Two-phase flow of refrigerants in 85 μm-wide multi-microchannels: Part II – Heat transfer with 35 local heaters

This article is the second part of a study on flow boiling of R236fa and R245fa. This part presents the heat transfer coefficients obtained in a 12.7 mm silicon evaporator composed of 135 microchannels with 85 μm wide and 560 μm high channels separated by 46 μm wide fins. There were 35 local heaters and temperature measurements arranged in a 5 × 7 array. The heat transfer results were uniform in the lateral direction to the flow (attributable to the inlet restriction) and a function of the heat flux, vapor quality and mass flux. The steady-state standard deviation of the local base temperature was less than 0.2 °C, inferring that the boiling process was very stable. For wall heat fluxes over 45 kW/m², the heat transfer coefficient curves were V-shaped, decreasing for intermittent flow regimes and increasing for annular flow. The three-zone model of Thome et al. (2004) was the best heat transfer prediction method when setting the dryout thickness equal to the channel roughness.     

Effects of cross ribs on heat/mass transfer in a two-pass rotating duct

Two-pass internal cooling passage with rib turbulators has been investigated for convective heat/mass transfer under rotating conditions. The flow and heat transfer characteristics in the cooling passage are very complicated so that it is required the detail analysis to design more efficient gas turbine blades. A naphthalene sublimation technique is employed to determine detailed local heat transfer coefficients using the heat and mass transfer analogy. The local heat/mass transfer and flow pattern in the cooling passage are changed significantly according to rib configurations, duct turning geometries and duct rotation speeds. Four different rib configurations are investigated to obtain the combined effects of the angled rib, duct turning and rotation. The results show that the duct rotation generates the heat/mass transfer discrepancy between the leading and trailing walls due to the secondary flows induced by the Coriolis force. The angled ribs generate a single rotating secondary flow with the cross-rib arrangement and the duct turning makes a strong Dean-type vortex. These vortices affect significantly the heat/mass transfer on the duct wall. The overall heat transfer pattern on the leading and trailing surfaces for the first and second passes are dependent on the duct rotation, but the local heat transfer trend is affected mainly by the rib arrangements. In addition, the present study observes the rotating effect in the two-pass smooth duct to obtain the baseline data in comparison with the ribbed duct for various rib arrangements.     

Two-phase annular flow and evaporative heat transfer in a microchannel

A physical and mathematical model has been developed to predict the two-phase flow and heat transfer in a microchannel with evaporative heat transfer. Sample solutions to the model were obtained for both constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux conditions. Results are provided for evaporation rate, liquid film thickness, liquid and vapor phase pressure and temperature distributions. In addition to the sample calculations that were used to illustrate the transport characteristics, computations based on the current model were performed to generate results for comparisons with the experimental results of Qu and Mudawar (2004) where two different mass flow rates of the working fluid were used in the experiment. The comparisons of total pressure drops with the experimental data of Qu and Mudawar (2004) cover the wall heat flux range of 142.71-240 W/cm² with a total channel mass flux of 400.1 kg/m² s and also the wall heat flu range of 99.54-204.39 W/cm² with total channel mass flux of 401.9 kg/m² s. The calculated results from the current model match closely with those of Qu and Mudawar (2004).     

Local heat transfer around a wall-mounted cube at 45° to flow in a turbulent boundary layer

The flow and local heat transfer around a wall-mounted cube oriented 45° to the flow is investigated experimentally in the range of Reynolds number 4.2 × 10³–3.3 × 10⁴ based on the cube height. The distribution of local heat transfer on the cube and its base wall are examined, and it is clarified that the heat transfer distribution under the angled condition differs markedly to that for cube oriented perpendicular to the flow, particularly on the top face of the cube. The surface pressure distribution is also investigated, revealing a well-formed pair of leading-edge vortices extending from the front corner of the top face downstream along both front edges for Re>(1−2)×10⁴. Regions of high heat transfer and low pressure are formed along the flow reattachment and separation lines caused by these vortices. In particular, near the front corner of the top face, pressure suction and heat transfer enhancement are pronounced. The average heat transfer on the top face is enhanced at Re>(1−2)×10⁴ over that of a cube aligned perpendicular to the flow.     

Turbulent heat transfer characteristics of water flow in a rotating pipe

Large-Eddy-Simulation of turbulent heat transfer for water flow in rotating pipe is performed, for various rotation ratios (0 ≤ N ≤ 14). The value of the Reynolds number, based on the bulk velocity and pipe diameter, is Re = 5,500. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the rotating pipe on the turbulent heat transfer for water flow, as well as the reliability of the LES approach for predicting turbulent heat transfer in water flow. Some predictions for the case of non-rotating pipe are compared to the available results of literature for validation. To depict the influence of the rotation ratio on turbulent heat transfer, many statistical quantities are analyzed (distributions of mean temperature, rms of fluctuating temperature, turbulent heat fluxes, higher-order statistics). Some contours of instantaneous temperature fluctuations are examined.     

Combined forced and natural convection in laminar film flow

A mathematical model for the flow and heat transfer in a gravity-driven liquid film is presented, in which the strict Boussinesq approximation is adopted to account for buoyancy. A similarity transformation reduces the governing equations to a coupled set of ordinary differential equations. The resulting two-parameter problem is solved numerically for Prandtl numbers ranging from 1 to 1000. Favourable buoyancy arises when the temperatureT _w of the isothermal surface is lower than the temperatureT ₀ of the incoming fluid, and the principal effects of the aiding buoyancy are to increase the wall shear and heat transfer rate. For unfavourable buoyancy (T _w>T ₀), the buoyancy force and gravity act in opposite directions and the flow in the film boundary layer decelerates, whereas the friction and heat transfer are reduced. The observed effects of buoyancy diminish appreciably for higher Prandtl numbers.     

Study of transient heat transfer and synchronized flow visualizations during sub-cooled flow boiling in a small aspect ratio microchannel

The challenges that microchannel flow boiling technology faces are the lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms of heat transfer during various flow boiling regimes and a dearth of analytical models that can predict heat transfer. This paper aims to understand flow boiling heat transfer mechanisms by analyzing results obtained by synchronously captured high-speed flow visualizations with local, transient temperature data. Using Inverse Heat Conduction Problem (IHCP) solution methodology, the transient wetted surface heat flux and temperature as well as heat transfer coefficient are calculated. These are then correlated with the visual data. Experiments are performed on a single microchannel embedded with fast response temperature sensors located (630 µm) below the wetted surface. The height, width and length of the microchannel are 0.42 mm, 2.54 mm and 25.4 mm respectively. De-ionized, de-gassed water is used as the working fluid. Two heat fluxes are tested at each of the mass fluxes of 182 kg/(m²s) and 380 kg/(m²s). Because of vapor confinement, slug flow is observed for the tested conditions. The present study provides detailed insights into the effect of various events such as passage of vapor slug, 3-phase contact line, partial-dry-out and liquid slug on transient heat transfer coefficient. Transient heat transfer coefficient peaks when thin film evaporation mechanism is prevalent. The peak value is influenced by the distance of bubble incipience as well as downstream events obstructing the flow. Heat transfer coefficient during the passage of liquid slug and 3-phase contact line were relatively lower for the tested experimental conditions.     

Heat transfer experiments in rotating boundary layer flow

The influence of Coriolis force on heat transfer in a rotating transitional boundary layer has been experimentally investigated. The experiments have been conducted for local Görtler numbers up to 150. Heat transfer measurements have been performed for a flat plate with nearly uniform heat flux applied to the surface, where the temperature was measured by the thermochromic liquid crystal method. The results indicate that heat transfer is enhanced when Coriolis force acts towards the wall, i.e., on the pressure surface. The velocity measurements under equivalent conditions show that Coriolis instability induces counter-rotating longitudinal vortices which augment the lateral transport of the fluid on the pressure surface. On the other hand, the heat transfer on the suction surface remains at the same level as compared to the case without system rotation. As a consequence, the heat transfer coefficient on the pressure surface is 1.8 times higher than that measured on the suction surface when averaged over the measured surface.     

Influence of thermal boundary conditions on the dynamic behaviour of a rectangular single-phase natural circulation loop

Natural circulation of distilled water and FC43 has been experimentally investigated in a rectangular loop characterized by internal diameter of 30 mm and total length of 4.1 m. The aim of the present study is to analyse the influence of thermal boundary conditions on the flow regimes inside the pipes and on the stability of the system. The new aspect of the present research is the possibility of tuning the heat sink temperature in a range between −20 °C and +30 °C by means of a cryostat. This kind of analysis could be useful for the design of systems characterized by a wide range of environment temperatures, as for example for aerospatial applications. The other parameters investigated were the heat flux transferred to the fluid, which varied between 0.1 kW and 2.5 kW, and the thermo-physical properties of the working fluid. The system showed both stable and unstable behaviour. In particular, in the case of FC43 the loop was more unstable and it was characterized by higher velocities and frequencies compared to the case of distilled water.It was found that the stability threshold could be crossed by varying only the heat sink temperature, demonstrating the importance of this boundary condition on the dynamics of the system. Different flow regimes and fluid velocities were observed. In the case of steady-state flow, Vijayan’s correlation (Vijayan et al., 2000) was tested and found to give good agreement with experimental data. Linear stability analysis was made following the Vijayan’s model. In particular, the effect of heat sink temperature was considered in the dimensionless Stanton number based on the overall heat transfer coefficient at the heat sink. Finally, Ultrasound Pulsed Doppler Velocimeter (UPDV) was used on a natural circulation loop for the first time, and gave a preliminary validation of the traditional fluid velocity measurement method based on the frequency analysis.     

Prediction of flow and heat transfer in narrow rotating rectangular channels using Reynolds stress model

A computational study is performed on three-dimensional turbulent flow and heat transfer in a rotating rectangular channel with aspect ratio (AR) of 10:1, oriented 120° from the direction of rotation. The Focus is on high rotation and high-density ratios effects on the heat transfer characteristics of the 120° orientation. The Reynolds stress model (RSM), which accounts for rotational effects are used to compute the turbulent flow and heat transfer in the rotating channel. The effects of rotation and coolant-to-wall density ratio on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics is reported on a range of rotation numbers and density ratios (0 < Ro < 0.25 and 0.07 < Δρ/ρ < 0.4). The computational results are in good agreement with experimental data within ±15%. The results show that the density ratio, rotation number and channel orientation significantly affect the flow field and heat transfer characteristics in the rotating rectangular channel. Flow reversal occurs at high rotation number and density ratio.     

Computational flow and heat transfer of multiple circular jets impinging on a flat surface with effusion

Computational investigations are reported on the local flow and heat transfer characteristics from staggered, multiple circular air jets impinging on a flat surface with effusion holes. The geometrical and flow parameters for the computational study are chosen as per the experimental arrangement of Cho and Rhee J Turbomachinery 123:601–608, (14) so as to explain salient features observed in these experiments. The two peaks in the Nusselt number observed in the case of H/D = 6 and three peaks in the case of H/D = 2 are attributed to the flow characteristics such as primary vortices forming an up-wash region, followed by secondary vortices resulting in a secondary stagnation zone. The magnitude of local peak in heat transfer increases up to 88% with increasing values of D/d from 0.5 to 1.5 at Re = 10,000.     

Thermal-field structure of a non-premixed turbulent flame formed in a strong pressure-gradient flow

Statistical characteristics of a non-premixed turbulent flame formed in a curved-rectangular duct and spatio-temporal structures of the thermal field were investigated experimentally. The flame was much affected by a strong pressure gradient in the radial direction of the duct curvature, which caused strong gradient diffusion in turbulent heat transfer on the inner-wall side of the flame and, in contrast, counter-gradient heat transfer on the outer-wall side. Two-point correlation measurement of temperature fields revealed that, in the strong gradient diffusion region, a spatial thermal pattern generated by turbulent mixing of high- and low-temperature fluid parcels was advected downstream with little diffusion. In contrast, the pattern was attenuated and diffused rapidly in the counter-gradient diffusion region. These results accurately correspond to the generation mechanism of the counter-gradient heat transport so far observed in stably stratified turbulent flows.     

Heat/Mass transfer in a two-pass rotating rectangular duct with and without 70°-angled ribs

The present study investigates convective heat/mass transfer and flow characteristics inside a cooling passage of rotating gas-turbine blades. The rotating duct with and without rib turbulators are used. The ribs of 70° attack angle are attached on leading and trailing surfaces in a staggered arrangement. A naphthalene sublimation technique is employed to determine detailed local heat transfer coefficients using the heat and mass transfer analogy. Additional numerical calculations are conducted to analyze the flow patterns in the cooling. The local heat/mass transfer and the flow pattern in the passage are changed significantly according to rib configurations, duct turning geometry and duct rotation speed. The results show that the duct rotation generates the heat transfer discrepancy between the leading and trailing walls due to the secondary flows induced by the Coriolis force. The heat/mass transfer on the ribbed duct shows 80% higher than the smooth duct because the ribs attached on the walls disturb the mainflow resulting in recirculation and secondary flows near the rib with the secondary flow generated by rotation. The overall heat transfer pattern on the leading and trailing walls for the first and second passes depend on the rotating speed and the turning geometry, but the local heat transfer trend is affected mainly by the rib arrangeements.     

Numerical simulation of tangentially injected turbulent swirling flow in a divergent tube

This paper studies the properties of turbulent swirling decaying flow induced by tangential inlets in a divergent pipe using the realizable k–ε turbulence model and discusses the effects of the injector pressure and injection position. The results of transient solutions show that both the recirculation zone near the wall in upstream of the injectors and the vortex breakdown in downstream of the injectors increase in size during the whole period. A nearly axisymmetric conical breakdown is formed and its internal structure consists of two asymmetric spiral‐like vortices rotating in opposite directions. The stagnation point shifts slowly toward the pipe outlet over time. The maxima of the three velocity components, which are located near the wall, decrease gradually with streamwise direction. It can also be inferred that Mach number approaches 1.0 near the injector outlets. The velocities increase with the increasing injector pressure. However, its increasing trend is not significant. With the increase of the injection position, vortex breakdown moves in downstream direction and the pitch along the streamwise direction increases. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measurements and high-speed visualizations of flow boiling of a dielectric fluid in a silicon microchannel heat sink

Experiments were conducted to investigate flow boiling heat transfer to a dielectric fluid in a silicon chip-integrated microchannel heat sink. Twenty-four microchannels, each 389 μm × 389 μm in cross-section, were fabricated into the 12.7 mm × 12.7 mm silicon substrate. High-speed visualizations (at 12,500 frames per second) were performed simultaneously with heat transfer and pressure drop measurements to investigate the physics of flow boiling in parallel microchannel arrays. At low heat fluxes, bubbly flow is dominant, with the bubbles coalescing to form vapor slugs as the heat flux is increased. At high heat fluxes, the flow regimes in the downstream portion of the microchannels are characteristic of alternating wispy-annular flow and churn flow, while flow reversal is observed in the upstream region near the microchannel inlet. Local heat transfer measurements, obtained at three flow rates ranging from 35 to 60 ml/min, show that at lower heat fluxes, the heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing heat flux. The heat transfer coefficient in fully developed boiling is seen to be independent of flow rate in this range. At higher heat fluxes (exceeding 542, 673, 730 kW/m², respectively, for flow rates of 35, 47 and 60 ml/min), this trend is reversed, and the heat transfer coefficient decreases with further increases in heat flux due to partial dryout in some of the microchannels. Heat fluxes at which fully developed boiling is achieved depend on the flow rate. The pressure drop in fully developed boiling increases with increasing heat flux and is independent of flow rate for the test conditions considered in this work.     

Effect on the flow and heat transfer characteristics for sinusoidal pulsating laminar flow in a heated square cylinder

Two-dimensional numerical simulation is performed to understand the effect of flow pulsation on the flow and heat transfer from a heated square cylinder at Re = 100. Numerical calculations are carried out by using a finite volume method based on the pressure-implicit with splitting of operators algorithm in a collocated grid. The effects of flow pulsation amplitude (0.2 ≤ A ≤ 0.8) and frequency (0 ≤ f _p  ≤ 20 Hz) on the detailed kinematics of flow (streamlines, vorticity patterns), the macroscopic parameters (drag coefficient, vortex shedding frequency) and heat transfer enhancement are presented in detail. The Strouhal number of vortices shedding, drag coefficient for non-pulsating flow are compared with the previously published data, and good agreement is found. The lock-on phenomenon is observed for a square cylinder in the present flow pulsation. When the pulsating frequency is within the lock-on regime, time averaged drag coefficient and heat transfer from the square cylinder is substantially augmented, and when the pulsating frequency in about the natural vortex shedding frequency, the heat transfer is also substantially enhanced. In addition, the influence of the pulsating amplitude on the time averaged drag coefficient, heat transfer enhancement and lock-on occurrence is discussed in detail.     

Detailed measurement of heat/mass transfer and pressure drop in a rotating two-pass duct with transverse ribs

The present study investigates the convective heat/mass transfer and pressure drop characteristics in a rotating two-pass duct with and without transverse ribs. The Reynolds number based on the hydraulic diameter is kept constant at 10,000 and the rotation number is varied from 0.0 to 0.2. When rib turbulators are installed, heat/mass transfer and friction loss are respectively augmented 2.5 times and 5.8 times higher than those of the smooth duct since the main flow is turbulated by reattaching and separating on the vicinity of the duct surfaces. Differences of heat/mass transfer and pressure coefficient between leading and trailing surfaces result from the rotation of duct, so that Sherwood number ratios and pressure coefficients are high on the trailing surface in the first-pass and on the leading surface in the second-pass. In the turning region, a pair of Dean vortices shown in the stationary case transform into one large asymmetric vortex cell, and subsequently heat/mass transfer and pressure drop characteristics also change. As the rotation number increases, the discrepancies of the heat/mass transfer and the pressure coefficient enlarge between the leading and trailing surfaces.     

Analysis of upstream,double-row,cylindrical holes on primary and secondary effects of endwall flow and film cooling

Flow features and film cooling performance of five configurations of double-row, cylindrical holes, upstream of an E3 vane, in a linear cascade are numerically investigated. This simulation is completed using a verified turbulence model at four blowing ratios (M = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0). The first three configurations have two rows of cylindrical holes, each row with the same compound angle (β=-45°, 0° or 45°), while the other two have two rows with opposite compound angles (β=-45°, 45° and β=45°, -45°), which are also referred to as double-jet film cooling (DJFC) holes. The primary effects on the downstream endwall and the secondary effects on the nearby airfoil of the cooled passage are analyzed and discussed in detail. Results show that at low blowing ratios the movement of the coolant is denominated by the interaction between the jets and vortices resulting in similar film coverage on both the endwall and airfoil. The effect of vortices is reduced at high blowing ratios. It is also shown that the movement of the coolant is determined by the initial velocity direction, as well as the film cooling configuration.     

Hydraulic and heat transfer study of SiO2/water nanofluids in horizontal tubes with imposed wall temperature boundary conditions

The convective heat transfer of SiO₂/water colloidal suspensions (5-34 wt.%) is investigated experimentally in a flow loop with a horizontal tube test section whose wall temperature is imposed. Experiments were performed at different inlet temperatures (20, 50, 70 °C) in cooling and/or heating conditions at various flow rates (200 < Re < 10,000). The Reynolds and Nusselt numbers were deduced by using thermal conductivity and viscosity values measured with the same temperature conditions as those in the tests. Results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient values are increased from 10% to 60% compared to those of pure water. They also show that the general trend of standard correlations is respected. The problem of suspension stability at the highest temperatures is discussed. In order to evaluate the benefits provided by the enhanced properties of the nanofluids studied, an energetic performance evaluation criterion (PEC) is defined. This PEC decreases as the nanoparticle concentration is increased. This process is also discussed in this paper.