Experimental investigation of heat transfer from different pin fin in a rectangular channel

In this study, the effect of both hexagonal pin fins (HPFs) and cylindrical pin fins (CPFs) into the rectangular channel on heat transfer augmentation, Nusselt number and friction factor were experimentally investigated. In planning of the experiments, different Reynolds number, pin fin array, pin fin geometry and the ratio of the distance between pin fin spacing (s) to the pin fin hydraulic diameter (s/D_h) were chosen as the design parameters. Air was used as the fluid. The Reynolds number, based on the channel hydraulic diameter of the rectangular channel, was varied from 3188 to 19531. In the experiments, the heating plate was made of stainless steel foil. The foil was electrically heated by means of a high current DC power supply to provide a constantly heated flux surface. The heat transfer results were obtained using the infrared thermal imaging technique. The heat transfer results of the hexagonal pin fins (HPFs) and cylindrical pin fins (CPFs) are compared with those of a smooth plate. Best heat transfer performance was obtained with the hexagonal pin fins. The maximum thermal performance factor ((?), was obtained as Re = 3188, staggered array, s/D_h = 0, ? = 2.28.     

Heat Transfer Enhancement from A Rectangular Flat Plate With Constant Heat Flux in Pulsating Flows

Experiments have been carried out to study heat transfer enhancement from a heated rectangular flat plate in pulsating flows. A heat transfer empirical formula of the heated rectangular flat plate in pulsating flows was developed that correlates the heat transfer enhancement factor to the Womersley number (α = 3.3–23.8), the Reynolds number (Re = 527–4,217), and the pressure coefficient (C _p  = 41.3–31,644.6). The results demonstrate that heat transfer from the rectangular flat plate was enhanced significantly under proper conditions. In addition, the influence of the Reynolds number on the heat transfer enhancement factor increases as the pressure amplitude increases.     

Experimental Investigation of Transient Forced Convection of Liquid Methane in a Channel at High Heat Flux Conditions

Transient heat transfer of liquid methane under forced convection in a 1.8 mm × 1.8 mm asymmetrically heated square channel was investigated. This study is aimed at understanding the heat transfer behavior of cryogenic propellant in cooling channels of a regeneratively cooled rocket engine at the start-up condition. To simulate high heat load conditions representative of regeneratively cooled rocket engines, a high heat flux test facility with cryogenic liquid handing capabilities was developed at the Center for Space Exploration Technology Research. The time history of inlet and outlet fluid temperatures and test section channel wall temperatures were measured at high heat flux conditions (from 1.19 to 3.80 MW/m²) and a Reynolds number (Re) range of 1.88 × 10⁵ to 3.45 × 10⁵. The measured wall temperature data point toward possible film boiling within the test section during certain tests, particularly with higher heat fluxes and lower Reynolds number conditions that resulted in higher wall temperatures. The transient average Nusselt numbers (Nu_L) of the channel obtained from the experimental measurements are lower than those calculated from the Sieder–Tate correlation (Nu_O); however, the ratio (Nu_L/Nu_O) increases with the increase in Reynolds number. The ratio is around 0.25 at the lower end of Re and then increases to 0.7 at the maximum Re studied in the present investigation.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer in a miniature heat sink utilizing silica nanofluid

In this paper, heat transfer characteristics of a miniature heat sink cooled by SiO₂–water nanofluids were investigated both experimentally and numerically. The heat sink was fabricated from aluminum and insulated by plexiglass cover plates. The heat sink consisted of an array of 4 mm diameter circular channels with a length of 40 mm. Tests were performed while inserting a 180 W/cm² heat flux to the bottom of heat sink and Reynolds numbers ranged from 400 to 2000. The three-dimensional heat transfer characteristics of the heat sink were analyzed numerically by solving conjugate heat transfer problem of thermally and hydrodynamically developing fluid flow. Experimental results showed that dispersing SiO₂ nanoparticles in water significantly increased the overall heat transfer coefficient while thermal resistance of heat sink was decreased up to 10%. Numerical results revealed that channel diameter, as well as heat sink height and number of channels in a heat sink have significant effects on the maximum temperature of heat sink. Finally, an artificial neural network (ANN) was used to simulate the heat sink performance based on these parameters. It was found that the results of ANN are in excellent agreement with the mathematical simulation and cover a wider range for evaluation of heat sink performance.     

EFFECTS OF FREE STREAM VELOCITY ON TURBULENT NATURAL CONVECTION FLOW OVER A VERTICAL FORWARD-FACING STEP

Measurements of heat transfer and fluid flow of turbulent boundary-layer air flow in natural and mixed convection over an isothermal two-dimensional, vertical forward-facing step are reported. The upstream and downstream walls and the step itself were heated to a uniform and constant temperature. Air velocity and temperature distributions and their turbulent fluctuations are measured simultaneously using a two-component laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) and a cold wire anemometer, respectively. The present study treats buoyancy-dominated mixed convection over a vertical forward-facing step and examines the effect of a small free stream velocity on turbulent natural convection. The experiment was carried out for a step height of 22 mm, for a range of free stream air velocities 0 m/s ? u_∞ ? 0.55 m/s (corresponding to a range of Reynolds numbers of 0 ? Re\abinf{s} ? 712), and a temperature difference, ΔT, of 30°C between the heated walls and the free stream air (corresponding to a local Grashof number Gr_xi = 6.45 × 10¹⁰). It was found that the reattachment length increases while the heat transfer rate from the downstream heated wall decreases as the small free stream velocity increases.     

Flow boiling heat transfer of water in microchannel heat sink

The flow boiling heat transfer of water in a microchannel heat sink with variable initial vapor quality at the inlet is investigated. The stainless steel microchannel heat sink contains ten 640 × 2050 μm channels with a length of 120 mm; the wall roughness is 10 μm. The data on the local heat-transfer coefficient distribution in heat sink length are obtained in the range of mass fluxes from 30 to 90 kg/m²s, heat fluxes from 40 to 170 kW/m², and vapor qualities from 0 to 1. The heat transfer instability associated with dry spots resulting from insufficient wetting of channel walls introduces substantial contribution to the heat transfer mechanism and leads to decreasing heat transfer in heat sink length downward the flow. The developed method for calculating the flow boiling heat transfer of water in a microchannel heat sink allows more accurate prediction of heat transfer drop than available methods.     

Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer in Two-phase Flow Boiling

In this article, an experimental investigation is performed to measure the boiling heat transfer coefficient of water flow in a microchannel with a hydraulic diameter of 500 μm. Experimental tests are conducted with heat fluxes ranging from 100 to 400 kW/m², vapor quality from 0 to 0.2, and mass fluxes of 200, 400, and 600 kg/m²s. Also, this study has modified the liquid Froude number to present a flow pattern transition toward an annular flow. Experimental results show that the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient is not dependent on mass flux and vapor quality but on heat flux to a certain degree. The measured heat transfer coefficient is compared with a few available correlations proposed for macroscales, and it is found that previous correlations have overestimated the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient for the test conditions considered in this work. This article proposes a new correlation model regarding the boiling heat transfer coefficient in mini- and microchannels using boiling number, Reynolds number, and modified Froude number.     

Numerical study of mixed convection flow in a lid-driven cavity with sinusoidal heating on sidewalls using nanofluid

Mixed convection flow of Cu–water nanofluid inside a lid-driven square cavity with adiabatic horizontal walls and sinusoidal heating on sidewalls has been investigated numerically. The effects of increase in shear force for a fixed buoyancy force and effects of increase in buoyancy force for a fixed shear force were investigated. Effects of variations of Richardson number, phase deviation of sinusoidal heating, and volume fraction of nanoparticles on flow and temperature field were studied. The obtained results showed that for a constant Grashof number at all Richardson numbers, a clockwise eddy was developed inside the cavity, also the rate of heat transfer increases with decrease in Richardson number and increase of volume fraction of nanoparticles. For a constant Reynolds number the clockwise eddy is observed up to Ri = 1. For Ri = 10 a multicellular flow pattern is formed inside the cavity. Moreover it was found that when the Reynolds number is kept constant, the rate of heat transfer increases with increase in Richardson number.     

A numerical study of laminar natural convective heat transfer inside a closed cavity with different aspect ratio

Two-dimensional steady-state laminar natural convection was studied numerically for differentially heated air-filled closed cavity with adiabatic top and bottom walls. The temperature of the left heated wall and cooled right wall was assumed to be constant. The governing equations were iteratively solved using the control volume approach. In this paper, the effects of the Rayleigh number and the aspect ratio were examined. Flow and thermal fields were exhibited by means of streamlines and isotherms, respectively.Variations of the maximum stream function and the average heat transfer coefficient were also shown. The average Nusselt number and was correlated to the Rayleigh number based on curve fitting for each aspect ratio. The investigation covered the range 10⁴ ≤ RA ≤ 10⁷ and is done at Prandtl number equal to 0.693. The result shows the average Nusselt number is the increasing function of Rayleigh number. As the aspect ratio increases, Nusselt number decreases along the hot wall of the cavity. As Rayleigh number increases, Nusselt number increases. Result indicates that at constant aspect ratio, with increase in Rayleigh number the heat transfer rate increases.     

Stagnation Region Heat Transfer for Circular Jets Impinging on a Flat Plate

The heat transfer characteristics in a stagnation region were investigated experimentally for five circular free jets impinging into a heated flat plate. The local temperature distributions are estimated from the thermal images obtained from an infrared camera. To get a precise heat transfer data over the plate, fully developed straight pipe jets were used in this study. Mean jet Reynolds number varied from 1,000 to 45,000, jet-to-plate vertical non-dimensional distance H/D varied from 2 to 6, and the spacing distance jet-to-jet S/D varied from 2 to 8. A geometrical arrangement of one jet surrounded by four jets an in-line array was tested. The results show that the stagnation point Nusselt number is correlated to a jet Reynolds number as Nu_st∝Re^0.61. The average Nusselt number is higher at a separation distance of 2D for three cases of spacing distances, S/D = 2, 4, and 6.     

Thermal characterization of longitudinal merging of turbulent spots

This study presents the thermal behavior of two young turbulent spots merging into a longitudinal direction on an isothermal flat plate for the local Reynolds number between 6.1 × 10⁴ and 1.3 × 10⁵ in a low freestream turbulence water tunnel having a turbulent intensity of 1.16%. The two turbulent spots are generated by water injection through a 1-mm-diameter hole in the perpendicular direction of the mainstream flow with a dimensionless separating time (Δτ) of 42.08, 84.16, and 126.24. Thermochromic liquid crystals are utilized mutually with an image processing technique to extract the spot characteristics qualitatively and quantitatively. The results demonstrate that the following turbulent spot directly causes an increase in the local Nusselt number and heat rate within the footprint of the merging spots. The relatively highest increase in this study occurs when Δτ = 84.16. The average Nusselt number and effectiveness characterize differently in the intersection zone, non-intersection zone of the leading spot, and non-intersection zone of the following spot. The results confirm that turbulent spots under the boundary layer transition augment the heat transfer rate to the level of full turbulence by not only their spot maturity but also the merging mechanism. Finally, the heat transfer mechanism is discussed and the predictive formulas for the Nusselt number and heat flux of the longitudinal merging of turbulent spots for Δτ from 0 to 126.24 are provided.     

Experimental quantification of natural convective heat transfer within annulus space filled with a H2O-Cu nanofluid saturated porous medium. Application to electronics cooling

This experimental study deals with cooling electronics contained in a hemispherical cavity whose cupola is maintained isothermal, being its base inclined at an angle varying from 0° (horizontal disc with the cupola oriented upwards) to 135°. The active component is a dome centered on this base. The space between the differentially heated elements of the assembly is filled with a porous medium of high porosity saturated by a water–copper nanofluid whose volume fraction varies between 0% (pure water) and 7%. The Rayleigh number based on the radius of the cupola reaches high values up to 7.29 × 10¹⁰ given the important surface heat flux generated by the device during operation. The ratio between the thermal conductivity of the solid matrix and that of the base fluid ranges between 0 (interstitial volume without porous medium) and 41.4 corresponding to the intended applications. This experimental study done with an industrial prototype at scale 1 quantifies the natural convective heat transfer via the Nusselt number determined for many configurations obtained by varying the solid-fluid thermal conductivity ratio, the inclination angle, the Rayleigh number, and the volume fraction. The study clearly shows that the cooling performance of the Cu-H₂O nanofluid degrades with its age and the number of times it has been used. Analysis of the results reproducibility also proves the irreversibility of the performance. The measured values were compared with those obtained in a recent numerical study based on the volume control method. The observed deviations taking into account the experimental uncertainty margins validate the mathematical model implemented in the numerical approach.     

Flow boiling heat transfer of refrigerant R21 in microchannel heat sink

Boiling heat transfer in a refrigerant R 21 flow in a microchannel heat sink is studied. A stainless steel heat sink with a length of 120 mm contains ten microchannels with a size of 640×2050 μm at cross-section with a wall roughness of 10 μm. The local heat-transfer coefficient distribution along the heat sink length is obtained. The ranges of parameters are: mass flow from 68 to 172 kg/m²s, heat fluxes from 16 to 152 kW/m², and vapor quality from 0 to 1. The maximum values of the heat transfer coefficient are observed at the inlet of microchannels. The heat transfer coefficients decrease substantially along the length of channels under high heat flux conditions and, on the contrary, change insignificantly under low heat flux condition. A comparison with the well-known models of flow boiling heat transfer is performed and the range of applicability is defined.     

Forced and mixed convection heat transfer from an array of cylinders to a liquid submerged jet

The results of an experimental investigation concerning the heat transfer from three cylindrical heaters to a water jet are reported in the form of correlating equations, which express the Nusselt number versus the Reynolds, Prandtl and Grashof numbers and some dimensionless ratios characterising the configuration. As the experienced range of the thermal flux is wide (2·10⁴ ≤ q̇ ≤ 6·10⁵ W·m⁻²), the influence of the free convection, which was shown to be negligible in previous studies, is carefully investigated in the present one. This influence appears still negligible up to the maximum value of q̇ for the heater impinged by the jet; on the contrary it is remarkable for the heaters lying in its wake. Another aspect which is carefully studied is the influence both of the ratios characterising the configuration and of the impingement direction: accordingly the values of these ratios and the kind of impingement which yield the maximum Nusselt number are clearly singled out. The investigation is completed by some visualization experiments which allow us to qualitatively clarify some aspects of the interaction between the dynamic and thermal fields.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop measurements in channels roughened by variously shaped ribs on one wall

Heat transfer and pressure drop measurements were conducted to study the thermal-hydraulics in a square, round-edged channel roughened by ribs (e/D_h = 0.0638, p/e = 10) on one wall at Reynolds numbers ranging from 5.0 × 10⁴ to 2.5 × 10⁵. Three variously shaped ribs were investigated: Transverse ribs with square cross sections, transverse ribs, and upstream directed 60° V-shaped ribs with round-edged rib front and rear surfaces. Friction factors, Nusselt number ratios, roughness functions, and the thermal performance were presented. The highest heat transfer and best thermal performance is reached by the upstream directed V-shaped ribs.     

Mathematical simulation of conjugate turbulent natural convection in an enclosure with local heat source

A numerical analysis of turbulent regimes of the natural convection in a closed rectangular region with heat-conducting walls of finite thickness was carried out in the presence of a locally concentrated heat source under the conditions of the radiative-convective heat exchange with the ambient medium on one of the external boundaries. The mathematical model was constructed on the basis of the Reynolds equations in dimensionless variables stream function — vorticity vector — temperature. Special attention was paid to the investigation of the influence of the Grashof number er 10⁸≤Gr<10¹⁰, of the unsteadiness factor 0< τ <1000, and the thermal conductivity ratio λ _2,1 = 5.7·10⁻⁴, 6.8·10⁻⁵ on both the local and integral characteristics of the problem.     

Laminar free convection heat transfer between vertical isothermal plates

The paper represents results on numerical investigation of flow and heat transfer between two isothermal vertical plates under laminar natural convection. A system of complete Navier–Stokes equations is solved for a two-dimensional gas flow between the plates along with additional rectangular regions (connected to inlet and outlet sections), whose characteristic sizes are much greater than the spacing between the plates. The calculations were performed over very wide ranges of Rayleigh number Ra = 10 ÷ 10⁵ and a relative channel length AR = L/w = 1 ÷ 500. The influence of the input parameters on the gas-dynamic and thermal structure of thermogravitational convection, the local and mean heat transfer, and also the gas flow rate between the plates (convective draft. We determined sizes of the regions and regime parameters when the local heat flux on the walls tends to zero due to the gas temperature approach to the surface temperature. It is shown that the mean heat transfer decreases as the relative channel length AR grows, whereas the integral gas flow rate (convective draft) and Reynolds number in the channel Re = 2wUm/ν increase. The use of a modified Rayleigh number Ra* = Ra · (w/L) (Elenbaas number) leads to generalization of calculation data on mean heat transfer. These data are in good agreement with the correlations for heat transfer [1, 2] and gas flow rate [3]. The reasons of variation of the data in the range of low Rayleigh numbers are discussed in detail.     

Numerical analysis of vortex dynamics and unsteady turbulent heat transfer in lid-driven square cavity

Based on the solution of unsteady Reynolds equations (URANS) closed with the aid of differential equations for shear stresses transport (MSST), the evolution of the vortex structure in a square cavity with a moving lid and an unsteady turbulent heat transfer in the air medium are computed while maintaining constant temperatures of the hot moving and cold motionless walls (Re = 5·10⁴). The phases of the development of dynamic and thermal processes are analyzed.     

Investigating the effects of nanoparticles mean diameter on laminar mixed convection of a nanofluid through an inclined tube with circumferentially nonuniform heat flux

In this study, laminar mixed convection of a water-based nanofluid containing Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in an inclined copper tube, which is heated at the top half surface, is investigated numerically. A heat conduction mechanism through the tube wall was implemented. Three-dimensional equations using a two-phase mixture model were solved to investigate the hydrodynamic and thermal behaviors of the nanofluid over a wide range of nanoparticle volume fractions. To verify the model, the results were compared with previous works and a good agreement between the results was observed. The effect of nanoparticles diameter on the hydrodynamic and thermal parameters over a wide range of Grashof numbers is presented and discussed for a particle volume fraction and Reynolds number. It is shown that the diameter of nanoparticles affects the particle distribution in the cross section perpendicular to the tube axis, heat transfer coefficient, and shear stress.