Mixed convection from an upward facing horizontal flat plate: effect of conduction and radiation

Experiments have been conducted in a low speed horizontal wind tunnel to study the interaction of radiation and conduction on mixed convective heat transfer from an upward facing horizontal flat plate in air. Differential interferometer has been used to measure local convective heat fluxes. It has been observed that interaction between surface radiation and convection is significant for a low thermal conductivity plate material. On the basis of the previous and current studies, it can be stated that the multi-mode interaction problem is an outcome of the nature of convective boundary layer. The interaction between different modes of heat transfer would remain similar irrespective of the nature of convection (free/mixed or forced).     

Convection in a Horizontal Fluid Layer with a Uniform Internal Heat Source

On the basis of a numerical simulation of convection in a horizontal fluid layer with a uniform heat source it is concluded that the convective heat flux is constant over the entire convection layer not only in the case of steady-state external conditions but also in the case of heating (cooling) of the fluid layer at a constant rate. The convective heat flux is mainly determined by the Rayleigh number and depends only slightly on the layer heating (cooling) rate.     

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.     

Mixed convective heat transfer characteristics and mechanisms in structured packed beds

The structured packed bed is considered a promising reactor owing to its low pressure drop and good heat transfer performance. In the heat transfer process of thermal storage in packed beds, natural convection plays an important role. To obtain the mixed convective heat transfer characteristics and mechanisms in packed beds, numerical simulations and coupling analyses were carried out in this study on the unsteady process of fluid flow and heat transfer. A three-dimensional model of the flow channel in the packed bed was established, and the Navier–Stokes equations and Laminar model were adopted for the computations. The effects of the driving force on fluid flow around a particle were studied in detail. The differences in velocity and density distributions under different flow directions due to effect of the aiding flow or opposing flow were intuitively demonstrated and quantitatively analyzed. It was found that the driving force strengthens the fluid flow near the particle surface when aiding flow occurs and inhibits the fluid flow when opposing flow occurs. The boundary layer structure was changed by the natural convection, which in turn influences the field synergy angle. For the aiding flow, the coordination between the velocity and density fields is higher than that for the opposing flow. By analysis the effects of physical parameters on mixed convective heat transfer, it is indicated that with an increase in the fluid-solid temperature difference or the particle diameter, or a decrease in the fluid temperature, the strengthening or inhibiting effect of natural convection on the heat transfer became more significant.     

Numerical Modeling of Unsteady Two-Dimensional Convection in a Finite-Length Horizontal Layer Heated from Below

The development of two-dimensional thermo-gravitational convection in an elongated horizontal layer bounded by solid surfaces with the bottom instantaneously heated is investigated. The characteristics of the transition from the heat conduction regime to the convective regime are considered. The flow pattern and the heat transfer properties are described from the initial instant, which corresponds to the isothermal fluid at rest, up to the attainment of the steady-state roll-convection regime. A criterial dependence between the Rayleigh number and the nondimensional time of onset of the influence of thermo-gravitational convection on heat transfer is obtained.     

Effect of viscous dissipation on the mixed convection heat transfer from an exponentially stretching surface

The mixed convection flow and heat transfer from an exponentially stretching vertical surface in a quiescent fluid is analyzed using similarity solution technique. Wall temperature and stretching velocity are assumed to have specific exponential function forms. The influence of buoyancy along with viscous dissipation on the convective transport in the boundary layer region is analyzed in both aiding and opposing flow situations. The flow is governed by the mixed convection parameter Gr/Re². The velocity and temperature inside the boundary layer are observed to be influenced by the parameters like Prandtl number Pr, Gebhart number Gb. Significant changes are observed in non-dimensional skin friction and heat transfer coefficients due to viscous dissipation in the medium. The flow and temperature distributions inside the boundary layer are analyzed and the results for non-dimensional skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are discussed through computer generated plots.     

InstationÄrer WÄrmeübergang in horizontalen zylindrischen BehÄltern

The heating process of fluids in horizontal cylindrical enclosures was studied by an optical interference technique in the region of laminar convection. The enclosure was subjected to a step change in wall temperature (Bi=const.). The time-dependent local and overall heat transfer rates were measured. The laminar convection regime and the onset of instabilities could be determined. The amount of enthalphy transferred at the beginning of the convective motion is considerable for relatively small Rayleigh-numbers examined here. It was found that the time needed for the heating process remains practically constant with increasing Rayleigh numbers after a certain Rayleigh number limit. The influence of the heat capacity of the wall is sufficiently described by Bi/K. K is the heat capacity of the wall in relation to the heat capacity of the fluid.     

Laminar convective heat transfer of non-Newtonian nanofluids with constant wall temperature

Nanofluids are obtained by dispersing homogeneously nanoparticles into a base fluid. Nanofluids often exhibit higher heat transfer rate in comparison with the base fluid. In the present study, forced convection heat transfer under laminar flow conditions was investigated experimentally for three types of non-Newtonian nanofluids in a circular tube with constant wall temperature. CMC solution was used as the base fluid and γ-Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and CuO nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed to create nanodispersions of different concentrations. Nanofluids as well as the base fluid show shear thinning (pseudoplastic) rheological behavior. Results show that the presence of nanoparticles increases the convective heat transfer of the nanodispersions in comparison with the base fluid. The convective heat transfer enhancement is more significant when both the Peclet number and the nanoparticle concentration are increased. The increase in convective heat transfer is higher than the increase caused by the augmentation of the effective thermal conductivity.     

Thermal Convection in a Plane Layer Rotating About a Horizontal Axis

The thermal convection of a fluid in a plane vertical layer with a cylindrical lateral boundary, which rotates uniformly about a horizontal symmetry axis, is investigated experimentally. The structure and excitation limit of the convective flows are studied as functions of the rotation frequency, the temperature difference between the layer boundaries, and the layer thickness. The determining dimensionless parameters are found. It is shown that the period-average gravity action produces convection in the form of hexagonally distributed cells stationary in the reference system tied to the cavity.     

Momentum and heat transfer over a continuous moving surface in a non-Darcian fluid

The momentum and heat transfer characteristics associated with the boundary layer on a continuous moving flat surface in a non-Darcian fluid have been investigated exploiting a local similarity solution procedure. The full boundary layer equations, which describe the effects of convective inertia, solid boundary, and porous inertia in addition to the Darcy flow resistance, were solved using novel transformed variables, deduced from a scale analysis on the momentum and energy conservation equations. Details are provided for the effects of convective inertia and porous inertia on the velocity and temperature profiles. The resulting friction and heat transfer characteristics are found to be substantially different from those of forces convection over a stationary flat plate. Furthermore, useful asymptotic expressions for the local Nusselt number are presented in consideration of possible physical limiting conditions.     

Heat convection from a cylinder performing steady rotation or rotary oscillation – Part II: Rotary oscillation

This paper deals with the problem of combined (forced and natural) convection from a horizontal cylinder performing oscillating rotary motion in a quiescent fluid of infinite extent. While forced convection is caused by cylinder oscillation, the natural convection is caused by the buoyancy driven flow. The heat transfer process is governed by Rayleigh number, Ra, Reynolds number, Re, and the dimensionless frequency of oscillation, S. The study covers Ra up to 10³, Re up to 400 and S up to 0.8. The results showed that, for the same Ra, the time-averaged rate of heat transfer lies in between two limiting values. The first, is the steady state heat rate due to natural convection from a fixed cylinder and the second is the steady state heat rate from a cylinder rotating steadily at a speed equal to the maximum speed of rotational oscillation. The smaller the value of Re the nearer the time-averaged Nusselt number to that of fixed cylinder at the same Ra and the higher Re the lower the average Nusselt number. The effect of frequency is only limited to changing the amplitude of the fluctuating Nusselt number. Received on 15 December 1997     

Thermal structure of convective vortex lattices

The thermal structure of the convective motions of a rotating plane layer of fluid is experimentally investigated in the regular vortex structure regime. It is found that in such a system the intense vortex motion leads to a temperature distribution such that the mean fluid temperature falls linearly from the bottom of the layer to the surface, the temperature gradient being determined by the rate of rotation and depth of the fluid. By dimensional analysis it is shown that this gradient corresponds to heat transfer in which the Nusselt number isolines are parallel to the convection curve. The horizontal structure of the temperature field is investigated; it corresponds to motion in which the fluid descends within a narrow vortex-sink and rises along the edges of a cylinder which determines the characteristic dimension of the structure in rotating fluid convection.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 160–166, November–December, 1987.The author wishes to thank G. S. Golitsyn for his constant interest in the work.     

Turbulent forced convection heat transfer of non-Newtonian nanofluids

Forced convection heat transfer of non-Newtonian nanofluids in a circular tube with constant wall temperature under turbulent flow conditions was investigated experimentally. Three types of nanofluids were prepared by dispersing homogeneously γ-Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and CuO nanoparticles into the base fluid. An aqueous solution of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as the base fluid. Nanofluids as well as the base fluid show shear-thinning (pseudoplastic) rheological behavior. Results indicate that the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids is higher than that of the base fluid. The enhancement of the convective heat transfer coefficient increases with an increase in the Peclet number and the nanoparticle concentration. The increase in the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids is greater than the increase that would be observed considering strictly the increase in the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Experimental data were compared to heat transfer coefficients predicted using available correlations for purely viscous non-Newtonian fluids. Results show poor agreement between experimental and predicted values. New correlation was proposed to predict successfully Nusselt numbers of non-Newtonian nanofluids as a function of Reynolds and Prandtl numbers.     

Natural convection heat transfer on surfaces of copper micro-wires

The natural convection heat transfer characteristics and mechanism for copper micro-wires in water and air were investigated experimentally and numerically. The wires with diameters of 39.9, 65.8 and 119.1 μm were placed horizontally in water inside of a sealed tube and in air of a large room, respectively. Using Joule heating, the heat transfer coefficients and Nusselt numbers of natural convection for micro-wires in ultra pure water and air were obtained. A three dimensional incompressible numerical model was used to investigate the natural convection, and the prediction with this model was in reasonable accordance with the experimental results. With the decrease of micro-wire diameter, the heat transfer coefficient of natural convection on the surface of micro-wire becomes larger, while the Nu number of natural convection decreases in water and air. Besides, the change rate of Nu number in water decreases apparently with the increase of heat flux and the decrease of wire diameter, which is larger than that in air. The thickness of boundary layer on the wall of micro-wire becomes thinner with the decrease of diameter in both water and air, but the ratio of boundary layer thickness in water to the diameter increases. However, there is almost no change of this ratio for natural convection in air. As a result, the proportion of conduction in total heat transfer of natural convection in water increases, while the convective heat transfer decreases. The velocity distribution, temperature field and the boundary layer in the natural convection were compared with those of tube with conventional dimension. It was found that the boundary layer around the micro-wire is an oval-shaped film on the surface, which was different from that around the conventional tube. This apparently reduces the convection strength in the natural convection, thus the heat transfer presents a conduction characteristic.     

Dependences of the shape of the crystallization front and growth rate of a silicon ingot on the heat transfer mode in the Bridgman-Stockbarger method

Conjugate heat transfer during growth of multisilicon crystals in flat crucibles by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method is studied numerically. Nonstationary equations of convective heat transfer in the region occupied by molten silicon and the heat-conduction equations for the solidified silicon mass and the walls of the graphite crucible of regular cylindrical shape are solved taking into account the heat of the phase transition. A comparison is made of the crystallization processes in the transient heat conduction mode and in the mode of thermogravitational convection.     

Similarity solution of free convective boundary-layer behavior at a stretching surface

In the present study, free convection and heat transfer behavior of electrically conducting fluid in the boundary layer over a vertical continuously stretching surface is investigated. The effects of free convection, magnetic field, suction/blowing at the surface and the stretching speed of the surface on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are considered. By applying one-parametric group theory to analysis of the problem, a similarity solution is found. The governing equations of continuity, momentum and energy are solved numerically by a fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme. The numerical results, which are obtained for the flow and heat transfer characteristics, reveal the influences of the parameters. Received on 9 September 1998     

Experimental and numerical analysis of thermo-magnetic convection in a vertical annular enclosure

In the present paper an experimental and numerical analysis of a thermo-magnetic convective flow of paramagnetic fluid in an annular enclosure with a round rod core and a cylindrical outer wall is presented. It is complemented by an experimental analysis of natural convection depending on the inclination angle to show the stability of the present configuration. Convection in an annulus between two vertical co-axial cylinders resulting from gravitational and magnetic environments has been investigated. A strong magnetic field can be an alternative to heat transfer enhancement. The effect of the magnetic field on the convection of the paramagnetic fluid in the annular vessel in various positions was compared. The numerical analysis was done based on the continuity, momentum and energy equations. A term related to the magnetic buoyancy force was added to the momentum equation. The distributions of Nusselt number present minima in two positions of the enclosure, which depends on the reciprocal relationship between the gravitational and magnetising forces.     

Thermocapillary convection in an absorbing-scattering medium subjected to irradiation

The criteria for the onset of thermocapillary convection in a horizontal radiating fluid layer heated by an incident thermal radiative energy source are determined. The fluid layer is an absorbing and isotropically scattering medium confined between a free upper surface and an insulated rigid lower surface. Linear analysis is performed on the continuity, momentum, energy, and approximate radiative equations. The resulting disturbance equations are solved using a numerical optimization technique to obtain the eigenvalues governing the onset of convective motion. The influence of thermal radiation on the critical Marangoni number is examined. Attention is drawn to the physical significance of the heat transfer mode, gravitational force, the scattering effect, and the surface radiative properties. The conditions leading to the onset of convection are presented as functions of the optical thickness, scattering albedo, Planck number, surface emissivities, and transmissivities.     

Vibrational convection in a saturated porous medium in the absence of thermal equilibrium between the solid and liquid phases

Thermal vibrational convection in a saturated porous medium is theoretically studied on the basis of a thermal nonequilibrium model, in accordance with which the temperatures of the porous medium and the saturating liquid can be different. In the high-frequency vibration approximation the averaged equations of convection are derived. The dependence of the vibration force direction on the interphase heat transfer coefficient and the vibration frequency is established. Vibrational convection in a cylindrical layer is studied. It is shown that, depending on the interphase heat transfer coefficient, the flows of two types differing in the liquid circulation direction can exist.