better understanding of heat transfer and flow phenomena around elliptic cylinders. Briefly results indicate that the total drag coefficient is found to increase with the increasing Richardson number whereas it decreases with the increasing volume fraction of nanoparticles. The average Nusselt numbers are found to increase with increasing Richardson number and increasing volume fraction of nanoparticles.     

Enhancement of Free Convection Heat Transfer from a Vertical Array of Isothermal Cylinders by Flow Diverters

Free convection heat transfer from a vertical array of five horizontal isothermal cylinders separated by flow diverters is investigated experimentally through a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Flow diverters with widths of 1, 2, and 3 cylinder-diameter are placed midway between the cylinders with a 45-degree inclination angle. The cylinders vertical center to center spacing is kept constant to three-cylinder diameter. The experiments are carried out for various Rayleigh numbers based on the cylinder diameter in the range of 10³ to 2.5× 10³ and for different flow diverter width. It is observed that the flow diverters enhance the heat transfer of the array from 10% to 27%, depending on their width. By increasing the width of the diverters and the Rayleigh number, enhancement of the heat transfer from the array increases.     

Mixed Convection in a Vertical Channel with Discrete Heat Sources Using a Porous Matrix

In this work, we present the mixed convection air-cooling of two identical heat sources mounted in a vertical channel by using a porous matrix. The flow field is governed by the Navier–Stokes equation in the fluid region, the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer equation in the porous region, and the thermal field by the energy equation. The effects of the Richardson number, Darcy number, thermal conductivity, and thickness of the porous matrix on the flow and heat transfer were studied. Results show that a better cooling is obtained for the channel completely filled with a porous material, except the components, with the Richardson number (Ri = Gr/Re² = 0.25), where Gr = 10⁴ is the Grashof number and Re = 200 is the Reynolds number, and for all Darcy numbers (10^?5 ≤ Da ≤ 10^?3). It was also seen that for Gr/Re² = 20, where the buoyancy effect is stronger, the average Nusselt number with porous matrix is higher than without porous matrix for all Richardson numbers (Ri = 0.25, 1, 10, and 20). As a result, we can economize the energy of the fan. Finally, the insertion of the porous matrix with high thermal conductivity ameliorates the cooling of the heat sources.     

Laminar Flow and Heat Transfer Phenomena Across a Confined Semicircular Bluff Body at Low Reynolds Numbers

The present study is concerned with the simulation of incompressible Newtonian fluid flow and heat transfer over a long semicircular bluff body in a channel at low Reynolds numbers. In particular, wall effects on the forced convection from a (heated) semicircular cylinder confined in a horizontal channel are investigated for Reynolds number = 1–40 and blockage ratio = 16.67–50% for air as the working fluid. Flow and thermal fields are found steady for the preceding range of settings. The onset of flow separation increases as the wall confinement increases. The size of the recirculation zone downstream of a semicircular cylinder is seen to increase almost linearly with Reynolds number for a fixed blockage ratio, but it decreases with increasing blockage ratio for a fixed Reynolds number. As expected, total drag coefficient and its components decrease with increasing value of Reynolds number. However, with increasing blockage ratio, the values of these drag coefficients increase. On the basis of equal projected area, the total drag coefficient for the present flow system is found to be greater than the corresponding drag in the case of the unconfined semicircular cylinder. Similarly, the overall drag in the case of a confined semicircular cylinder is found to be greater than that of a confined circular cylinder for the appropriate range of dimensionless control parameters. The maximum augmentation in heat transfer for blockage ratios of 25% and 50% is found to be approximately 16% and 51% with respect to the corresponding value at the blockage ratio of 16.67% at Reynolds number = 1. Finally, the correlations of wake length, drag coefficient, and average Nusselt number are obtained.     

Experimental Study of Free Convection Heat Transfer from Horizontal Isothermal Cylinders Arranged in Vertical and Inclined Arrays

Laminar free convection heat transfer from vertical and inclined arrays of horizontal isothermal cylinders in air were investigated experimentally. Experiments were carried out using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. For the vertical array, the cylinder spacing (center to center) varied from 2 to 5 cylinder diameter. The same range of vertical spacing also was used for the inclined array. The horizontal spacing varied from 0 to 2 cylinder diameter in the inclined array. The Rayleigh number based on the cylinder diameter varied between 10³ and 3× 10³. The effect of vertical and horizontal cylinder spacing and Rayleigh number on the heat transfer from each individual cylinder and the whole array were investigated. It is found that the free convection heat transfer from any individual cylinder in the array depends on its position relative to the others. Heat transfer correlations have been developed for any individual cylinder in the vertical and inclined arrays and for the arrays. Also the experiment was carried out on a single cylinder for a comparison with the results from other research.     

The Effect of Square Tube Location in a Vertical Array of Square Tubes on Natural Convection Heat Transfer

Experimental investigation is reported on natural convection heat transfer from the outer surface of a vertical array of horizontal square tubes in air. Five tubes equally spaced are used with cross section 0.02 × 0.02 m². The tubes are subject to constant heat flux boundary condition using internal constant heat flux heating elements in the range 46–510 W/m². Experiment is done for arrays of 2–5 square tubes and for four center-to-center separation distance to hydraulic diameter ratios. Study is concentrated on the effect of tube location in the array and on the geometry of the array. Results show that the downstream tubes exhibit reduced Nusselt numbers than that of a single tube for small center-to-center separation ratio of 2.5. This reduction depends on the location of the tube in the array and the number of tubes in each array. Results also show that as the ratio increases, enhancement in heat transfer over that of a single tube is observed and critical ratio is obtained at a specified value of the modified Rayleigh number for the upper (downward) tubes in each array. Local circumference averaged correlations are proposed for the upper tubes in each array and for any other individual tube in each array geometry. An overall general averaged correlation is also reported for each tube in the array.     

Enhancement of Heat Transfer in Partially Heated Vertical Channel Under Mixed Convection by Using Al2O3 Nanoparticles

Laminar mixed convection in a two-dimensional symmetrically and partially heated vertical channel is investigated. The heaters are located on both walls and uniform temperature is applied on the heated sections. The number of heaters is considered as 1, 4, 8, and 10. Aluminum oxide/water nanofluid is considered as working fluid and the inlet velocity is uniform. The continuity, momentum and energy equations with appropriate boundary conditions are solved in dimensionless form, numerically. The study is performed for Richardson number of 0.01 and 10, Reynolds number of 100 and 500, and nanofluid volume fraction of 0% and 5%. Based on the obtained velocity and temperature distributions, the local and mean Nusselt number is calculated and plotted for different cases. The variation of the mean Nusselt number with the number of the heated portions is also discussed. It is found that the addition of nanoparticles into the base fluid increases mean Nusselt number but the rate of increase depends on Reynolds, Richardson numbers and number of heated portions. It is possible to increase mean Nusselt number 138% by increasing Reynolds number from 100 to 500, Richardson number from 0.01 to 10 and number of heated portions from 1 to 10 when volume fraction value is 5%.     

Natural Convection Heat Transfer from Vertical Helical Coils in Oil

Abstract

This paper is the first in a two-part study of the pressure-flow characteristics for a range of microchannels. Here, the manufacture of the channels and the resulting quality in terms of the channels' closeness to target dimensions, channel-to-channel variation for each sample, and the difference in area between the assumed perfect rectangular/trapezoidal shape of the channels and their actual cross-section are addressed. Wet etching with KOH produced trapezoidal channels 577 μum wide and 413 μum high. DRIE produced rectangular channels 304 μum wide and 332 μum high. Mechanical sawing produced near rectangular channels in both silicon and plastic. The silicon channels were 52 μum wide and 423 μum deep, and the plastic channels were 203 μum wide × 344 or 382 μum deep. Channel dimensions were measured using a scanning electron microscope. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of producing relatively large microchannels in two materials by three methods.     

Natural Convection Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Square Cavity Periodically Cooled from Above

The present article reports numerical results of natural convection within an air filled square cavity with its horizontal walls submitted to different heating models. The temperature of the bottom horizontal surface (hot temperature) is maintained constant, while that of the opposite surface (cold temperature) is varied sinusoidally with time. The remaining vertical walls are considered adiabatic. The parameters governing the problem are the amplitude (0 ≤ a ≤ 0.8) and the period (τ ≥ 0.001) of the variable temperature, the Rayleigh number (10³ ≤ Ra ≤ 7 × 10⁶), and the Prandtl number (Pr = 0.71). In constant cooling conditions (a = 0), up to three different solutions (monocellular flow MF, bicellular vertical flow BVF, and bicellular horizontal flow BHF) are obtained. Their existence ranges are delineated and, in the limits of the existence range of each solution, the transitions observed are identified and described. In the variable cooling conditions, the effect of the amplitude and the period of the exciting temperature on fluid flow and heat transfer is examined in the case of the MF, and BHF for specific values of Ra. Results are presented in terms of Ψ _max (t), Ψ _min (t), Nu(t) and streamlines, heatlines, and isotherms during the evolutions of selected flow cycles. In comparison with the constant heating conditions, it is found that the variable cooling temperature could lead to a drastic change in the flow structure and the corresponding heat transfer, especially at specific low periods of the cold variable temperature. This leads to a resonance phenomenon characterized by an important increase in heat transfer by about 46.1% compared to the case of a constant cold temperature boundary condition.     

Effect of Thermal Buoyancy on Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Across a Semicircular Cylinder in Cross-Flow at Low Reynolds Numbers

The influence of superimposed thermal buoyancy on hydrodynamic and thermal transport across a semicircular cylinder is investigated through numerical simulation. The cylinder is fixed in an unconfined medium and interacted with an incompressible and uniform incoming flow. Two different orientations of the cylinder are considered: one when the curved surface is exposed to the incoming flow and the other when the flat surface is facing the flow. The flow Reynolds number is varied from 50 to 150, keeping the Prandtl number fixed (Pr = 0.71). The effect of superimposed thermal buoyancy is brought about by varying the Richardson number in the range 0 ≤ Ri ≤ 2. The unsteady two-dimensional governing equations are solved by deploying a finite volume method based on the PISO (Pressure Implicit with Splitting of Operator) algorithm. The flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed with the streamline and isotherm patterns at various Reynolds and Richardson numbers. The dimensionless frequency of vortex shedding (Strouhal number), drag, lift and pressure coefficients, and Nusselt numbers are presented and discussed. Substantial differences in the global flow and heat transfer quantities are observed for the two different configurations of the obstacle chosen in the study. Additionally, intriguing effects of thermal buoyancy can be witnessed. It is established that heat transfer rate differs significantly under the superimposed thermal buoyancy condition for the two different orientations of the obstacle.     

Heat Transfer in High Moisture Content Gas Flow Across a Cylinder at Moderate Reynolds Numbers

The average Nusselt number for the flow of a mixture of air and vapor across a tube was measured at moderate Reynolds numbers (2000–7000) for temperatures from 300 to 700°C and for humidity ratios from 0.22–0.54. Results are also presented for flow over a set of three tubes aligned perpendicular to the flow for the same range of conditions. The effects of humidity ratio and temperature on the convection coefficients were investigated to develop a modified Nusselt number correlation describing the heat transfer over the tubes. The results showed that the Nusselt number increased as the humidity ratio increased and that the increase was more than could be accounted for by typical models for the property variations of mixtures. The Nusselt number data were correlated with an equation that included both a Prandtl number ratio and a thermal conductivity ratio to correlate the multiple property variations due to both the large temperature variations and the large humidity variations. The exponent of the thermal conductivity ratio used in the modified correlation to correlate the additional effects of the property variations due to the large humidity variations was 0.073 for the entire data set, indicating the importance of the property variation due to the moisture content.