Mixed convection in non-Newtonian fluids along a vertical plate with variable surface heat flux in a porous medium

A nonsimilar boundary layer analysis is presented for the problem of mixed convection in power-law type non-Newtonian fluids along a vertical plate with power-law surface heat flux distribution. The mixed convection regime is divided into two regions, namely, the forced convection dominated regime and the free convection dominated regime. The two solutions are matched. Numerical results are presented for the details of the velocity and temperature fields. A discussion is provided for the effect of viscosity index on the surface heat transfer rate. Received on 13 October 1998     

Mixed convection in non-Newtonian fluids along nonisothermal horizontal surfaces in porous media

A nonsimilar boundary layer analysis is presented for the problem of mixed convection in power-law type non-Newtonian fluids along horizontal surfaces with variable wall temperature distribution. The mixed convection regime is divided into two regions, namely, the forced convection dominated regime and the free convection dominated regime. The two solutions are matched. Numerical results are presented for the details of the velocity and temperature fields. A discussion is provided for the effect of viscosity index on the surface heat transfer rate. Received on 11 March 1997     

Nonsimilar Solutions for Mixed Convection in Non‐Newtonian Fluids Along a Vertical Plate in a Porous Medium

A nonsimilar boundary layer analysis is presented for the problem of mixed convection in powerlaw type nonNewtonian fluids along a vertical plate with powerlaw wall temperature distribution. The mixed convection regime is divided into two regions, namely,the forced convection dominated regime and the free convection dominated regime. The two solutions are matched. Numerical results are presented for the details of the velocity and temperature fields. A discussion is provided for the effect of viscosity index on the surface heat transfer rate.     

No slip boundary effects in non-Darcian mixed convection from a vertical wall in saturated porous media. Analytical solution

An analytical study is made for wall effects in non-Darcy mixed convection from vertical impermeable surfaces embedded in a saturated porous medium. The governing equations are transformed into a dimensionless form by non-similar transformation to cover both forced and natural convection dominated regimes. Two different dimensionless parameters that measure the strength of mixed convection were found in both regimes. The parameters of forced convection dominated regime can be related to those of natural convection dominated regime. An approximate analytical solution for the governing equations was obtained. Temperature and velocity profiles for both regimes are presented. Received on 9 September 1997     

Non-Darcy mixed convection from a vertical plate in saturated porous media-variable surface heat flux

Nonsimilarity solutions for non-Darcy mixed convection from a vertical impermeable surface embedded in a saturated porous medium are presented for variable surface heat flux (VHF) of the power-law form. The entire mixed convection region is divided into two regimes. One region covers the forced convection dominated regime and the other one covers the natural convection dominated regime. The governing equations are first transformed into a dimensionless form by the nonsimilar transformation and then solved by a finite-difference scheme. Computations are based on Keller Box method and a tolerance of iteration of 10⁻⁵ as a criterion for convergence. Three physical aspects are introduced. One measures the strength of mixed convection where the dimensionless parameter Ra^* _x /Pe^3/2 _x characterizes the effect of buoyancy forces on the forced convection; while the parameter Pe _x /Ra^*2/3 _x characterizes the effect of forced flow on the natural convection. The second aspect represents the effect of the inertial resistance where the parameter K′U _∞/ν is found to characterize the effect of inertial force in the forced convection dominated regime, while the parameter (K′U _∞/ν)(Ra^*2/3 _x /Pe _x ) characterizes the effect of inertial force in the natural convection dominated regime. The third aspect is the effect of the heating condition at the wall on the mixed convection, which is presented by m, the power index of the power-law form heating condition. Numerical results for both heating conditions are carried out. Distributions of dimensionless temperature and velocity profiles for both Darcy and non-Darcy models are presented. Received on 26 May 1997     

Mixed convection heat transfer from a horizontal plate with variable surface heat flux in a porous medium

In this article nonsimilarity solution for mixed convection from a horizontal surface in a saturated porous medium was obtained for the case of variable surface heat flux. The entire mixed convection regime, ranging from pure forced convection to pure free convection, is considered by introducing a single nonsimilarity parameter. Heat transfer results are predicted by employing four different flow models, namely, Darcy's law, the Ergun model, and the Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy model with constant and variable porosity. The variable porosity effect is approximated by an exponential function. Effects of transverse thermal dispersion are taken into consideration in the energy equation, along with variable stagnant thermal conductivities. The formulation of the present problem shows that the flow and heat transfer characteristics depend on five parameters, that is, the power in the variation of surface heat flux, the nonsimilarity mixed-convection parameter, the inertia effect parameter, the boundary effect parameter, and the ratio of thermal conductivity of the fluid phase to that of the solid phase. Numerical results for the local Nusselt number variations, based on the various flow models, are presented for the entire mixed convection regime. The impacts␣of different governing parameters on the heat transfer results are thoroughly investigated. Received on 7 August 1997     

Inertia effects on mixed convection for vertical plates with variable wall temperature in saturated porous media

Mixed convection in a porous medium from a vertical plate with variable wall temperature is investigated. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions and two sets of transformations are used. The first region is for the forced convection dominated regime (FCDR) and the other one is for the natural convection dominated regime (NCDR). The dimensionless parameterK′ U _∞/ν is found to characterize the effect of inertia resistance in the first region and the dimensionless parameter (K′ U _∞/ν (Ra _x /Pe _x ) is found to characterize the effect of inertia resistance in the second region. The solution of the first region is carried out from ξ _f =0.0 to ξ _f =1.0, and the solution of the second region is carried out from ξ _n =0.0 to ξ _n =1.0. Velocity and temperature profiles are calculated at different values of the governing parameters. Local Nusslet number variation for the entire mixed convection regime is also calculated and presented.     

Nonsimilarity solutions for non-Darcy mixed convection from horizontal surfaces in a porous medium

Non-Darcy mixed convection in a porous medium from horizontal surfaces with variable surface heat flux of the power-law distribution is analyzed. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions. The first region covers the forced convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ζ _f =Ra^* _x /Pe² _x is found to characterize the effect of buoyancy forces on the forced convection with K ^′ U _∞/ν characterizing the effect of inertia resistance. The second region covers the natural convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ζ _n =Pe _x /Ra^*1/2 _x is found to characterize the effect of the forced flow on the natural convection, with (K ^′ U _∞/ν)Ra^*1/2 _x /Pe _x characterizing the effect of inertia resistance. To obtain the solution that covers the entire mixed convection regime the solution of the first regime is carried out for ζ _f =0, the pure forced convection limit, to ζ _f =1 and the solution of the second is carried out for ζ _n =0, the pure natural convection limit, to ζ _n =1. The two solutions meet and match at ζ _f =ζ _n =1, and R ^* _h =G ^* _h . Also a non-Darcy model was used to analyze mixed convection in a porous medium from horizontal surfaces with variable wall temperature of the power-law form. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions. The first region covers the forced convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ξ _f =Ra _x /Pe _x ^3/2 is found to measure the buoyancy effects on mixed convection with Da _x Pe _x /ɛ as the wall effects. The second region covers the natural convection dominated region where ξ _n =Pe _x /Ra _x ^2/3 is found to measure the force effects on mixed convection with Da _x Ra _x ^2/3/ɛ as the wall effects. Numerical results for different inertia, wall, variable surface heat flux and variable wall temperature exponents are presented. Received on 8 July 1996     

Convective heat transfer from a rotating or nonrotating axisymmetric body

An analysis of steady laminar mixed-convection heat transfer from a rotating or nonrotating axisymmetric body is presented. A mixed-convection parameter is proposed to serve as a controlling parameter that determines the relative importance of the forced and the free convection. In addition, a rotation parameter is introduced to indicate the relative contributions of the flow forced convection and the rotational forced convection. The values of both these two parameters lie between 0 and 1. Furthermore, the coordinates and dependent variables are transformed to yield computationally efficient numerical solutions that are valid over the entire range of mixed convection from the forced-convection limit (rotating or nonrotating bodies) to the pure free-convection limit (non-rotating bodies) and the entire regime of forced convection from the pure flow forced-convection limit (nonrotating bodies) to pure rotational forced-convection limit (rotating bodies). The effects of mixed-convection intensity, body rotation, fluid suction or injection, and fluid Prandtl number on the velocity profiles, the temperature profiles, the skin-friction parameter, and heat transfer parameter are clearly illustrated for both cases of buoyancy assisting and opposing flow conditions.     

Three-dimensional convective interactions in an inclined longitudinal air layer

The results of a three-dimensional numerical simulation of thermal-gravitational convection for an arbitrary direction of the gravity force are presented. The calculations were carried out for a rectangular domain with the solid-wall aspect ratio 4:0.5:1. The cavity filled with air was heated from below. The convection regime was laminar with Rayleigh numbers Ra = 10³–10⁵. The cavity was gradually turned about the short side in different directions in the range 0–90° to study how the initial conditions affect the convection. The average heat transfer characteristics and the spatial flow patterns are presented. A comparison with two-dimensional calculations is given. The conditions of the occurrence of a hysteresis in the steady state of convection are found, a regime map is constructed, and the specific features of the interaction of heat fluxes are described.     

Local nonsimilarity method for the two-phase boundary layer in mixed convection laminar film condensation

The two-phase boundary layer in laminar film condensation was solved by Koh for the free convection regime and forced convection regime using the similarity method. But the problem on mixed convection does not admit similarity solutions. The current work develops a local nonsimilarity method for the full spectrum of mixed convection, with a generic boundary layer formulation reduced to two specific cases mathematically identical to Koh’s formulations on the two limiting cases for either free or forced convection. Other solution methods for mixed convection in the literature are compared and critically evaluated to ensure a high level of accuracy in the current method. The current solution is used to extend Fujii’s correlation for mixed convection to the region where the energy convection effect is significant but has been hitherto neglected. The modified Fujii correlation provides a practical engineering tool for evaluating laminar film condensation with a mixed convection boundary layer.     

Mixed Convection Adjacent to a Suddenly Heated Horizontal Circular Cylinder Embedded in a Porous Medium

The mixed convection caused when a horizontal circular cylinder is suddenly heated is investigated in the situation when the initial flow past the cylinder is uniform and its direction either upwards or downwards. An analytical series solution, which is valid at small times, is obtained using the matched asymptotic expansions technique. A numerical solution, which is valid at all times and for any values of the Rayleigh and Péclet numbers, is also obtained using a fully implicit finite-difference method. Three different regimes, when either the free or forced convection is dominant or when they have the same order of magnitude, are considered. In the free convection dominated regime, two vortices develop near the sides of the cylinder in both situations of an upward or downward external flow. Comparisons between the analytical and numerical results at small times, as well as a detailed discussion of the evolution of the numerical solution are presented. The numerical results obtained for large Rayleigh, Ra, and Péclet Pe, numbers show that a thermal boundary-layer forms adjacent to the cylinder for any value of the ratio Ra/e. The steady state boundary-layer analysis, similar to that performed by Cheng and Merkin, is analysed in comparison to the numerical solution obtained for large values of Ra and Pe at very large times.     

Application of the wavelet transform for a channel flow in a mixed convection phenomenon

The aim of this paper is to investigate laminar-turbulent transition in a mixed convection phenomenon occurring in a horizontal rectangular duct. Indeed, laminar-turbulent transition is well known in the case of forced convection but the presence of secondary flow induced by natural convection on this transition is not well highlighted. In this study, we will not be concerned by determining a critical threshold value of a Reynolds number of transition but only to estimate the degree of turbulence in the transition regime, i.e. weak turbulence in the case of a mixed convection phenomenon. This is possible thanks to the application of the wavelet transform. The calculation of the Hölder exponent, associated with the maximum value of the singularity spectrum for various experimental conditions allows the degree of turbulence to be measured. The variation of the Hölder exponent versus heat flux and Reynolds number enables us to show that there are two ways to go towards turbulence: thermal by increasing heat flux and hydrodynamic by increasing fluid velocity.     

Adverse and favorable mixed convection heat transfer in a two-side heated square channel

Experimental heat transfer measurements and analysis for mixed convection in a vertical square channel are presented. Water flow directions are selected such that buoyancy assists or opposes the bulk flow pressure gradient. Unlike most previous experiments with symmetrically heated circular tubes, the present configuration uses an asymmetric heating condition (two sides heated and two sides insulated) and shows significant increase in the Nusselt number for both assisted and opposed flow conditions. Observed heat transfer coefficient distributions are different from the symmetrically heated channels; and this difference in heat transfer coefficient is attributed to the formation of buoyancy driven large-scale flow structures. In general, opposed flow shows higher heat transfer coefficients, and the Nusselt number ratio is observed to increase as Gr/Re or Gr/Re² ratios increase for both assisted and opposed flow conditions. A correlation based on the buoyancy parameter predicts the heat transfer pattern well in both assisted and opposed mixed convection. The range of Reynolds numbers discussed (Re=400–10,000) is of importance for direct numerical simulations and the details provided here can serve as the benchmark data required for complicated buoyancy affected turbulence simulations.     

Numerical study on mixed convection from a constant wall temperature circular cylinder in zero-mean velocity oscillating cooling flows

Fluid flow and heat transfer of mixed convection from a constant wall temperature circular cylinder in zero-mean velocity oscillating cooling flows have been simulated based on the projection method with two dimensional exponential stretched staggered cylindrical meshes. Cycle mean temperature and secondary streaming are obtained by the method of partial sums of the Fourier series. Present numerical results are validated by comparing the heat transfer results of free convection and the secondary streaming of pure oscillating flow over a circular cylinder to published experimental and numerical results. The complete structures of the cycle mean temperature and secondary streaming patterns are provided by numerical simulations over wide ranges of the Reynolds number, the Keulegan–Carpenter number and the Richardson number. Based on turning points of the curves of the overall Nusselt numbers versus Reynolds numbers and the characteristics of the cycle averaged temperature and flow patterns, the heat transfer can be divided into three linear regimes (conduction, laminar convection, and turbulent convection dominated regimes) and two non-linear transition regimes. The effects of wave directions, amplitudes, frequencies, and buoyancy forces on the enhancement of heat transfer are also investigated. The effective ranges of the governing parameters for heat transfer enhancement are identified.     

Numerical Modeling of Unsteady Two-Dimensional Convection in a Finite-Length Horizontal Layer Heated from Below

The development of two-dimensional thermo-gravitational convection in an elongated horizontal layer bounded by solid surfaces with the bottom instantaneously heated is investigated. The characteristics of the transition from the heat conduction regime to the convective regime are considered. The flow pattern and the heat transfer properties are described from the initial instant, which corresponds to the isothermal fluid at rest, up to the attainment of the steady-state roll-convection regime. A criterial dependence between the Rayleigh number and the nondimensional time of onset of the influence of thermo-gravitational convection on heat transfer is obtained.     

Convection regimes and heat transfer characteristics along a continuously moving heated vertical plate

The steady laminar flow and thermal characteristics of a continuously moving vertical sheet of extruded material are studied close to and far downstream from the extrusion slot. The velocity and temperature variations, obtained by a finite volume method, are used to map out the entire forced, mixed and natural convection regimes. The effects of the Prandtl number (Pr) and the buoyancy force parameter (B) on the friction and heat transfer coefficients are investigated. Comparisons with experimental measurements and solutions by others in the pure forced and pure natural convection regions are made. In the mixed convection region, the results are compared with available finite-difference solutions of the boundary layer equations showing excellent agreement. The region close to the extrusion slot is characterized as a non-similar forced-convection dominated region in which Nu_xRe_x^−1/2 drops sharply with increasing Richardson number (Ri_x). This is followed by a self-similar forced-convection dominated region in which Nu_xRe_x^−1/2 levels off with increasing Ri_x until the buoyancy effect sets in. The existence and extent of the latter region depend upon the value of B. A non-similar mixed convection region where increasing buoyancy effect enhances the heat transfer rate follows. Finally, this region is followed downstream by a self-similar natural-convection dominated region in which Nu_xRe_x^−1/2 approaches the pure natural convection asymptote at large Ri_x. Critical values of Ri_x to distinguish the various convection regimes are determined for different Pr and B.     

Turbulent mixed convection heat transfer to liquid sodium

The influences of buoyancy on turbulent heat transfer to a liquid metal flowing in a vertical pipe are considered. A theoretical model is presented which provides a criterion for the conditions under which such influences become significant and which predicts the impairment of heat transfer for upward flow and enhancement for downward flow. The variation with Peclet number of the maximum impairment of heat transfer and conditions under which it occurs are established. A generalization of the model leading to an equation for the entire mixed convection region is proposed. From this an equation for turbulent free convection to liquid metals is obtained.     

Experimental studies on mixed convection heat transfer in laminar flow through a plain square duct

This paper reports the findings of experimental studies on combined free and forced convection through a plain square duct in laminar region. The test fluid flows through an inner square duct, hot water at high flow rate circulated through a annular channel formed between square duct and circular tube, in counter current fashion to attain a nearly uniform wall temperature conditions. The importance of mixed convection is judged by the value of the Richardson number (Ri). It was observed that at low Reynolds number, heat transfer was mainly governed by mixed convection. However at higher values of Reynolds number, heat transfer was significantly dominated by forced convection. It was found that Reynolds number higher than 1050 for water and 480 for ethylene glycol resulted in laminar forced convention heat transfer. The empirical correlation developed for Nusselt number in terms of Grashoff number and Graez number, was found to fit with experimental Nusselt number within ±11 and ±12?% for water and ethylene glycol respectively.     

Heat (mass) transfer between an impinging jet and a rotating disk

The aim of this experimental study is to investigate the heat (mass) transfer of a rotating disk with an impinging circular jet. To facilitate the experiments, the naphthalene sublimation technique was employed. In order to analyze the results, measurements of the heat (mass) transfer of a stationary disk with an impinging jet and a rotating disk without jet impingement were also made. From the experimental results, it is found that the heat (mass) transfer are precisely divided into three regimes, namely the impingement dominated regime; the mixed regime and the rotation dominated regime. Correlation of Sherwood number of a rotating disk with jet impingement is also proposed in the present work. Received on 12 January 1998