Effect of thermal dispersion on free convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

The present article considers a numerical study of thermal dispersion effect on the non-Darcy natural convection over a vertical flat plate in a fluid saturated porous medium. Forchheimer extension is considered in the flow equations. The coefficient of thermal diffusivity has been assumed to be the sum of molecular diffusivity and the dispersion thermal diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The non-dimensional governing equations are solved by the finite element method (FEM) with a Newton–Raphson solver. Numerical results for the details of the stream function, velocity and temperature contours and profiles as well as heat transfer rates in terms of Nusselt number are obtained. The study shows that the increase in thermal dispersion coefficient of the porous medium results in more heat energy to disperse away in the normal direction to the wall. This induces more fluid to flow along the wall, enhancing the heat transfer coefficient particularly near the wall.     

Thermal dispersion effects on non-Darcy natural convection with lateral mass flux

The method of similarity solution is used to study the influence of lateral mass flux and thermal dispersion on non-Darcy natural convection over a vertical flat plate in a fluid saturated porous medium. Forchheimer extension is considered in the flow equations and the coefficient of thermal diffusivity has been assumed to be the sum of molecular diffusivity and the dispersion thermal diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The suction/injection velocity distribution has been assumed to have power function form Ax ^l , where x is the distance from the leading edge and the wall temperature distribution is assumed to be uniform. When l=−1/2, similarity solution is possible, and the results indicate that the boundary layer thickness decreases where as the heat transfer rate increases as the mass flux parameter passes from injection domain to the suction domain. The increase in the thermal dispersion parameter is observed to enhance the heat transfer. The combined effect of thermal dispersion and fluid suction/injection on the heat transfer rate is discussed. Received on 9 September 1996     

Application of transfer matrix method in heat transfer performance analysis of multi-re-entrant honeycomb structures

The thermal properties for the multi-re-entrant honeycomb are investigated, where the hexagon and re-entrant topologies are applied for comparison. A compact model was adopted for the local heat transfer rate and pressure drop estimations while the total heat transfer rate was analyzed using the transfer matrix method. A thermal performance index was specified to characterize a good heat exchange medium that can transfer more heat at the expense of lower pressure loss. Numerical results reveal better thermal performances of multi-re-entrant honeycombs over hexagon and re-entrant topologies, attributed to the presence of added base walls. Auxetic effect introduced in multi-re-entrant honeycomb generally provides enhanced out-of-plane thermal conductivity and increased total heat transfer efficiency due to higher surface area density.     

Thermal Dispersion–Radiation Effects on Non-Darcy Natural Convection in a Fluid Saturated Porous Medium

The effects of thermal dispersion and thermal radiation on the non-Darcy natural convection over a vertical flat plate in a fluid saturated porous medium are studied. Forchheimer extension is considered in the flow equations. The coefficient of thermal diffusivity has been assumed to be the sum of molecular diffusivity and the dispersion thermal diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. Similarity solution for the transformed governing equations is obtained. Numerical results for the details of the velocity and temperature profiles which are shown on graphs have been presented. The combined effect of thermal dispersion and thermal radiation, for the two cases Darcy and non-Darcy porous medium, on the heat transfer rate which are entered in tables is discussed.     

On selection of reference temperature of heat transfer coefficient for complicated flows

Convective heat transfer coefficient is closely related with flow and thermal conditions. To define heat transfer coefficient, a reference temperature needs to be properly selected, which can be the fluid bulk mean temperature for internal flows or the temperature at the far field for external flows. For complicated flows, the adiabatic wall temperature is commonly adopted as the reference temperature, while other options can also be applied. This paper analyzed some of the potential selections of the reference temperature for different flow settings, including film cooling, jet impingement with cross flows, and a mixing flow in a straight duct with or without internal heat source. It is observed that heat transfer coefficient changes dramatically with selection of reference temperatures. In case of constant wall temperature, using adiabatic wall temperature as reference temperature can result in negative heat transfer coefficient, which means the heat flux has a different direction with the defined driving temperature difference. To avoid the inconsistency due to the reference temperature, an innovative method is proposed to calculate the heat transfer coefficient of complicated flows.     

Heat dispersion in stationary mixed convection flow about horizontal surfaces in porous media

An analysis has been performed to study the influence of velocity dependent dispersion on transverse heat transfer in mixed convection flow above a horizontal wall of prescribed temperature in a saturated porous medium. The Boussinesq approximation and boundary layer analysis were used to numerically obtain gravity affected temperature and velocity distributions within the frames of Darcy's law and a total thermal diffusivity tensor comprising both of constant coefficient heat conduction and velocity proportional mechanical heat dispersion. Dependending on Pe_∞, the molecular Peclét number basing on the effective thermal diffusivity and the velocity of the oncoming flow, density coupling has distinct influences on heat transfer rates between the wall surface and the porous medium flow region. For small Peclét numbers, when heat conduction is the prevailing mechanism, wall heat fluxes are the higher the larger the density difference between the oncoming and the near wall fluid is. The opposite is true for larger Peclét numbers, when mechanical heat dispersion is the main cause of heat spreading. For Pe_∞ tending to infinity these wall heat fluxes approach finite maximum values in the total heat diffusivity model, they grow beyond any limit if only constant coefficient heat conduction is considered. Thus, the inclusion of mechanical heat dispersion effects yields physically more realistic predictions. Received on 18 September 1996     

Transient thermal entrance heat transfer in laminar pipe flows with step change in pumping pressure

Analysis is made for the transient heat transfer phenomena in the thermal entrance region of laminar pipe flows. The transient results from both the change in flow field, a step change in pressure gradient from zero to a fixed value, and the change in thermal field, a step change in the inlet temperature. An exponential scheme has been employed to solve the energy equation with the presence of axial heat conduction in the fluid. In order to demonstrate the results more clearly, a modified Nusselt number is introduced. The unsteady axial variations of conventional Nusselt number, modified Nusselt number, bulk fluid temperature and pipe wall temperature are presented for water and air over a wide range of outside heat transfer coefficients. It is observed that the outside heat transfer coefficient has a significant influences on the transient heat transfer processes. The results can be comprehensively interpreted by the interactions among the axial convection, axial diffusion, and radial diffusion.     

Determination of heat transfer correlations for plate-fin-and-tube heat exchangers

This paper presents a numerical method for determining heat transfer coefficients in cross-flow heat exchangers with extended heat exchange surfaces. Coefficients in the correlations defining heat transfer on the liquid- and air-side were determined using a non-linear regression method. Correlation coefficients were determined from the condition that the sum of squared fluid temperature differences at the heat exchanger outlet, obtained by measurements and those calculated, achieved minimum. Minimum of the sum of the squares was found using the Levenberg-Marquardt method. The outlet temperature of the fluid leaving the heat exchanger was calculated using the mathematical model describing the heat transfer in the heat exchanger. Since the conditions at the liquid-side and those at the air-side are identified simultaneously, the derived correlations are valid in a wide range of flow rate changes of the air and liquid. This is especially important for partial loads of the exchanger, when the heat transfer rate is lower than the nominal load. The correlation for the average heat transfer coefficient on the air-side based on the experimental data was compared with the correlation obtained from numerical simulation of 3D fluid and heat flow, performed by means of the commercially available CFD code. The numerical predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Turbulent forced convection heat transfer of non-Newtonian nanofluids

Forced convection heat transfer of non-Newtonian nanofluids in a circular tube with constant wall temperature under turbulent flow conditions was investigated experimentally. Three types of nanofluids were prepared by dispersing homogeneously γ-Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and CuO nanoparticles into the base fluid. An aqueous solution of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as the base fluid. Nanofluids as well as the base fluid show shear-thinning (pseudoplastic) rheological behavior. Results indicate that the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids is higher than that of the base fluid. The enhancement of the convective heat transfer coefficient increases with an increase in the Peclet number and the nanoparticle concentration. The increase in the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids is greater than the increase that would be observed considering strictly the increase in the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Experimental data were compared to heat transfer coefficients predicted using available correlations for purely viscous non-Newtonian fluids. Results show poor agreement between experimental and predicted values. New correlation was proposed to predict successfully Nusselt numbers of non-Newtonian nanofluids as a function of Reynolds and Prandtl numbers.     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer by natural convection from a plate embedded in a porous medium with thermal dispersion effects

The problem of steady, laminar, simultaneous heat and mass transfer by natural convection flow over a vertical permeable plate embedded in a uniform porous medium in the presence of inertia and thermal dispersion effects is investigated for the case of linear variations of both the wall temperature and concentration with the distance along the plate. Appropriate transformations are employed to transform the governing differential equations to a non-similar form. The transformed equations are solved numerically by an efficient implicit, iterative, finite-difference scheme. The obtained results are checked against previously published work on special cases of the problem and are found to be in good agreement. A parametric study illustrating the influence of the porous medium effects, heat generation or absorption, wall suction or injection, concentration to thermal buoyancy ratio, thermal dispersion parameter, and the Schmidt number on the fluid velocity, temperature and concentration as well as the skin-friction coefficient and the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers is conducted. The results of this parametric study are shown graphically and the physical aspects of the problem are highlighted and discussed.     

Heat and mass transfer characteristics of organic sorbent coated on heat transfer surface of a heat exchanger

This paper describes heat and mass transfer characteristics of organic sorbent coated on heat transfer surface of a fin-tube heat exchanger. The experiments in which the moist air was passed into the heat exchanger coated with sorption material were conducted under various conditions of air flow rate (0.5–1.0 m/s) and the temperature of brine (14–20°C) that was the heat transfer fluid to cool the air flow in the dehumidifying process. It is found that the sorption rate of vapor is affected by the air flow rate and the brine temperature. Meanwhile, the attempt of clarifying the sorption mechanism is also conducted. Finally the average mass transfer coefficient of the organic sorbent coated on heat transfer surface of a fin-tube heat exchanger is non-dimensionalzed as a function of Reynolds number and non-dimensional temperature, and it is found that the effect of non-dimensional temperature on them is larger than Reynolds number .     

Experimental investigation of TiO2/water nanofluid laminar forced convective heat transfer through helical coiled tube

Coiled tubes and nanofludics are two significant techniques to enhance the heat transfer ability of thermal equipments. The forced convective heat transfer and the pressure drop of nanofluid inside straight tube and helical coiled one with a constant wall heat flux were studied experimentally. Distilled water was used as a host fluid and Nanofluids of aqueous TiO₂ nanoparticles (50 nm) suspensions were prepared in various volume concentrations of 0.25–2 %. The heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids is obtained for different nanoparticle concentrations as well as various Reynolds numbers. The experiments covered a range of Reynolds number of 500–4,500. The results show the considerable enhancement of heat transfer rate, which is due to the nanoparticles present in the fluid. Heat transfer coefficient increases by increasing the volume concentration of nanoparticles as well as Reynolds number. Moreover, due to the curvature of the tube when fluid flows inside helical coiled tube instead of straight one, both convective heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop of fluid grow considerably. Also, the thermal performance factors for tested nanofluids are greater than unity and the maximum thermal performance factor of 3.72 is found with the use of 2.0 % volume concentration of nanofluid at Reynolds number of 1,750.     

A risk based performance evaluation of plate-and-frame heat exchangers

Plate-and-frame heat exchangers (PHEs) operating in process industries are fouled to a greater or lesser extent depending on surface temperature, surface condition, material of construction, fluid velocity, flow geometry and fluid composition. This fouling phenomenon is time-dependent and will result in a decrease in the overall heat transfer coefficient and increase in the pressure drop of the PHE. Once the overall heat transfer coefficient decreases to a minimum acceptable level, cleaning of the equipment becomes necessary to restore the performance. In this paper, we present a simple probabilistic approach to characterize various fouling models that are commonly encountered in many industries. These random fouling growth models are then used to investigate the impact on risk based thermal effectiveness, overall heat transfer coefficient and the hot- and cold-fluid outlet temperatures of a PHE. All the results are presented in a generalized form in order to demonstrate the generality of the risk-based procedure discussed in this paper.     

Prediction of transient heat transfer coefficients in thick-walled pressure components of cylindrical geometry

This paper presents a procedure for determining the transient heat transfer coefficient in cylindrical, thick-walled pressure parts. From theoretical considerations, the temperatures can be predicted at discrete locations throughout the wall, when input data such as thermocouple responses are known at one or several interior locations.Special emphasis is placed on the dynamic response of the thermometer, which measures the temperature of the inside fluid, to enable exact determination of both heat transfer coefficient and fluid temperature. The transient response of a thermocouple in a convectional thermowell (pocket) is described by the first-order convective heat transfer model in which the rate of thermoelement temperature change is proportional to the instantaneous difference between the thermoelement and fluid temperatures.     

Numerical and experimental study of heat transfer in a tall vertical closed cavity

In this work the numerical and experimental results of heat transfer in a vertical tall closed cavity are presented. The cavity has an aspect ratio of 20, one of the vertical walls receive a constant and uniform heat flux, while the opposite wall is kept at a constant temperature. The remaining walls are assumed adiabatic. The cavity is full of air. The computational fluid dynamics software Fluent 6.3 was used for the simulation and an experimental prototype was built to obtain the heat transfer coefficients. The air temperature and the fluid velocity values are higher when emissivity (ε) is 0.03 (almost pure natural convection). The experimental total heat transfer coefficient increases between 119.9 and 159.9 % when the emissivity of the walls changes from 0.03 to 0.95.     

Melting heat and thermal radiation effects in stretched flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid

The incompressible flow of a non-Newtonian fluid with mixed convection along a stretching sheet is analyzed. The heat transfer phenomenon is discussed through thermal radiation. The effects of the melting heat transfer and heat generation/absorption are also taken. Suitable transformations are utilized to attain the nonlinear ordinary differential expressions. The convergent series solutions are presented. The fluid flow, temperature,and surface heat transfer rate are examined graphically. It is observed that the velocity decreases when the relaxation time increases while increases when the retardation time is constant. The results also reveal that the temperature distribution reduces when the radiation parameter increases.     

Unsteady thermal entrance heat transfer in laminar pipe flows with step change in ambient temperature

A fully implicit upwind finite difference numerical scheme has been proposed to investigate the characteristics of thermal entrance heat transfer in laminar pipe flows subject to a step change in ambient temperature. In order to demonstrate the results more clearly, a modified Nusselt number is introduced. The unsteady axial variations of modified Nusselt number, bulk fluid temperature, and wall temperature and the transient temperature profiles at certain axial locations are presented graphically for various outside heat transfer coefficients. The effects of the outside heat transfer coefficient on the heat transport processes in the flow are examined in detail. The results can be comprehensively explained by the interaction between the upstream convective heat transfer and the diffusion heat transfer in the radial direction. Steady state is reached when the axial convection balances the radial diffusion.     

Thermal dispersion and viscous dissipation effects on non-darcy mixed convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

Mixed convection flow and heat transfer about an isothermal vertical wall embedded in a fluid saturated porous medium with uniform free stream velocity is considered and the effects of thermal dispersion and viscous dissipation in both aiding and opposing flows are analysed. Similarity solution is not possible due to the inclusion of the viscous dissipation term, series solution is obtained, first and second order effects of dissipation revealed that viscous dissipation lowers the heat transfer rate. Observations also revealed that the thermal dispersion effect enhances the heat transfer rate and the effect of viscous dissipation is observed to increase with increasing values of the dispersion parameter. Received on 21 March 1997     

Mixed convection effects on heat and mass transfer in a non Newtonian fluid with chemical reaction over a vertical plate

This paper studies mixed convection, double dispersion and chemical reaction effects on heat and mass transfer in a non-Darcy non-Newtonian fluid over a vertical surface in a porous medium under the constant temperature and concentration. The governing boundary layer equations, namely, momentum, energy and concentration, are converted to ordinary differential equations by introducing similarity variables and then are solved numerically by means of fourth-order Runge-Kutta method coupled with double-shooting technique. The velocity, temperature concentration, heat and mass transfer profiles are presented graphically for various values of the parameters, and the influence of viscosity index n, thermal and solute dispersion, chemical reaction parameter χ are observed.     

Optimization of heat transfer through finned dissipators cooled by laminar flow

In the present work, the problem of optimizing the shape and the spacing of the fins of a thermal dissipator cooled by a fluid in laminar flow is studied. For a particular finned conduit, the velocity and temperature distributions on the transversal section are determined with the help of a finite element model and a global heat transfer coefficient is calculated. A polynomial lateral profile is proposed for the fins and the geometry is optimized in order to make the heat transfer coefficient as high as possible with the smallest dimensions or the lowest hydraulic resistance to the flow. The optimum fin profile and spacing, obtained by means of a genetic algorithm, are finally shown for different situations. Increases of 45% are obtained in the heat transfer coefficient referring to the maximum values which can be obtained with rectangular fin profiles.