Combined convection and wall conduction effects in laminar pipe flow: numerical predictions and experimental validation under uniform wall heating

Laminar combined convection in horizontal circular ducts is investigated both numerically and experimentally, under uniform wall heating. A series of experiments for the heating of water in a long horizontal copper tube are simulated numerically in order to assess the reliability of the theoretical results. Peripheral and axial wall conduction effects, inherently present in the experiments, are accounted for in the numerical model. The cross validation of experimental and numerical data allows significant conclusions to be reached on conjugate conduction and convection with buoyancy effects in horizontal duct flows. Buoyancy is considered for values of the modified Rayleigh number,Ra _qo , up to 5·10⁶; the forced convection contribution is considered for two values of the entry Reynolds number,Re _o=500 and 1000.     

Numerical investigation of mixed convection heat transfer past an in-line bundle of cylinders

Two dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes and the energy equations are solved using finite element method for the case of flow past five row deep in-line bundle of circular cylinders with pitch to diameter ratios (PDR) of 1.5 and 2.0. Numerical solutions of governing equations have been obtained using Euler's explicit algorithm. Analysis have been made for Reynolds number of 100 and Prandtl number of 0.71. The effect of Richardson number (Ri=Gr/Re ²) on the flow and heat transfer have been investigated forRi=?1.0, ?0.5, 0.0, +0.5 and +1.0. Streamlines, isovorticity lines, pressure and temperature contours, local and average Nusselt numbers, pressure and shear stress distribution around the cylinders are presented. Results obtained for forced convection (Ri=0.0) agree well with the available experimental and numerical results. There is considerable effect of buoyancy over tube bundles both in buoyancy aiding and opposing flows.     

Mixed convection adjacent to inclined flat surfaces embedded in a porous medium

An analysis is performed to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics of laminar mixed convection boundary layer flows from inclined (including horizontal and vertical) surfaces embedded in a saturated porous medium with constant aiding external flows and uniform surface temperature. Both the streamwise and normal components of the buoyancy forces are retained in the momentum equations. Nondimensionalization of the boundary layer equations results in the following three governing parameter: (1)Gr/Re, the ratio of the Grashof number to the Reynolds number; (2)Pe _x =Re _x Pr, the Peclet number; (3) φ, the angle of inclination from the horizontal. The resulting nonsimilar equations are solved by an efficient implicit finite-difference scheme. Numerical results are presented for flows with different values ofGr/Re in the range of 0 to 50, over a wide range of the Peclet numbersPe _x, and various values of φ ranging from 0 to 90 degrees. It is found that the local surface heat transfer rate increases with increasing the local Peclet number. In addition, as the plate is tilted from the horizontal to the vertical orientation, the local Nusselt number increases for a given Peclet number and the effect of the buoyancy force on the surface heat transfer rate increases.     

Subcooled forced convection film boiling over a vertical flat plate embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium

The problem of subcooled forced convection film boiling on a vertical flat plate embedded in a porous medium was attacked exploiting similarity transformations on the governing equations and boundary conditions in both vapor and liquid layers. Similarity solutions were obtained to investigate the effects of the vapor super-heating and liquid subcooling. The heat transfer groupingNu _x /Ra _x ^1/2 is expressed in terms of a function of three parameters associated with the degree of liquid subcooling (Sub), the degree of vapor superheating (Sup) and the vapor buoyancy effect relative to the liquid forced convection effect (R). It is found that the level ofNu _x /Ra _x ^1/2 increases asSup orR decreases and asSub increases. Furthermore, asymptotic expressions were reduced considering the physical limiting conditions, namely, thin and thick vapor films.     

Numerical investigation of flow and combined natural-forced convection from an isothermal square cylinder in cross flow

Unsteady flow and heat transfer from a horizontal isothermal square cylinder is studied numerically using a three-dimensional computational model to investigate the influence of buoyancy on the forced flow and heat transfer characteristics. The numerical model is based on a horizontal square cylinder subjected to laminar fluid flow in an unconfined channel. The governing equations in 3D form are solved using a fractional step method based on the finite difference discretization in addition to a Crank–Nicholson scheme employed to the convective and the viscous terms. Two working fluids–air (Pr = 0.7) and water (Pr = 7)–are considered, and the flow and heat transfer simulations were carried out for the Reynolds and Richardson numbers in the intervals 55 ≤ Re ≤ 250 and 0 ≤ Ri ≤ 2, respectively. The flow characteristics such as time-averaged drag/lift, rms drag/rms lift coefficients as well as Strouhal number were computed. The heat transfer from the cylinder is assessed by mean Nusselt number (and rms Nusselt number) over the total heated cylinder walls. As the buoyancy increases, the mass and the velocity of the fluid flowing underneath the cylinder increases. The fluid is injected into the near wake region with an upward motion which significantly alters the flow field in the downstream as well as upstream regions. The effects of Reynolds, Richardson and Prandtl numbers on the flow field and temperature distributions are discussed in detail. It is shown that the flow and heat transfer characteristics are influenced more for air than water. To fill the void in the literature, useful empirical correlations of practical importance are derived for pure forced and pure natural as well as mixed convection. The mixed convection correlations, in terms of the ratio of pure forced convection, are also developed, and their implications are discussed.     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Along a Vertical Cylinder Embedded in a Porous Medium Filled by a Nanofluid

The steady mixed convection boundary-layer flow on a vertical circular cylinder embedded in a porous medium filled by a nanofluid is studied for both cases of a heated and a cooled cylinder. The governing system of partial differential equations is reduced to ordinary differential equations by assuming that the surface temperature of the cylinder and the velocity of the external (inviscid) flow vary linearly with the axial distance x measured from the leading edge. Solutions of the resulting ordinary differential equations for the flow and heat transfer characteristics are evaluated numerically for various values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction ${\phi}$ , the mixed convection or buoyancy parameter ?? and the curvature parameter ??. Results are presented for the specific case of copper nanoparticles. A critical value ?? _c of ?? with ?? _c <?0 is found, with the values of | ?? _c| increasing as the curvature parameter ?? or nanoparticle volume fraction ${\phi}$ is increased. Dual solutions are seen for all values of ?? >??? _c for both aiding, ?? >?0 and opposing, ?? <?0, flows. Asymptotic solutions are also determined for both the free convection limit ${(\lambda \gg 1)}$ and for large curvature parameter ${(\gamma \gg 1)}$ .     

Analytical and numerical study of double diffusive convection in a vertical enclosure

This paper presents an analytical and numerical study of natural convection of a double-diffusive fluid contained in a rectangular slot subject to uniform heat and mass fluxes along the vertical sides. Governing parameters of the problem under study are the thermal Rayleigh number, Ra _T ; buoyancy ratio, N; Lewis number, Le; Prandtl number, Pr and aspect ratio of the cavity, A. In the first part of the analytical study a scale analysis is applied to the two extreme cases of heat-transfer and mass-transfer-driven flows. In the second part, an analytical solution, based on the parallel flow approximation, is reported for tall enclosures (A?1). Solutions for the flow fields, temperature and concentration distributions and Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are obtained in terms of the governing parameters of the problem. In the limits of heat-driven and solute-driven flows a good agreement is obtained between the prediction of the scale analysis and those of the analytical solution. The numerical solutions are based on the complete governing equations for two-dimensional flows, and cover the range 1≤Ra _T ≤10⁷, 0≤N≤10⁵, 10^-3≤Le≤10³, 1≤A≤20 and Pr=7. A good agreement is found between the analytical predictions and the numerical simulation.     

3D Numerical study of the effect of aspect ratio on mixed convection air flow in upward solar air heater

A 3D Numerical study of mixed convection air flow in upward solar air heater with large spanwise aspect ratio (A = 10 to 40) was performed using CFD commercial code Fluent 14.5 (ANSYS). The main objective of this study is to investigate the channel height's effect (aspect ratio) on flow pattern and heat transfer in upward solar air heater in the particular case of low Re and high aspect ratio. The bottom plate (absorber) was submitted to Constant Heat Flux (CHF) in the range of 200 to 1000 W/m² and Reynolds number was varied from 50 to 1000. Our results are in concordance with most of authors conclusions about Poiseuille–Rayleigh–Benard flows. In mixed convection, increasing heat flux enhances heat transfer unlike forced convection flows. Simulation results of flow visualizations and Nusselt number calculations have shown that depending on Ri*, the velocity and temperature distributions in SAH vary greatly with the channel's height. The obtained results were different from previous studies. Indeed, our investigation of channel's height was achieved for the same heat flux but different Grashof numbers. For low channel's heights (high aspect ratio), increasing heat flux has not a significant effect but for higher channel's heights, an augmentation of heat flux enhances buoyancy effects in the flow and causes high turbulence. Also, increasing Reynolds number in low channel's heights (high A), can enhance substantially heat transfer. For higher channel's heights (low A), increasing Reynolds number decreases Ri* and thus buoyancy forces. Heat transfer is reduced and so Nusselt number. The obtained results may be very useful for engineers in designing and testing solar collectors.     

Influence of buoyancy in a mixed convection liquid metal flow for a horizontal channel configuration

This article presents the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of mixed convection turbulent heat transfer in a horizontal channel case for liquid lead. Cartesian mesh is used and the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are discretized with highly accurate finite difference sixth-order compact schemes to perform the DNS. The influence of mixed convection in liquid metal with Prandtl number equal to 0.025 and Reynolds number equal to 4667 has been studied by varying the Richardson number (Ri = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00). The obtained results are extensively analyzed and discussed in this article. In particular, large-scale circulation is observed under the influence of buoyancy. Compared to the forced convection case (Ri = 0), stronger velocity fluctuations are noticed that highlight the fact that turbulence is strongly enhanced with the increasing buoyancy. It also proves that the thermal plumes rising up from the hot wall of the channel activate the cross-stream eddies. Moreover, temperature fluctuations are found to be more homogeneously distributed with increasing buoyancy effects and mixing is more effective in the center of the channel. In addition, compared with forced convection, mixed convection has shown enlargement of the large-scale structures that only appear in the temperature field for low Prandtl number fluids. Extensive results of flow and temperature fields are analyzed and presented.     

Enhanced heat transfer performances of molten salt mixed convection in a vertical annular duct

The mixed convection heat transfer of upward molten salt flow in a vertical annular duct is experimentally and numerically studied. The heat transfer performances of mixed convection are measured under Reynolds number 2,500–12,000 and inlet temperature 300–400 °C, and Nusselt number of molten salt flow with cooled inner wall monotonically increases with buoyancy number. The mixed convection is further simulated by low-Reynolds number k-ε model and variable properties, and the heat transfer tendency from numerical results agrees with that from experiments. At low Reynolds number, the natural convection plays more important role in the mixed convection. As the buoyancy number rises, the thickness of flow boundary layer near the inner wall increases, while the effective thermal conductivity remarkably rises, so the enhanced heat transfer of mixed convection is mainly affected by the effective thermal conductivity due to turbulent diffusion.     

Transient natural convection along vertical cylinder with Heat and Mass transfer

A numerical solution for the transient natural convection flow over a vertical cylinder under the combined buoyancy effect of heat and mass transfer is presented. The velocity, temperature and concentration profiles, local and average skin-friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are shown graphically. It is observed that time taken to reach steady state increases with Schmidt number and decreases as combined buoyancy ratio parameter N increases. Stability and convergence of the finite difference scheme are established. Received on 8 July 1997     

Combined Laminar Mixed Convection and Surface Radiation using Asymptotic Computational Fluid Dynamics (ACFD)

This paper reports the use of the technique of combining asymptotics with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), known as asymptotic computational fluid dynamics (ACFD), to handle the problem of combined laminar mixed convection and surface radiation from a two dimensional, differentially heated lid driven cavity. The fluid under consideration is air, which is radiatively transparent, and all the walls are assumed to be gray and diffuse and having the same hemispherical, total emissivity (ɛ). The computations have been performed on FLUENT 6.2. The full radiation problem (i.e. all the walls are radiatively black corresponding to ɛ = 1) is first taken up and the method of “perturbing and blending” is used wherein, first, limiting solutions of natural and forced convection are perturbed, to obtain correlations for the weighted average convective Nusselt numbers for the full radiation case. These correlations are then blended suitably in order to obtain a composite correlation for the weighted average convective Nusselt number that is valid for the entire mixed convection range, i.e., 0 ≤ Ri ≤ ∞. This correlation is then expanded in terms of ɛ to obtain an expression for the average convective Nusselt number that is valid for any ɛ in the range 0 ≤ ɛ ≤ 1. In so far as radiation heat transfer is concerned, using asymptotic arguments, a new weighted average radiation Nusselt number is defined such that this quantity can be expanded just in terms of ɛ. Hence, by the use of ACFD, the number of solutions required to obtain reasonably accurate correlations for both the convective and radiative heat transfer rates and hence the total heat transfer rate (Nu _total = Nu _C + Nu _R), is substantially reduced. More importantly, the correlations for convection and radiation are asymptotically correct at their ends. The effect of secondary variables like aspect ratio and the case of unequal wall emissivities can also be included without significant additional effort.     

Mixed convection boundary layers in the stagnation-point flow toward a stretching vertical sheet

An analysis is made for the steady mixed convection boundary layer flow near the two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of an incompressible viscous fluid over a stretching vertical sheet in its own plane. The stretching velocity and the surface temperature are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation-point. Two equal and opposite forces are impulsively applied along the x-axis so that the wall is stretched, keeping the origin fixed in a viscous fluid of constant ambient temperature. The transformed ordinary differential equations are solved numerically for some values of the parameters involved using a very efficient numerical scheme known as the Keller-box method. The features of the flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed and discussed in detail. Both cases of assisting and opposing flows are considered. It is observed that, for assisting flow, both the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number increase as the buoyancy parameter increases, while only the local Nusselt number increases but the skin friction coefficient decreases as the Prandtl number increases. For opposing flow, both the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number decrease as the buoyancy parameter increases, but both increase as Pr increases. Comparison with known results is excellent.     

Thermally Developing Forced Convection in a Porous Medium Occupied by a Rarefied Gas: Parallel Plate Channel or Circular Tube with Walls at Constant Heat Flux

An adaptation of the classical Graetz methodology is applied to investigate the thermal development of forced convection in a parallel plate channel or a circular tube filled by a porous medium saturated by a rarefied gas, with walls held at constant heat flux. The Brinkman model is employed. The analysis leads to expressions for the local Nusselt number Nu as functions of the dimensionless longitudinal coordinate and the Darcy number. It is found that an increase in the velocity slip coefficient generally increases Nu by a small or moderate amount (but the circular tube at large Darcy number is an exception) while an increase in the temperature slip coefficient reduces Nu by a more substantial amount. These trends are uniform as the longitudinal coordinate varies.     

Free convection from one thermal and solute source in a confined porous medium

This paper reports a numerical study of double diffusive natural convection in a vertical porous enclosure with localized heating and salting from one side. The physical model for the momentum conservation equation makes use of the Darcy equation, and the set of coupled equations is solved using the finite-volume methodology together with the deferred central difference scheme. An extensive series of numerical simulations is conducted in the range of −10 ⩽ N ⩽ + 10, 0 ⩽ R _t ⩽ 200, 10⁻² ⩽ Le ⩽ 200, and 0.125 ⩽ L ⩽ 0.875, where N, R _t , Le, and L are the buoyancy ratio, Darcy-modified thermal Rayleigh number, Lewis number, and the segment location. Streamlines, heatlines, masslines, isotherms, and iso-concentrations are produced for several segment locations to illustrate the flow structure transition from solutal-dominated opposing to thermal dominated and solutal-dominated aiding flows, respectively. The segment location combining with thermal Rayleigh number and Lewis number is found to influence the buoyancy ratio at which flow transition and flow reversal occurs. The computed average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers provide guidance for locating the heating and salting segment.     

MHD mixed convection stagnation-point flow of a nanofluid over a vertical permeable surface: a comprehensive report of dual solutions

The steady laminar magnetohydrodynamic mixed convection boundary layer flow of a nanofluid near the stagnation-point on a vertical permeable plate with prescribed external flow and surface temperature is investigated in this study. Here, both assisting and opposing flows are considered and studied. Using appropriate similarity variables, the governing equations are transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations in the dimensionless stream function, which is solved numerically using the Runge–Kutta scheme coupled with a conventional shooting procedure. Three different types of nanoparticles, namely copper Cu, alumina Al₂O₃ and titania TiO₂ with water as the base fluid are considered. Numerical results are obtained for the skin-friction coefficient and Nusselt number as well as for the velocity and temperature profiles for some values of the governing parameters, namely, the volume fraction of nanoparticles ?, permeability parameter f _o , magnetic parameter M and mixed convection parameter λ. It is found that dual solutions exist for both assisting and opposing flows, and the range of the mixed convection parameter for which the solution exists, increases with suction, magnetic field and volume fraction of nanoparticles.     

Towards a Direct Numerical Simulation of a Simplified Pressurized Thermal Shock

The aim of this research work is to perform high quality direct numerical simulations (DNS) of a simplified single phase pressurized thermal shock (PTS) scenario with and without buoyancy effects. In that context, the objectives of this paper are (i) to present the road towards the DNS of a PTS design without buoyancy effects and (ii) to demonstrate that the code NEK5000 is adequate for true DNS analyses. This DNS of the PTS design will serve as a reference to validate low order CFD approaches. The higher order spectral element code NEK5000 is selected to perform the high quality DNS computations. The capabilities of this code, in order to perform the DNS for PTS like geometries, have been extensively assessed for a well-known turbulent channel flow configuration with Re_τ =?180 (turbulent Reynolds number based on the wall friction velocity). Different numerical parameters of NEK5000 have been thoroughly tested and their influence has been studied to obtain high quality turbulence statistics. This assessment of NEK5000 is further extended for the application of highly skewed hexahedral (non-orthogonal) meshes in a turbulent channel flow. The obtained results have shown that NEK5000 is capable of producing high quality DNS solution for a PTS like complex flow configuration for skewed elements (meshes) up to 60 degrees. Finally, this tested numerical framework is adopted to perform the targeted DNS computations of the simplified PTS design.     

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.     

Unsteady natural convection heat and mass transfer in a saturated porous enclosure

A detailed numerical study has been performed to investigate transient natural convection heat and mass transfer in a porous enclosure. Major dimensionless groups governing the present problem areRa,N,Le, φ andAr. Results are particular presented to illustrate the effects of the combined thermal and solutal buoyancy forces on the temporal evolution of local/average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers. The results show that with the increase in the Rayleigh number, the heat and mass transfer is enhanced as a result of greater buoyancy effect. Additionally, the increase in buoyancy ratioN results in an improvement in the heat and mass transfer rates and in the mean time causes a short time duration for the flow to approach the steady-state condition.     

Slip effects on unsteady mixed convection of hybrid nanofluid flow near the stagnation point

The unsteady mixed convection of the Al2O3-Cu/H2O hybrid nanofluid flow near the stagnation point past a vertical plate is analyzed. The bvp4c technique is used to solve the resulting ordinary differential equations. The combined effects of the velocity and thermal slip are addressed. The effects of different relevant physical parameters are studied numerically. The results show that the heat transfer rate is reduced when the volume fraction of the nanoparticles increases, while the unsteadiness...