Free convection on a vertical plate with uniform and constant heat flux in a thermally stratified micropolar fluid

This paper analyzes flow and heat transfer characteristics of the free convection on a vertical plate with uniform and constant heat flux in a thermally stratified micropolar fluid. The dimensionless forms of boundary layer equations and their associated boundary conditions have been derived and the numerical results have been obtained using the method of cubic spline collocation with a finite difference scheme. The effects of the micropolar and stratification parameters on the dimensionless wall temperature, skin friction parameter and wall couple stress are discussed.     

Natural convection heat transfer from sinusoidal wavy surfaces

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the natural convection heat transfer characteristics of sinusoidal wavy surfaces on vertical plates maintained at a constant temperature. Local heat transfer coefficients were obtained with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The heat transfer from the wavy surfaces, compared to a plane plate of equal projected area, increased with increasing amplitude-to-wavelength ratio. The heat transfer was increased by about 15 percent at an amplitude-to-wavelength ratio of 0.3; for this case a flow instability was detected. A quantitative comparison with a previously published numerical investigation is also presented. In general, there is agreement between the two studies.     

Three dimensional free convection flow and heat transfer along a porous vertical plate

The free convection flow along a vertical porous plate with transverse sinusoidal suction velocity distribution is investigated. Due to this type of suction velocity at the plate the flow becomes three dimensional one. For the asymptotic flow condition, the wall shear stress in the direction of main flow for different values of buoyancy parameter G is obtained. For G=0, the skin friction in the direction of free stream and the rate of heat transfer from the plate to the fluid are given. It is found that these results differ from those obtained by Gersten and Gross.     

Conjugate heat transfer in square enclosures

Building elements represented by square vertical enclosures encircled with finite walls or with centered solid body, could maintain the equivalent fluid volumes through the volume ratio scale. Present work aims to investigate the fluid flow and heat transfer in these two building elements. Complete two-dimensional numerical simulation of the conjugate heat conduction and natural convection occurring in both enclosures is carried out. An analytical expression for the minimum size of the inserted body at which the body begins to suppress the natural convection flow is proposed and validated by the numerical results. The fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed through the streamlines, heatlines, and total heat transfer rates across both enclosures. Results reveal that heat transfer rates across both enclosures are complex functions of the volume ratio scale, Rayleigh number, and the relative thermal conductivity.     

Effects of a barrier on temperature structure and mixing in thermally stratified water cooled from above

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer was used to study the unsteady temperature structure in radiation stratified water cooled from above. Temperature distribution measurements in a test cell filled with distilled water provide conclusive evidence that the thermal structure between the air-water interface and the stable region is controlled by buoyancy induced natural convection. The cooling from above produces a complex vertical temperature profile which can be divided into several distinct regimes. Introduction of a thin, rigid transparent (glass) plate into the water before thermal stratification by radiation and cooling confines the natural convection driven flow and reduces the intensity of mixing. As a result, the energy transport from the interior of the water layer to the interface is decreased. However, under the experimental conditions tested use of rigid, horizontal plates introduced in the fluid were not very effective in reducing the transport of heat from the warm interior to the cooler interface.     

Parametric studies and correlations for combined conduction-mixed convection–radiation from a non-identically and discretely heated vertical plate

The present paper reports the parametric studies and correlations for the problem of combined conduction-mixed convection–radiation from a non-identically and discretely heated vertical plate. Three discrete heat sources of non-identical heights but with identical volumetric rate of heat generation are assumed to be flush-mounted in a thin vertical plate. The longest and the shortest heaters are provided at the leading and trailing edges of the plate, while the remaining heater is located centrally. The governing fluid flow and heat transfer equations are considered in their full strength without the boundary layer approximations and are solved using the finite volume method. A computer code is written to solve the problem and various parametric studies have been performed. The relative roles of free convection, forced convection and radiation in various fluid flow and heat transfer results have been elucidated. In conclusion, based on a large set of data generated from the code, correlations for maximum non-dimensional plate temperature, average non-dimensional plate temperature and mean friction coefficient have been evolved.     

Laminar natural convection in a fully partitioned enclosure containing fluid with nonlinear thermophysical properties

The effects of a heat conducting partition on the laminar natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow were obtained by comparing the numerical and experimental results for a cubic enclosure without and with a partition. The two opposite vertical walls of the enclosure were isothermal at different temperatures. The working fluid was glycerol. The complete vertical partition, made of Plexiglass, was positioned in the middle of the enclosure. The visualizations of the velocity and temperature fields were obtained by using respectively, Plexiglass and liquid crystal particles as tracers. A middle plane perpendicular to the partition was numerically modeled. The steady two-dimensional model accounted for the variable thermophysical properties of the fluid. The finite volume method based on the finite difference approach was applied. The convective terms were approximated using a deferred correction central difference scheme. The velocity and temperature fields and the distribution of the local and average Nusselt numbers were found as a function of the Rayleigh (38 000 <Ra <369 000) and Prandtl (2700 < Pr < 7000) numbers.     

Comment on the paper “Transient MHD free convective flow past an infinite vertical plate embedded in a porous medium with viscous dissipation,Siva Reddy Sheri,R. Srinivasa Raju,Meccanica, DOI 10.1007/s11012-015-0285-y”

A numerical investigation of transient magnetohydrodynamic free convection flow past an infinite vertical plate embedded in a porous medium with viscous dissipation is presented in the above paper. The governing differential equations are transformed into a set of non-linear coupled partial differential equations and are solved numerically using the finite element method. Numerical results for the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles within the boundary layer are presented and discussed.     

Streamline upwind finite element method for conjugate heat transfer problems

This paper presents a combined finite element method for solving conjugate heat transfer problems where heat conduction in a solid is coupled with heat convection in viscous fluid flow. The streamline upwind finite element method is used for the analysis of thermal viscous flow in the fluid region, whereas the analysis of heat conduction in solid region is performed by the Galerkin method. The method uses the three-node triangular element with equal-order interpolation functions for all the variables of the velocity components, the pressure and the temperature. The main advantage of the proposed method is to consistently couple heat transfer along the fluid-solid interface. Three test cases, i.e. conjugate Couette flow problem in parallel plate channel, counter-flow in heat exchanger, and conjugate natural convection in a square cavity with a conducting wall, are selected to evaluate the efficiency of the present method. The English text was polished byYunming Chen.     

Radiation effect on mixed convection along a vertical plate with uniform surface temperature

This paper investigates the effect of radiation on the forced and free convection flow of an optically dense viscous incompressible fluid along a heated vertical flat plate with uniform free stream and uniform surface temperature with Rosseland diffusion approximation. With appropriate transformations, the boundary layer equations governing the flow are reduced to local nonsimilarity equations valid in the forced convection regime as well as in the free convection regime. A group of transformation is, also, introduced to reduce the boundary layer equations to a set of local nonsimilarity equations valid in both the forced and free convection regimes. Solutions of the governing equations are obtained by employing the implicit finite difference methods together with Keller box scheme and are expressed in terms of local shear stress and local rate of heat transfer for a range of values of the pertinent parameters.     

Visco-elastic fluid flow past an infinite vertical porous plate in the presence of first-order chemical reaction

An analysis has been developed to study the unsteady free convection flow of an incompressible visco-elastic fluid on a continuously moving vertical porous plate in the presence of a first-order chemical reaction. The governing equations are solved numerically using an implicit finite difference technique. The obtained numerical solutions are compared with the analytical solutions. The velocity profiles are presented. A parametric analysis is performed to illustrate the influences of the visco-elastic parameter, the dimensionless chemical reaction parameter, and the plate moving velocity on the steady state velocity profiles, the time dependent friction coefficient, the Nusselt number, and the Sherwood number.     

Effect of thermal dispersion on free convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

The present article considers a numerical study of thermal dispersion effect on the non-Darcy natural convection over a vertical flat plate in a fluid saturated porous medium. Forchheimer extension is considered in the flow equations. The coefficient of thermal diffusivity has been assumed to be the sum of molecular diffusivity and the dispersion thermal diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The non-dimensional governing equations are solved by the finite element method (FEM) with a Newton–Raphson solver. Numerical results for the details of the stream function, velocity and temperature contours and profiles as well as heat transfer rates in terms of Nusselt number are obtained. The study shows that the increase in thermal dispersion coefficient of the porous medium results in more heat energy to disperse away in the normal direction to the wall. This induces more fluid to flow along the wall, enhancing the heat transfer coefficient particularly near the wall.     

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.     

Influence of magnetic field and thermal radiation by natural convection past vertical cone subjected to variable surface heat flux

A numerical study is performed to examine the heat transfer characteristics of natural convection past a vertical cone under the combined effects of magnetic field and thermal radiation.The surface of the cone is subjected to a variable surface heat flux.The fluid considered is a gray,absorbing-emitting radiation but a non-scattering medium.With approximate transformations,the boundary layer equations governing the flow are reduced to non-dimensional equations valid in the free convection regime.The dimensionless governing equations are solved by an implicit finite difference method of Crank-Nicolson type which is fast convergent,accurate,and unconditionally stable.Numerical results are obtained and presented for velocity,temperature,local and average wall shear stress,and local and average Nusselt number in air and water.The present results are compared with the previous published work and are found to be in excellent agreement.     

Forced and mixed convection boundary layer flow along a flat plate with variable viscosity and variable Prandtl number: new results

The steady laminar boundary layer flow along a flat plate is studied taking into account the variation of fluid viscosity and fluid Prandtl number with temperature. In the forced convection case the plate moves with constant velocity and its temperature varies in power law with x. In the mixed convection case the plate temperature is constant and the fluid moves upwards due to an external free stream and due to buoyancy forces. The results are obtained with the direct numerical solution of the boundary layer equations. The study concerns the wall heat transfer, the wall shear stress and velocity and temperature profiles across the boundary layer. The results of the present work are different from those existing in the literature, which have been obtained with the assumption of constant Pr number.     

A numerical simulation of combined radiation and natural convection heat transfer in a square enclosure heated by a centric circular cylinder

A numerical simulation of combined natural convection and radiation in a square enclosure heated by a centric circular cylinder and filled with absorbing-emitting medium is presented. The ideal gas law and the discrete ordinates method are used to model the density changes due to temperature differences and the radiation heat transfer correspondingly. The influence of Rayleigh number, optical thickness and temperature difference on flow and temperature fields along with the natural convection, radiation and total Nusselt number at the source surfaces is studied. The results reveal that the radiation heat transfer as well as the optical thickness of the fluid has a distinct effect on the fluid flow phenomena, especially at high Rayleigh number. The heat transfer and so the Nusselt number decreases with increase in optical thickness, while increases greatly with increase in temperature difference. The variation in radiation heat transfer with optical thickness and temperature difference is much more obvious as comparison with convection heat transfer.     

Effects of bubble size on heat transfer enhancement by sub-millimeter bubbles for laminar natural convection along a vertical plate

Injection of sub-millimeter bubbles is considered a promising technique for enhancing natural convection heat transfer for liquids. So far, we have experimentally investigated heat transfer characteristics of laminar natural convection flows with sub-millimeter bubbles. However, the effects of the bubble size on the heat transfer have not yet been understood. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of the bubble size on the heat transfer enhancement for the laminar natural convection of water along a vertical heated plate with uniform heat flux. Temperature and velocity measurements, in which thermocouples and a particle tracking velocimetry technique are, respectively used, are conducted to investigate heat transfer and flow characteristics for different bubble sizes. Moreover, two-dimensional numerical simulations are performed to comprehensively understand the effects of bubble injection on the flow near the heated plate. The result shows that the ratio of the heat transfer coefficient with sub-millimeter-bubble injection to that without injection ranges from 1.3 to 2.2. The result also shows that for a constant bubble flow rate, the heat transfer coefficient ratio increases with a decrease in the mean bubble diameter. It is expected from our estimation based on both experimental data and simulation results that this increase results from an increase in the advection effect due to bubbles.     

Experiments on the cooling by natural convection of an array of vertical heated plates with constant heat flux

This paper presents experimental results that aim to document the phenomenon of cooling by natural convection of an array of vertical plates with uniform and equal heat fluxes. The working fluid is air. The effect of several factors on the plate temperature distribution was determined. These factors are the spacing of the plates, the existence of a floorlike flow obstruction near the entrance of the vertical channel, and the existence of a ceilinglike flow obstruction near the exit of the vertical channel. In several cases, these factors had a paramount effect on the plate temperature distribution. Examined also was the impact on the effectiveness of the natural convection cooling of a second row of plates positioned under the row of plates under investigation in an aligned or a staggered fashion.     

Free convection flow over an uniform-heat-flux surface with temperature-dependent viscosity

The role of temperature-dependent viscosity is studied in laminar free convection flow adjacent to a vertical surface with uniform heat flux. The resulting non-similar equations are solved by using a suitable variable transformation and employing an implicit finite difference method. It is shown that the constant viscosity results evaluated at the ambient fluid temperature underestimate the Nusselt number and overestimate the drag coefficient. The heat transfer predictions for large values of the viscosity parameter may be two times the constant viscosity parameter prediction. The present analysis is in good agreement with the corresponding correlation of previous experimental investigation.     

Non-darcy natural convection on a vertical cylinder in a saturated porous medium

The steady free convection boundary layer flow of non-Darcy fluid along an isothermal vertical cylinder embedded in a saturated porous medium using the Ergun model has been studied. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme developed by Keller. It is found that the heat transfer is strongly affected by the modified Grashof number which characterizes the non-Darcy fluid, and the curvature parameter. Also the heat transfer is found to be more than that of the flat plate.