Experimental investigation of convective mass/heat transfer in short minichannel at low Reynolds numbers

An experimental investigations of convective mass/heat transfer in short circular channel with small inner diameter at Re numbers ranging from 20 to 250 were performed. Mean values of convective mass transfer coefficients were measured using electrochemical technique – limiting current method. The results of dimensionless mass transfer coefficient Sh were compared with conventional theory. It was observed the increase of experimental Sh in compare with data from classical correlation relative to channels of conventional size. The heat transfer correlation was obtained on the basis of mass/heat transfer analogy. Chilton–Colburn analogy was applied. The effects were compared with the available literature experimental thermal balance results.     

Forced convection heat transfer from an equilateral triangular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers

An unsteady two-dimensional numerical simulation is performed to investigate the forced convection heat transfer for flow past a long heated equilateral triangular cylinder in an unconfined medium for the low Reynolds number laminar regime. The Reynolds number considered in this study ranges from 50 to 250 with three different values of Prandtl number (Pr?=?0.71, 7 and 100). Fictitious confining boundaries are chosen on the lateral sides of the computational domain that makes the blockage ratio β?=?5?% in order to make the problem computationally feasible. An unstructured triangular mesh is used for the computational domain discretization and the simulation is carried out with the commercial CFD solver Fluent. The flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed with the streamline and isotherm patterns at various Reynolds numbers. The dimensionless frequency of vortex shedding (Strouhal number), drag coefficient and Nusselt numbers are presented and discussed. The results obtained are in good agreement with the available results in the literature.     

Mixed convection heat transfer from three heated square cylinders in cross-flow at low Reynolds numbers

This paper presents the effects of cross buoyancy and Prandtl number on the flow and heat transfer characteristics around three equal isothermal square cylinders arranged in a staggered configuration within an unconfined medium. Transient two-dimensional numerical simulations are performed with a finite volume code based on the SIMPLEC algorithm in a collocated grid system. The pertinent dimensionless parameters, such as Reynolds, Prandtl and Richardson numbers are considered in the range of 1 ≤ Re ≤ 30, 0.7 ≤ Pr ≤ 100 and 0 ≤ Ri ≤ 1. The representative streamlines, vortex structures and isotherm patterns are presented and discussed. In addition, the overall drag and lift coefficients and average Nusselt numbers are determined to elucidate the effects of Reynolds, Prandtl and Richardson numbers on flow and heat transfer. The flow is observed to be steady for all the ranges of parameters considered. The drag coefficient is found to decrease with Re (for Ri = 0) and Ri at low Pr, whereas it increases with Pr at higher Ri. The lift coefficient decreases with Ri at low Pr and increases with Pr at higher Ri. The time and surface average cylinder Nusselt number is found to increase monotonically with Re as well as Pr while it remains almost insensitive to Ri at low Pr.     

Numerical investigation on heat transfer of liquid flow at low Reynolds number in micro-cylinder-groups

Heat transfer of de-ionized water over in-line and staggered micro-cylinder-groups have been numerically investigated with Reynolds number varying in the range from 25 to 150. A 3-D incompressible numerical model is employed to investigate the vortex distributions and the influences of the vortices on heat transfer characteristics at low Re numbers in micro-cylinder-groups with different geometrical parameters, including micro-cylinder diameters (100, 250 and 500?μm), ratios of pitch to micro-cylinder diameter (1.5, 2 and 2.5) and ratios of micro-cylinder height to diameter (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2). The vortex distributions, the temperature fields, and the relationships among them are investigated by solving the numerical model with the finite volume method. It is found that the vortex number become more with the increase of pitch ratio and the change of flow rate distribution affects the heat transfer characteristics apparently. Meanwhile, the local heat transfer coefficients nearby the locations of vortices greatly increase due to the boundary layer separation, which further enhance the heat transfer in micro-cylinder-groups. The new correlations which to Nusselt number of de-ionized water over micro-cylinders with Re number varying from 25 to 150 have been proposed considering the differential pressure resistance and the buoyancy effect basing on numerical calculations in this paper.     

Unsteady mixed convection heat transfer from tandem square cylinders in cross flow at low Reynolds numbers

A two-dimensional numerical study is carried out to understand the influence of cross buoyancy on the vortex shedding processes behind two equal isothermal square cylinders placed in a tandem arrangement at low Reynolds numbers. The spacing between the cylinders is fixed with five widths of the cylinder dimension. The flow is considered in an unbounded medium, however, fictitious confining boundaries are chosen to make the problem computationally feasible. Numerical calculations are performed by using a finite volume method based on the PISO algorithm in a collocated grid system. The range of Reynolds number is chosen to be 50–150. The flow is unsteady laminar and two-dimensional in this Reynolds number range. The mixed convection effect is studied for Richardson number range of 0–2 and the Prandtl number is chosen constant as 0.71. The effect of superimposed thermal buoyancy on flow and isotherm patterns are presented and discussed. The global flow and heat transfer quantities such as overall drag and lift coefficients, local and surface average Nusselt numbers and Strouhal number are calculated and discussed for various Reynolds and Richardson numbers.     

Influence of heat transfer on the aerodynamic performance of a plunging and pitching NACA0012 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers

The unsteady low Reynolds number aerodynamics phenomena around flapping wings are addressed in several investigations. Elsewhere, airfoils at higher Mach numbers and Reynolds numbers have been treated quite comprehensively in the literature. It is duly noted that the influence of heat transfer phenomena on the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings configurations is not well studied. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of heat transfer upon the aerodynamic performance of a pitching and plunging NACA0012 airfoil in the low Reynolds number flow regime with particular emphasis upon the airfoil's lift and drag coefficients. The compressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a finite volume method. To consider the variation of fluid properties with temperature, the values of dynamic viscosity and thermal diffusivity are evaluated with Sutherland's formula and the Eucken model, respectively. Instantaneous and mean lift and drag coefficients are calculated for several temperature differences between the airfoil surface and freestream within the range 0–100 K. Simulations are performed for a prescribed airfoil motion schedule and flow parameters. It is learnt that the aerodynamic performance in terms of the lift C_L and drag C_D behavior is strongly dependent upon the heat transfer rate from the airfoil to the flow field. In the plunging case, the mean value of C_D tends to increase, whereas the amplitude of C_L tends to decrease with increasing temperature difference. In the pitching case, on the other hand, the mean value and the amplitude of both C_D and C_L decrease. A spectral analysis of C_D and C_L in the pitching case shows that the amplitudes of both C_D and C_L decrease with increasing surface temperature, whereas the harmonic frequencies are not affected.     

Fluid oscillations in pipes at moderate Reynolds numbers

Little is known of the transition of the laminar motion of an oscillating fluid into turbulent motion and the resistance to motion in this region. The theoretical calculation of the critical value of the Reynolds number is very complex in this case and has not yet been successfully accomplished [1, 2]. Some experimental data on this subject are presented in [3]. Below are presented results of measurements of the critical values of the Reynolds number and the resistance forces for laminar and turbulent regimes of fluid oscillations in pipes.     

Forced‐convection heat transfer from tandem square cylinders in cross flow at low Reynolds numbers

This paper presents the results of a numerical study on the flow characteristics and heat transfer over two equal square cylinders in a tandem arrangement. Spacing between the cylinders is five widths of the cylinder and the Reynolds number ranges from 1 to 200, Pr=0.71. Both steady and unsteady incompressible laminar flow in the 2D regime are performed with a finite volume code based on the SIMPLEC algorithm and non‐staggered grid. A study of the effects of spatial resolution and blockage on the results is provided. In this study, the instantaneous and mean streamlines, vorticity and isotherm patterns for different Reynolds numbers are presented and discussed. In addition, the global quantities such as pressure and viscous drag coefficients, RMS lift and drag coefficients, recirculation length, Strouhal number and Nusselt number are determined and discussed for various Reynolds numbers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unsteady three-dimensional viscous shock layer in nonuniform gas flow in the neighborhood of a stagnation point

The combined influence of unsteady effects and free-stream nonuniformity on the variation of the flow structure near the stagnation line and the mechanical and thermal surface loads is investigated within the framework of the thin viscous shock layer model with reference to the example of the motion of blunt bodies at constant velocity through a plane temperature inhomogeneity. The dependence of the friction and heat transfer coefficients on the Reynolds number, the shape of the body and the parameters of the temperature inhomogeneity is analyzed. A number of properties of the flow are established on the basis of numerical solutions obtained over a broad range of variation of the governing parameters. By comparing the solutions obtained in the exact formulation with the calculations made in the quasisteady approximation the region of applicability of the latter is determined. In a number of cases of the motion of a body at supersonic speed in nonuniform media it is necessary to take into account the effect of the nonstationarity of the problem on the flow parameters. In particular, as the results of experiments [1] show, at Strouhal numbers of the order of unity the unsteady effects are important in the problem of the motion of a body through a temperature inhomogeneity. In a number of studies the nonstationary effect associated with supersonic motion in nonuniform media has already been investigated theoretically. In [2] the Euler equations were used, while in [3–5] the equations of a viscous shock layer were used; moreover, whereas in [3–4] the solution was limited to the neighborhood of the stagnation line, in [5] it was obtained for the entire forward surface of a sphere. The effect of free-stream nonuniformity on the structure of the viscous shock layer in steady flow past axisymmetric bodies was studied in [6, 7] and for certain particular cases of three-dimensional flow in [8–11].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 175–180, May–June, 1990.     

Mass transfer to particle clusters and bubbles in a fluidized bed at low Reynolds numbers

The process of mass transfer to a particle cluster or bubble rising in a developed fluidized bed rapidly enough for a region of closed circulation of the fluidizing agent (cloud) to be formed is investigated in the Stokes approximation on the basis of a model of the steady-state motion of the fluid and solid phases near the cluster or bubble [1]. Within the cloud surroundinga local inhomogeneity of the fluidized bed intense mixing of the fluid phase takes place and the mass transfer between the cloud and the surrounding medium is determined by diffusion. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to obtain an analytic solution of the problem of the concentration field and the diffusion mass flux to the surface of the cloud at small and large values of the Péclet number. The latter is determined from the relative velocity of the cluster, the radius of the cloud, and the effective diffusion coefficient. In the limiting case of zero concentration of the solid phase within the cluster the solution obtained describes the mass transfer to a bubble in the fluidized bed. A comparison is made with the corresponding results previously obtained within the framework of a model of the solid phase as an inviscid fluid [2]. It is shown that the effect of viscosity on the mass transfer to the bubble is most important at large Péclet numbers, and that the correction to the total diffusion flux to the surface of the closed circulation zone due to viscosity effects may reach 40%.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 60–67, July–August, 1986.     

Fluid motion in the stagnation point neighborhood

An analytical solution of the inviscid incompressible fluid equations (outer flow), which serves as the asymptote for the numerical solution of the viscous-fluid equations (inner flow), is presented. Using this solution, the effect of the spreading rate and the vorticity of the outer flow on the heat transfer (heat flux "peaks") can be studied. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 97–101, July–August, 2000.     

Influence of turbulence on heat transfer near a stagnation point

A method is developed for calculating the intensification of heat transfer in the neighborhood of a stagnation point (line) of a body in a turbulent (uniform or jet) flow. Conditions for the onset of intensification of heat transfer are found for the first time, together with a universal dimension-less number that determines the intensification coefficient. The results of a calculation agree with the existing experimental data for different classes of flows.     

Hypersonic three-dimensional viscous shock layer in a nonuniform gas flow in the neighborhood of the stagnation point

Three-dimensional hypersonic viscous gas flow past smooth blunt bodies in the presence of injection or suction is considered. The effect of the nonuniformity of the approach stream on the shock-wave standoff, the flow structure and the friction and heat transfer coefficients is investigated with reference to the examples of flow from a supersonic spherical source and flow of the far wake type. It is shown that this effect depends importantly on the Reynolds number, the nature of the nonuniformity and the shape of the body.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 136–145, November–December, 1987.