Mixed convection from a cylinder oscillating vertically in a quiescent fluid

 The problem of heat convection from a vertically oscillating cylinder in a quiescent fluid is investigated. The governing equations of motion and energy are solved numerically in a non-inertial frame of references to determine the flow field and heat transfer characteristics under different conditions. The main dominating parameters are Keulegan–Carpenter number, KC, frequency parameter, β, Grashof number, Gr and Prandtl number, Pr. The ranges considered for these parameters are KC ≤ 10, β≤40 and Gr ≤ 10⁵ while Prandtl number is kept constant. The study revealed that the effect of amplitude and frequency of oscillation on heat transfer is strongly influenced by the Grashof number range. In the forced convection regime (Gr = 0), the increase of KC creates extensive vortex motion at all cylinder positions that leads to a significant increase in heat transfer. A similar trend, but with a lesser extent, is also observed for the increase of β. However, at high Grashof numbers, the effect of oscillation on heat convection is only significant at large values of KC. Received on 5 June 2000 / Published online: 29 November 2001     

Mixed Convection in a Horizontal Channel with Local Heating from Below

Mixed convection induced in the entrance region of a horizontal plane channel by a bottom heat source of finite dimensions is considered. The calculations were performed for the Prandtl number Pr = 1, Grashof numbers ranging from 4 · 10³ to 3.2 · 10⁴, and Reynolds numbers varying from 0 to 10. The dimensions of the heat source and its location were also varied. The results were obtained from a numerical solution of the 2D unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in the Boussinesq approximation, written in vorticity – stream function – temperature variables. The solution was found by the Galerkin finite element method.     

Investigation of convection in a horizontal cylindrical layer of a saturated porous medium

The structures of the convective motions and the nature of the heat transfer in a horizontal cylindrical layer are studied numerically for the Forchheimer model of a porous medium in the Boussinesq approximation. New asymmetric solutions of the equations of convection flow through a porous medium are found. Their development, domains of existence, and stability are investigated. One consists of a multivortex structure with asymmetric vortices in the near-polar region. Another asymmetric solution is realized at large Grashof numbers in the form of a convective plume deflected from the vertical. The threshold Grashof number of formation of the asymmetric motions depends on the Prandtl number and the cylindrical layer thickness.     

Numerical investigation of convective motion in a closed cavity

The investigation of thermal convection in a closed cavity is of considerable interest in connection with the problem of heat transfer. The problem may be solved comparatively simply in the case of small characteristic temperature difference with heating from the side, when equilibrium is not possible and when slow movement is initiated for an arbitrarily small horizontal temperature gradient. In this case the motion may be studied using the small parameter method, based on expanding the velocity, temperature, and pressure in series in powers of the Grashof number—the dimensionless parameter which characterizes the intensity of the convection [1–4]. In the problems considered it has been possible to find only two or three terms of these series. The solutions obtained in this approximation describe only weak nonlinear effects and the region of their applicability is limited, naturally, to small values of the Grashof number (no larger than 10³).With increase of the temperature difference the nature of the motion gradually changes—at the boundaries of the cavity a convective boundary layer is formed, in which the primary temperature and velocity gradients are concentrated; the remaining portion of the liquid forms the flow core. On the basis of an analysis of the equations of motion for the plane case, Batchelor [4] suggested that the core is isothermal and rotates with constant and uniform vorticity. The value of the vorticity in the core must be determined as the eigenvalue of the problem of a closed boundary layer. A closed convective boundary layer in a horizontal cylinder and in a plane vertical stratum was considered in [5, 6] using the Batchelor scheme. The boundary layer parameters and the vorticity in the core were determined with the aid of an integral method. An attempt to solve the boundary layer equations analytically for a horizontal cylinder using the Oseen linearization method was made in [7].However, the results of experiments in which a study was made of the structure of the convective motion of various liquids and gases in closed cavities of different shapes [8–13] definitely contradict the Batchelor hypothesis. The measurements show that the core is not isothermal; on the contrary, there is a constant vertical temperature gradient directed upward in the core. Further, the core is practically motionless. In the core there are found retrograde motions with velocities much smaller than the velocities in the boundary layer.The use of numerical methods may be of assistance in clarifying the laws governing the convective motion in a closed cavity with large temperature differences. In [14] the two-dimensional problem of steady air convection in a square cavity was solved by expansion in orthogonal polynomials. The author was able to progress in the calculation only to a value of the Grashof numberG=10⁴. At these values of the Grashof numberG the formation of the boundary layer and the core has really only started, therefore the author's conclusion on the agreement of the numerical results with the Batchelor hypothesis is not justified. In addition, the bifurcation of the central isotherm (Fig. 3 of [14]), on the basis of which the conclusion was drawn concerning the formation of the isothermal core, is apparently the result of a misunderstanding, since an isotherm of this form obviously contradicts the symmetry of the solution.In [5] the method of finite differences is used to obtain the solution of the problem of strong convection of a gas in a horizontal cylinder whose lateral sides have different temperatures. According to the results of the calculation and in accordance with the experimental data [9], in the cavity there is a practically stationary core. However, since the authors started from the convection equations in the boundary layer approximation they did not obtain any detailed information on the core structure, in particular on the distribution of the temperature in the core.In the following we present the results of a finite difference solution of the complete nonlinear problem of plane convective motion in a square cavity. The vertical boundaries of the cavity are held at constant temperatures; the temperature varies linearly on the horizontal boundaries. The velocity and temperature distributions are obtained for values of the Grashof number in the range 0<G4·10⁵ and for a value of the Prandtl number P=1. The results of the calculation permit following the formation of the closed boundary layer and the very slowly moving core with a constant vertical temperature gradient. The heat flux through the cavity is found as a function of the Grashof number.     

Refrigerant distribution in a parallel flow heat exchanger having vertical headers and heated horizontal tubes

Refrigerant R-410a flow distribution is experimentally studied in a test section simulating a parallel flow heat exchanger having vertical headers with two pass configuration. Tubes are heated to yield a test section outlet superheat of 5 °C with inlet quality of 0.3. Mass flux is varied from 50 kg/m² s to 70 kg/m² s. Effects of inlet and outlet locations are investigated in a search for an optimum configuration. Results show that, significant liquid flows through bottom channels, and less liquid is supplied to top channels. As for the inlet location, better flow distribution (pressure drop as well) is obtained for top inlet as compared with middle inlet. As for the outlet location, top or bottom outlet is better than middle outlet. Correlations are developed for the fraction of liquid or gas taken off by downstream channel as a function of header gas Reynolds number at immediate upstream. The correlations may be used to predict the liquid or gas distribution in a parallel flow heat exchanger having vertical headers. A novel thermal performance evaluation method, which accounts for tube-side flow mal-distribution is proposed.     

Three dimensional unsteady convection and mass transfer flow through porous medium

The problem of three dimensional unsteady convection flow through a porous medium, with effect of mass transfer bounded by an infinite vertical porous plate is discussed, when the suction at the plate is transverse sinusoidal and the plate temperature oscillates in time about a constant mean. Assuming the free stream velocity to be uniform, approximate solutions are obtained for the flow field, the temperature field, the skin-friction and the rate of heat transfer. The dependence of solution on Pr (Prandtl number), Gr (Grashof number based on temperature), Gc (modified Grashof number based on concentration difference), Sc (Schimdt number), the frequency and the permeability parameter is also investigated.     

Thermocapillary flow and natural convection in a melt column with an unknown melt/solid interface

A vertical melt column set up between an upper heating rod and a lower sample rod, i.e. the so-called halfzone system, is a convenient experimental tool for studying convection in the melt in floating-zone crystal growth. In order to help understand the convection observed in the melt column, a computer model has been developed to describe steady state, axisymmetrical thermocapillary flow and natural convection in the melt. The governing equations and boundary conditions are expressed in general non-orthogonal curvilinear co-ordinates in order to accurately treat the unknown melt/solid interface as well as all other physical boundaries in the system. The effects of key dimensionless variables on the following items are discussed: (1)convection and temperature distribution in the melt; (2) the shape of the melt/solid interface; (3) the height of the melt column. These dimensionless variables are the Grashof, Marangoni and Prandtl numbers.     

Free convection around a vertical isothermically heated plate of finite length at large prandtl numbers

A free convection boundary layer arises because of the appearance of viscosity forces near a solid boundary. For high viscosity fluids the viscosity is significant over the whole flow region, and the thermal boundary layer which forms because of the restriction of heat diffusion from a heated wall by convection is characterized by the ratio between the coefficients of viscosity and thermal diffusivity, i.e., the Prandtl number. The divergence between the theoretical [1–4] and experimental data [5, 6] for the velocity profiles of free convective flow around a vertical surface at large Prandtl nunbers is due to an insufficiently clear distinction between the physical laws mentioned. In the present study the form of the velocity and temperature profiles is determined more accurately on the basis of an asymptotic analysis of the complete Navier-Stokes equations and energy equation with Prandtl number Pr and Grashof numbers of the order of unity.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 161–165, September–October, 1984.     

Resonance Driven by Horizontal Oscillations of a Vessel Occupied by a Fluid Heated from Above

Unsteady convection driven by periodic horizontal displacements of a rectangular cavity heated from below is investigated numerically. The resonance effects clearly manifest themselves in the frequency dependence of the induced convection flow. These effects appear at a sufficient temperature difference (Grashof number G>10⁴) and a considerable amplitude of the horizontal displacements of the cavity. The dependence of the parameters (resonance frequency and amplitude under resonance conditions) on the problem parameters (Grashof and Prandtl numbers and the cavity length/height ratio) and the method are found. Estimates show that the effects in question can be detected under laboratory conditions.     

On the onset of turbulence in natural convection on inclined plates

The problem of determination of the turbulence onset in natural convection on heated inclined plates in an air environment has been experimentally revisited. The transition has been detected by using hot wire velocity measurements. The onset of turbulence has been considered to take place where velocity fluctuations (measured through turbulence intensity) start to grow. Experiments have shown that the onset depends not only on the Grashof number defined in terms of the temperature difference between the heated plate and the surrounding air. A correlation between dimensionless Grashof and Reynolds numbers has been obtained, fitting quite well the experimental data.     

Transverse-roll global modes in a Rayleigh–Bénard–Poiseuille system with streamwise variable heating

The effect of a spatially inhomogeneous heating of the bottom wall in Rayleigh–Bénard–Poiseuille convection is studied for slow streamwise variations of the temperature profile. The problem is defined by the constant Reynolds number of the Poiseuille through flow, assumed to be low (typically 10), the constant Prandtl number, and the spatial evolution of the Rayleigh number , assumed to be subcritical everywhere except in a limited region around its single maximum . In this initial study, all spanwise inhomogeneities such as side walls or spanwise variable heating are neglected to obtain two-dimensional (transverse roll) global mode solutions by means of WKBJ asymptotics. The resulting frequency selection yields, at leading order, a global mode frequency equal to the local absolute frequency ω^t at the streamwise location where the Rayleigh number is maximum, with higher-order corrections for non-parallelism. These allow the determination of critical values of for global instability as a function of the profile of the local Rayleigh number and of Prandtl and Reynolds numbers.     

Transient natural convection of low-Prandtl-number fluids in a differentially heated cavity

The transient convective motion in a two-dimensional square cavity driven by a temperature gradient is analysed. The cavity is filled with a low-Prandtl-number fluid and the vertical walls are maintained at constant but different temperatures, while the horizontal boundaries are adiabatic. A control volume approach with a staggered grid is employed to formulate the finite difference equations. Numerically accurate solutions are obtained for Prandtl numbers of 0·001, 0·005 and 0·01 and for Grashof numbers up to 1 × 10⁷. It was found that the flow field exhibits periodic oscillation at the critical Grashof numbers, which are dependent on the Prandtl number. As the Prandtl number is decreased, the critical Grashof number and the frequency of oscillation decrease. Prior to the oscillatory flow, steady state solutions with an oscillatory transient period were predicted. In addition to the main circulation, four weak circulations were predicted at the corners of the cavity.     

Natural convection over a vertical flat plate due to absorption of thermal radiation

Heat transfer by simultaneous free convection and radiation in a participating fluid has received some attention during the past few years. However most of the previous work has been focussed on gases. The present work investigates the problem of combined radiation and natural convection in liquids. Analysis are given for an optically thick cold fluid layer adjacent to a non-emitting and non-reflecting radiation-transmitting plate. The external surface of the plate is subjected to heat loss to surroundings. The governing differential equations are transformed to a dimensionless form where the solution becomes dependent on the following parameters: the plate absorpitivity,α _p; the dimensionless distance along the plate,ζ; the fluid Prandtl number,Pr; and dimensionless heat loss coefficient to surrounding,N _c. A local non-similar technique is adopted to obtain solutions atPr=6.5 and at a wide range ofα _p,ζ, andN _c. The results showed that both velocity and temperature are non-similar and they are greatly affected by the value ofα _p whenζ is small. At large values of f the effect ofα _p diminishes and for a plate without heat loss the velocity becomes similar, i.e. independent of C The heat loss from the external surface of the plate causes the maximum temperature of the fluid to depart far from the plate. The results also showed that for plates without heat loss the local heat transfer coefficient from the plate depends on the local Grashof number to the power 0.185.     

Mixing of two gases one of which is expelled from a cylindrical space by the other

The flow structure and impurity distribution in an axisymmetric cylindrical space is obtained from the system of equations of convective heat and mass transfer in the Boussinesq approximation for different variants of the gas inflow and outflow conditions. The variation of the average impurity concentration in the space investigated, obtained as a result of numerical calculations, is compared with two limiting cases of expulsion of the contaminated gas: the gas piston case and total mixing. The dependence of the velocity and impurity concentration fields on the regime parameters (Reynolds, Grashof, and Schmidt numbers, velocity profiles at the gas inlet and outlet) and the geometric and design parameters (elongation of cylinder, inflow and outflow geometry) is investigated numerically.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 31–38, May–June, 1986.     

Viscous dissipation effects on heat transfer in flow over an inclined plate

The effects of viscous dissipation are considered for natural convection flow past a semi-infinite inclined plate with variable surface temperature. Velocity and temperature profiles, skin friction, and rate of heat transfer are obtained. The effects of Grashof and Prandtl numbers, inclination angle, exponent in the wall temperature variation law, and viscous dissipation parameter on the flow are discussed. It is shown that the time required to reach steady states increases with increasing Prandtl number of the fluid. In addition, an increase in the plate temperature due to viscous dissipation was found to lead to a rise in the average skin friction and a decrease in the average Nusselt number.     

Flow structure, heat transfer and pressure drop in varying aspect ratio two-pass rectangular smooth channels

Two-pass channels are used for internal cooling in a number of engineering systems e.g., gas turbines. Fluid travelling through the curved path, experiences pressure and centrifugal forces, that result in pressure driven secondary motion. This motion helps in moving the cold high momentum fluid from the channel core to the side walls and plays a significant role in the heat transfer in the channel bend and outlet pass. The present study investigates using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the flow structure, heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop in a smooth channel with varying aspect ratio channel at different divider-to-tip wall distances. Numerical simulations are performed in two-pass smooth channel with aspect ratio W_in/H = 1:3 at inlet pass and W_out/H = 1:1 at outlet pass for a variety of divider-to-tip wall distances. The results show that with a decrease in aspect ratio of inlet pass of the channel, pressure loss decreases. The divider-to-tip wall distance (W_el) not only influences the pressure drop, but also the heat transfer enhancement at the bend and outlet pass. With an increase in the divider-to-tip wall distance, the areas of enhanced heat transfer shifts from side walls of outlet pass towards the inlet pass. To compromise between heat transfer and pressure drop in the channel, W_el/H = 0.88 is found to be optimum for the channel under study.     

Studies on heat transfer to Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in agitated vessel

Heat transfer studies to Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are carried out in a stirred vessel fitted with anchor/turbine impeller and a coil for heating/cooling with an objective of determining experimentally the heat transfer coefficient of few industrially important systems namely castor oil and its methyl esters, soap solution, CMC and chalk slurries. The effect of impeller geometry, speed and aeration is investigated. Generalized Reynolds and Prandtl numbers are calculated using an apparent viscosity for non-Newtonian fluids. The data is correlated using a Sieder–Tate type equation. A trend of increase in heat transfer coefficient with RPM in presence and absence of solids has been observed. Relatively high values of Nusselt numbers are obtained for non-Newtonian fluids when aeration is coupled with agitation. The contribution of natural convection to heat transfer has been accounted for by incorporating the Grashof number. The correlations developed based on these studies are applied for design of commercial scale soponification reactor. Power per unit volume resulted in reliable design of a reactor.     

Stability of convective motion in a vertical layer in the presence of longitudinal vibrations

The influence of vibrations of a cavity containing a fluid on the convective stability of the equilibrium has been investigated on a number of occasions [1]. The stability of convective flows in a modulated gravity field has not hitherto been studied systematically. There is only the paper of Baxi, Arpaci, and Vest [2], which contains fragmentary data corresponding to various values of the determining parameters of the problem. The present paper investigates the linear stability of convective flow in a vertical plane layer with walls at different temperatures in the presence of longitudinal harmonic vibrations of the cavity containing the fluid. It is assumed that the frequency of the vibrations is fairly high; the motion is described by the equations of the averaged convective motion. The stability boundaries of the flow with respect to monotonic perturbations in the region of Prandtl numbers 0 ? P ? 10 are determined. It is found that high-frequency vibrations have a destabilizing influence on the convective motion. At sufficiently large values of the vibration parameter, the flow becomes unstable at arbitrarily small values of the Grashof number, this being due to the mechanism of vibrational convection, which leads to instability even under conditions of weightlessness, when the main flow is absent [3, 4].     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow and heat transfer in a square duct with natural convection

In this paper, a direct numerical simulation of a fully developed turbulent flow and heat transfer are studied in a square duct with an imposed temperature difference between the vertical walls and the perfectly insulated horizontal walls. The natural convection is considered on the cross section in the duct. The numerical scheme employs a time-splitting method to integrate the three dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equation. The unsteady flow field was simulated at a Reynolds number of 400 based on the Mean friction velocity and the hydraulic diameter (Re _m = 6200), while the Prandtl number (Pr) is assumed 0.71. Four different Grashof numbers (Gr = 10⁴, 10⁵, 10⁶ and 10⁷) are considered. The results show that the secondary flow and turbulent characteristics are not affected obviously at lower Grashof number (Gr ≤ 10⁵) cases, while for the higher Grashof number cases, natural convection has an important effect, but the mean flow and mean temperature at the cross section are also affected strongly by Reynolds stresses. Compared with the laminar heat transfer at the same Grashof number, the intensity of the combined heat transfer is somewhat decreased.     

Simultaneous convection and radiation in flow between two parallel plates

A numerical solution is described for simultaneous forced convection and radiation in flow between two parallel plates forming ahannel. The front plate is transparent to thermal radiation while the back one is thermally insulated. Analyses for both flow and heat are presented for the case of a non-emitting ‘blackened’ fluid. The governing equations of the stream function and the temperature together with their boundary conditions are presented in non-dimensional expressions. The solution is found to depend on eight dimensionless parameters, namely the ratio of the height of the channel to the distance between the plates, the initial dimensionless temperature, the optical thickness, the absorptivities of both plates, the Reynolds number, the Prandtl number and the heat transfer coefficient from the front plate to the surroundings. The numerical solution is obtained using a finite-difference technique. A study has been made of the effect of the initial temperature of the flow at the channel inlet, the dimensionless loss coefficient from the front plate, the absorptivity of the back plate and the optical thickness, on the temperature distribution in the channel, the heat collection efficiency and the average temperature rise in the channel. Results showed that increasing the optical thickness increases the temperature of the front plate and decreases the temperature of the back plate. Also, increasing the optical thickness increases the efficiency of heat collection, which reaches its maximum asymptotic value at an optical thickness of about 1.5. Moreover, the location of the maximum temperature is found to depend on both the optical thickness and the dimensionless heat loss coefficient from the front plate.