Turbulent thermal diffusion in a multi-fan turbulence generator with imposed mean temperature gradient

We studied experimentally the effect of turbulent thermal diffusion in a multi-fan turbulence generator which produces a nearly homogeneous and isotropic flow with a small mean velocity. Using particle image velocimetry and image processing techniques, we showed that in a turbulent flow with an imposed mean vertical temperature gradient (stably stratified flow) particles accumulate in the regions with the mean temperature minimum. These experiments detected the effect of turbulent thermal diffusion in a multi-fan turbulence generator for relatively high Reynolds numbers. The experimental results are in compliance with the results of the previous experimental studies of turbulent thermal diffusion in oscillating grid turbulence (Buchholz et al. 2004; Eidelman et al. 2004). We demonstrated that the turbulent thermal diffusion is an universal phenomenon. It occurs independently of the method of turbulence generation, and the qualitative behavior of particle spatial distribution in these very different turbulent flows is similar. Competition between turbulent fluxes caused by turbulent thermal diffusion and turbulent diffusion determines the formation of particle inhomogeneities.     

Role of Thermal Diffusion on Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media

In this paper, thermal diffusion phenomena in a porous cavity are investigated. The Brinkman model, coupled with the energy and the mass balance equations was solved numerically using a finite element techniques. A two-component system was included in the model. Different models were investigated to demonstrate the importance of the Soret effect with the presence of gravity vector. We do not take into consideration the pressure effect in the thermal diffusion. Even with such simplification to the problem, results reveal that the thermal diffusion is important and drives a strong convection. A series of convection cells are observed and steady-state solutions are obtained. Asymmetric solutions are obtained for various cases of dual-porosity porous media. Variations in the gravity vector indicated that the convection patterns, as well as the role of Soret coefficient, are profoundly impacted. Finally, the importance of including thermal diffusion in petroleum reservoir simulation is discussed.     

Soret effect on propagation of thermoconvective waves in a binary mixture

Effects of thermal diffusion (Soret effect) on the propagation of thermoconvective waves (TCW) in a layer of binary mixture are investigated. It is shown that undamped propagation of TCW is possible in a layer heated from below provided the Soret number is large and positive. A novel result of the analysis is that for a layer heated from below, TCW which are strongly damped in the absence of thermal diffusion may propagate almost undamped in the low frequency limit in the presence of thermal diffusion for some negative value of Soret number. It is further shown that for a layer heated from above such that the solute concentration increases vertically upward, weakly damped propagation of TCW in the low frequency limit is inhibited with increase in Soret number. Received on 14 July 1998     

Self-similar problems of convective diffusion in the presence of heterogeneous chemical reactions with allowance for thermal diffusion effects

A number of studies have been made of the problem of the effect of a temperature gradient on mass transfer in a forced viscous fluid flow. The question of allowing for thermal diffusion effects has been examined in connection with flow around bodies [1–4], duct flow [5], and jet flows [6,7]. Recently, in addition to the problem of thermal diffusion separation, the attention of investigators has been claimed by the problem of taking into account the effect of thermal diffusion on mass transfer in a convective flow in the presence of chemical reactions on the flow surfaces [4].     

An analysis of species separation in a thermogravitational column filled with a porous medium

In the past, the analysis of species separation in a thermogravitational column filled with porous media has been based on strong dependency of thermal and molecular diffusion to dispersion. In this work, we suggest an alternative and show that the dispersion effect is negligible for the conditions in a packed hermogravitational column and that compositional dependency of the thermal diffusion should be accounted for.     

Diffusive Effects on Recovery of Light Oil by Medium Temperature Oxidation

Volatile oil recovery by means of air injection is studied as a method to improve recovery from low permeable reservoirs. We consider the case in which the oil is directly combusted into small products, for which we use the term medium temperature oil combustion. The two-phase model considers evaporation, condensation and reaction with oxygen. In the absence of thermal, molecular and capillary diffusion, the relevant transport equations can be solved analytically. The solution consists of three waves, i.e., a thermal wave, a medium temperature oxidation (MTO) wave and a saturation wave separated by constant state regions. A striking feature is that evaporation occurs upstream of the combustion reaction in the MTO wave. The purpose of this paper is to show the effect of diffusion mechanisms on the MTO process. We used a finite element package (COMSOL) to obtain a numerical solution; the package uses fifth-order Lagrangian base functions, combined with a central difference scheme. This makes it possible to model situations at realistic diffusion coefficients. The qualitative behavior of the numerical solution is similar to the analytical solution. Molecular diffusion lowers the temperature of the MTO wave, but creates a small peak near the vaporization region. The effect of thermal diffusion smoothes the thermal wave and widens the MTO region. Capillary diffusion increases the temperature in the upstream part of the MTO region and decreases the efficiency of oil recovery. At increasing capillary diffusion the recovery by gas displacement gradually becomes higher, leaving less oil to be recovered by combustion. Consequently, the analytical solution with no diffusion and numerical solutions at a high capillary diffusion coefficient become different. Therefore high numerical diffusion, significant in numerical simulations especially in coarse gridded simulations, may conceal the importance of combustion in recovering oil.     

Effect of thermal diffusion and electrostatic force on evolution of wind-blown sand flow

A theoretical model is suggested to mathematically describe the effect of thermal diffusion from a sand-bed on evolution of a wind-blown sand flow.An upward wind field is engendered by the thermal diffusion and the coupling interaction among the horizontal and upward wind flow,saltating grains,and a kind of electrostatic force exerted on the grains are considered in this theoretical model.The numerical results show that the effect of the thermal diffusion on the evolution process of wind-blown grain flow is quite obvious and very similar to the effect of the electrostatic force on the evolution.Not only the time for the entire system to reach a steady state(called the duration time),the transport rate of grains,the mass-flux profiles and the trajectory of saltating grains are affected by the thermal diffusion and the electrostatic force exerted on saltating grains, but also the wind profiles and the temperature profiles at the steady state are affected by the wind-blown sand flow.     

Heat transfer mechanism of miniature loop heat pipe with water-copper nanofluid: thermodynamics model and experimental study

In order to ensure the normal work of electronic product, the thermal management is of key importance. Miniature loop heat pipe (mLHP) is a promising device of heat transfer for electronic products. Cu-water nanofluid with different concentration is used as working material in mLHP. Experiments are conducted to investigate its heat transfer performance. The heat flux owing to thermal diffusion is calculated. It is found that this heat flux and the boiling temperature are non-monotonic function of concentration of nanoparticle. Turning concentration appears at about 1.5 wt%. Differential equation of thermal diffusion produced by micro movement of nanoparticle is established in this paper. Average speed formula for nanoparticles is derived and slope of the curve of phase equilibrium is obtained. Based on the theoretical research in this paper, enhanced heat transfer mechanism of nanofluid is analyzed. The facts that heat flux owing to thermal diffusion and boiling temperature are all associated with nanoparticle concentration are also well explained with the aid of the derived theory in this paper.     

The macroscopic coefficients of thermal conductivity and diffusion in microinhomogeneous solids

A method is given for calculating the macroscopic coefficients of thermal conductivity and diffusion for microinhomogeneous solids whose local coefficients of thermal conductivity (or diffusion) form an ergodic homogeneous stray field. In the case of marked isotropy of the field of the local coefficients, the calculations are taken to a conclusion. The final formulas for the structure are not much more complicated than the corresponding first-approximation formulas. The results of calculations for certain other cases are also given. The effect of anisotropy of the crystallites in polycrystalline material on the coefficients of thermal conductivity and diffusion is discussed.One of the main problems in the mechanics of microinhomogeneous bodies is the determination of the macroscopic constants from the corresponding microscopic characteristics. The assumption regarding the small inhomogeneity used by a number of authors [1, 2] is not applicable in the case of isotropic polycrystalline aggregates consisting of substantially anisotropic crystallites, stochastic reinforced media media, etc. The so-called self-consistent field method [3] opens up some interesting prospects, but this method is an approximate one and its errors have not yet been assessed. Nevertheless, by making certain fairly general assumptions about the correlation properties of the inhomogeneity, it is possible to obtain final accurate formulas for such macroscopic properties of the solids as the coefficients of thermal conductivity, diffusion, elasticity, and thermal expansion. Below we consider some of the simplest problems involved in determining the macroscopic constants which form a second-order tensor and which characterize the distribution of a certain scalar quantity in a microinhomogeneous body.     

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.     

Separation of mixtures in connected channels

The stationary modes of thermal convection of a binary mixture in connected channels of finite height were studied experimentally and theoretically. The effects of positive and negative thermal diffusion on the convection were examined. The ranges of parameters corresponding to the modes of soft and rigid initiation of convection were determined. Vertical distributions of the temperature and concentration fields were found for various values of the thermal diffusion parameter. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 68–77, January–February, 2009.     

Coupled model of coating formation on a cylindrical substrate

A coupled model of coating formation on the surface of a part of a cylindrical shape during deposition from the plasma is proposed. This model takes into account the phenomena of thermal diffusion, diffusive thermal conductivity, and mass transfer under the action of the stress gradient, and the formation of chemical compounds. The coating growth rate is considered to be a given function of the particle velocity and particle concentration near the surface of the growing coating. The problem is solved numerically. It is shown that diffusion cross-fluxes, diffusive thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusion during the growth process reduce the width of the transition zone between the substrate and the coating. This effect becomes most essential if the substrate has a low thermal conductivity. Accounting for stresses arising in the coating-substrate system during the deposition process changes the effective transfer coefficients and significantly affects the result of modeling the distribution of chemical elements and their compounds in the coating.     

Three-Dimensional Thermochemically Nonequilibrium Viscous Gas Flows in the Neighborhood of Blunt Bodies

The parameters of the flow in the neighborhood of blunt bodies are investigated within the framework of the parabolized viscous shock layer model under Earth's atmosphere entry conditions for flow at angles of attack and slip. The investigation is carried out with allowance for thermal and chemical flow nonequilibrium, multicomponent diffusion, and heterogeneous catalytic reactions. The mutual influence of exchange reactions and molecular vibrational relaxation is taken into account, together with the vibrational-dissociative interaction. The effect of the flow nonequilibrium on the thermal and mechanical loadings is analyzed for the windward surface of triaxial ellipsoids.     

Transient thermal entrance heat transfer in laminar pipe flows with step change in pumping pressure

Analysis is made for the transient heat transfer phenomena in the thermal entrance region of laminar pipe flows. The transient results from both the change in flow field, a step change in pressure gradient from zero to a fixed value, and the change in thermal field, a step change in the inlet temperature. An exponential scheme has been employed to solve the energy equation with the presence of axial heat conduction in the fluid. In order to demonstrate the results more clearly, a modified Nusselt number is introduced. The unsteady axial variations of conventional Nusselt number, modified Nusselt number, bulk fluid temperature and pipe wall temperature are presented for water and air over a wide range of outside heat transfer coefficients. It is observed that the outside heat transfer coefficient has a significant influences on the transient heat transfer processes. The results can be comprehensively interpreted by the interactions among the axial convection, axial diffusion, and radial diffusion.     

Analysis of plane waves in anisotropic thermoelastic diffusive medium

This paper concentrates on the study of the propagation of harmonic plane waves in a homogeneous anisotropic thermoelastic diffusive medium in the context of different theories of thermoelastic diffusion. It is found that five types of waves propagate in an anisotropic thermoelastic diffusive medium, namely a quasi-elastodiffusive (QED-mode), two quasi-transverse (QSH-mode and QSV-mode), a quasi-mass diffusive (QMD-mode) and a quasi-thermo diffusive (QTD-mode) wave. The governing equations for homogeneous transversely isotropic diffusive medium in different theories of thermoelastic diffusion are taken as a special case. It is noticed that when plane waves propagate in one of the planes of transversely isotropic thermoelastic diffusive solid, purely quasitransverse wave mode(QSH) decouples from rest of the motion and is not affected by the thermal and diffusion vibrations. On the other hand, when plane waves propagate along the axis of solid, two quasi-transverse wave modes (QSH and QSV) decouple from the rest of the motion and are not affected by the thermal and diffusion vibrations. From the obtained results, the different characteristics of waves like phase velocity, attenuation coefficient, specific loss and penetration depth are computed numerically and presented graphically for a single crystal of magnesium. The effects of diffusion and relaxation times on phase velocity, attenuation coefficient, specific loss and penetration depth has been studied. Some particular cases are also discussed.     

Measurement of the concentration diffusion coefficient for He-Ar and Ne-Kr by a two bulb method

Summary A two bulb glass apparatus was used to measure the concentration diffusion coefficient of the binary gas systems He-Ar and Ne-Kr. The coefficients were determined for equimolar mixtures at temperatures between 0°C and 70°C. The diffusion was followed as a function of time by withdrawing samples and analyzing them in a specially designed thermal conductivity analyzer with high accuracy. The diffusion coefficients agree with earlier reported experimental values and with those obtained on the basis of the Chapman-Enskog theory in conjunction with the modified Buckingham exp-six and Lennard-Jones (12-6) intermolecular potentials. The smoothed values were used to predict viscosity and thermal conductivity of these mixtures as a function of composition and temperature.     

On pressure and thermal flux in gas-mixture flows and in two-phase flows

To begin with, two different definitions of pressure, thermal flux, etc. in the diffusion model and two-fluid model are given. Then the physical interpretations of the pressure and the thermal flux are provided by introducing the momentum and energy fluxes,M and ε, through a surface dS in the flow field. The quantities defined in the diffusion model are suggested when the motion of the mixture is studied as a whole, while the quantities defined in the two-fluid model are suggested when the motion of individual species is studied. The collision pressure and thermal flux in dense gas-mixtures are also discussed in detail, i.e. their origin, their expressions in the momentum and energy equations, and their distinctions from the normal partial pressure and thermal flux. A gas-particle flow can be treated as a flow of dense gas-mixtures. The long-standing controversy whether the “inertial coupling term” should exist in the momentum equation can be clarified by the two different definitions of pressure.     

Development of turbulent mixing in a fluid

The development of turbulent mixing produced by a linear source in a flat cell is studied with dyes and a laser thermal marker. The velocity field outside the mixing region is determined. The agreement of region size determined by dye diffusion and thermal marker deformation is shown.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 2, pp. 91–95, March–April, 1973.     

A generalized thermal boundary condition

 A generalized thermal boundary condition is derived to include all thermal effects of a thin layer which is in thermal contact with an adjacent domain. The thin layer may be a stationary or moving solid-skin or fluid-film. The included thermal effects of the thin layer are the thermal capacity of the layer, thermal diffusion, enthalpy flow, viscous dissipation within the layer, convective losses from the layer, and other effects. Six different kinds of thermal boundary conditions can be obtained as special cases of the generalized boundary condition. The generalized boundary condition is given for perfect and imperfect thermal contact between the thin layer and its adjacent domain. The importance of the generalized boundary condition is demonstrated in an example. Received on 23 December 1996