A buoyancy-dominated desalination unit

Laminar flow heat transfer and ice formation phenomena in a horizontal tube with internal freezing are examined experimentally. The effect of flow acceleration accompanied with ice growth on local ice thickness is studied, and it is found that the ice thickness can be correlated by introducing an acceleration parameter of flow. The effect of natural convection in a horizontal tube with internal freezing on the heat transfer is also investigated. It is shown that the average Nusselt number in a horizontal tube with internal freezing is correlated by the equation reformed from Oliver's empirical formula for a horizontal tube without ice.

Using a fully coupled transient 3-dimensional numerical model, the effects of convection on the microstructural evolution of a thin sample of Ga-In25%wt. was predicted. The effects of natural convection, forced convection and thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamics were investigated numerically. A comparison of the numerical results is made to experimental results for natural convection and forced convection. In the case of natural convection, density variations within the liquid cause plumes of solute to be ejected into the bulk. When forced convection is applied observed effects include the suppression of solute plumes, preferential secondary arm growth and an increase in primary arm spacing. These effects were observed both numerically and experimentally. By applying an external magnetic field inter-dendritic flow is generated by thermoelectrically induced Lorentz forces, while bulk flow experiences an electromagnetic damping force. The former causes preferential secondary growth, while the latter slows the formation of solute plumes. This work highlights that the application of external forces can be a valuable tool for tailoring the microstructure and ultimately the macroscopic material properties.

The effect of natural convection on viscous-flow heat transfer in horizontal tubes

Effect of natural convection on melting performance of eccentric horizontal shell and tube latent heat storage unit

Effect of buoyancy-driven natural convection in a rock-pit mine air preconditioning system acting as a large-scale thermal energy storage mass

A natural convection model has been implemented on redox species TMPD with supporting electrolyte TBAP in acetonitrile solvent. The cross section geometry used for the two-dimensional simulations is 20 mm (W) x 10 mm (H). The working electrode is a 2 mm wide strip at the center of the cell floor and the counter electrode is the entire cell ceiling. For the three-dimensional simulations, a 3mm diameter working electrode in the semi-infinite configuration was used. A uniform magnetic field was applied in the direction perpendicular the working electrode surface. The first case we have studied has an initial concentration of 10.3 mM TMPD- and no oxidized form of TMPD. The supporting electrolyte concentration was 0.5 M. The cell was operated in the potential step mode and the applied potential was high enough for operation in the diffusion-limited regime. Simulations were run for two values of the magnetic field intensity. The electrical conductivity of the bulk solution was 0.625 S/m. The density was calculated using the formulation in our natural convection model based on electroneutrality, where non-electroactive ions migrate to the diffusion layer to neutralize the charge buildup due to the redox reaction. Cases with gravity not present, and gravity applied in the +x, -x, +y and -y directions in 2D were investigated. For the 3D simulations, gravity was applied in the direction normal to the electrode, toward and away from the electrode surface. To study the effect of pure natural convection, cases were run without applying the magnetic field. For this electrochemical system, the density changes from the initial bulk density (785 kg/m3) is very small with a maximum value of 0.0231 kg/m3, which gives a difference of 0.00294% between the highest and the lowest density. Even under this small difference, the evolution of the flow field is quite remarkable. With increasing time from the start, the effect of natural convection on the flow field becomes greater. The maximum velocity increased by an order of magnitude in ~30s from the start. At larger times, the maximum velocity tends toward an asymptotic value along with the electrode current also leveling off and reaching an asymptotic value. The behavior of mixed convection characterized by competing forces of buoyancy and Lorentz force was also investigated, where two values of the magnetic field were chosen. The natural convection-only cases show that the effect is stronger when the established flow is away from the electrode than when it is toward the electrode. This can be attributed to the electrode surface acting to provide a stable flow field configuration, confirming published results. The velocity is an order of magnitude higher when the flow is away from the electrode surface. Note that the cell we used is an order of magnitude higher than a typical microfluidic cell. Work is in progress to study the effect of geometry on natural convection where buoyancy is the only body force, and mixed convection where both buoyancy and MHD are present.Experimental results have been obtained on the ferri-ferro-KCL system. Quantitative Micro-schlieren (QMS) is an instrument suitable for measuring density gradients. A lens-based design makes packaging more compact. An LED light source is used to reduce cooling requirements. All the optics are research grade, thereby improving resolution and reducing aberrations. The electrochemical cell was mounted on a three-axis stage that is mounted on the optical rail for easy alignment. This schlieren system differs from conventional schlieren systems in its compact size (~6m X 2m vs. 1.5m x 0.5m, in footprint), its use of a more uniform intensity LED light source, variable density filter, bandpass filter, lenses instead of mirrors, a digital frame camera, and modern image processing techniques to extract quantitative information from the images. While conducting the redox electrochemistry experiments, it’d be important to ensure that the data are not corrupted by natural convection induced by temperature gradients that might be introduced by sources such as LED illumination. While it is not possible to completely eliminate this source of error, it can be minimized by keeping the LED intensity as low as possible and having the LED on only when necessary. The acquired sequence of images during a time period up to ~300s from the start show a column of high density fluid that starts from the surface and grows in length with time. At larger times (>100s) the column develops a transverse instability with a wave length of ~30 mm. Figure 1

This article presents numerical and experimental simulation of three-dimensional conjugate heat transfer problem in mini-scaled thermal storage system. The conjugate problem includes melting process of phase change material in the presence of natural convection during laminar flow of heat transfer fluid through circular minichannel. The paraffin wax is used as a phase change material while the water is used as a heat transfer fluid. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the phase change material natural convection during the melting process on the heat transfer fluid thermal characteristics as well as the impact of the natural convection on the melting performance itself. The thermal characteristics are represented by local Nusselt number ( Nu) and local surface temperature. The melting performance is evaluated by fusion time and liquid fraction profile. Two inlet temperatures and velocities of the heat transfer fluid are adopted to highlight the effect of the natural convection. Combination of the inlet temperatures and velocities of the heat transfer fluid forms four cases: case_1 (at [Formula: see text] = 353 °K, [Formula: see text] = 1 m/s), case_2 (at [Formula: see text] = 453 °K, [Formula: see text] = 1 m/s), case_3 (at [Formula: see text] = 353 °K, [Formula: see text] = 0.1 m/s), and case_4 (at [Formula: see text] = 453 °K, [Formula: see text] = 0.1 m/s). Experimental test rig was constructed to verify the computational results and good agreement between both results was achieved. The study shows that the heat transfer fluid encounters an erratic thermal behavior during the phase change material melting process. For example, the local surface temperature experiences dramatic increase and decrease at certain sections of the channel length. The magnitude of this temperature inconsistency interrelates closely to the strength of natural convection impact, and this can expose the minichannel (which has short length) to severe wall thermal stress. The local Nu experiences improvement in some section of the channel and at the same time it suffers from drastic deterioration in its value particularly at the channel end at which the convection current accommodates. The case with the lowest inlet velocity and the highest inlet temperature has the smallest fusion time at expense of the largest heat transfer fluid bulk temperature gradient before reaching the fusion time. The study is considered as a benchmark and helpful guidelines in the design of small-scaled thermal storage systems of phase change material.

Thermal processing of canned fruits is an important preservation technique used to increase the shelf life of canned foods through the inactivation of spoilage microorganisms and enzymes. The objective of this study was to develop a computational fluid dynamics model to investigate the temperature profiles during the thermal processing of canned pineapple products. Two different kinds of products such as canned pineapple slices and titbits were analyzed to investigate the effect of size reduction of the product on the efficacy of heat transfer during thermal processing. The simulation results were validated with the experimental measurements of temperatures. The temperature profile, slowest heating zone (SHZ), and the effects of natural convection and conduction heating on canned pineapple slices and titbits were studied. In the canned pineapple slices, the SHZ was found to lie inside the pineapple slices. In contrast, for the pineapple titbits, the SHZ was present at the bottom of the can. The pineapple titbits were found to achieve a rapid temperature increase owing to the combined effects of buoyancy-induced natural convection and increased surface area available for higher heat transfer. This finding signifies the retention of the nutritive properties of pineapple by preventing the loss of heat-labile nutrients like vitamins without compromising the commercial sterility of the product.

Magnitude of fluid motion is significant in convective heat transfer (the faster the fluid motion, the greater the heat transfer), while in conductive heat transfer, there is no physical movement of objects undergoing heat transfer. Due to this statement, it is a real fact that convection can be many times faster than conduction. The objective of this research was to compare natural convection and conduction by creating both heat transfer mechanisms in the same product. For this purpose, canned water and 1% agar‐gelled water were used in the experimental and further computational fluid dynamics studies. Experiments were conducted at 70C and in boiling water, and ANSYS V.10 (Ansys Inc., Canonsburg, PA) was used in the numerical simulations. The results showed that addition of agar prevented the natural convection phenomena in the gels resulting in pure conduction while the effect of natural convection, which occurred due to thermal buoyancy effects in the given gravitational force field, was obvious in the case of water. Creation of both natural convection and conduction heat transfer mechanisms in the same medium is an important contribution as the effect of natural convection over the conduction heat transfer can directly be emphasized. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSCreation of both natural convection and conduction heat transfer mechanisms in the same medium would be an important contribution as the effect of natural convection over the conduction heat transfer can experimentally be emphasized. The results of this study are significant to show the significant difference between these heat transfer modes as both mechanisms were created in the same medium, and these results will be useful especially for teaching heat transfer purposes.

The results of a numerical investigation of the melting of a PCM occupying an axisymmetric volume in the presence of gravity are presented. The PCM is held between two circular supports maintained at different temperatures. The melting process, which is analyzed for n-octadecane, is affected by a combination of thermocapillary and natural convection. If the PCM is heated from above, the convective motion driven by the thermocapillary force is opposed by the buoyant force, which reduces the heat transfer rate. If the PCM is heated from below, natural convection acts in the same sense as thermocapillary convection and the heat transfer rate is increased. The volume mathcal {V} of the PCM relative to an ideal cylinder, which selects the shape of the PCM/air interface, is found to play an important role. The overall effect of natural convection on heat transfer is characterized by the ratio of the melting time in microgravity to that of the same system with gravity. This gain factor is greater (less) than unity when heating from below (above) and depends strongly on mathcal {V}, particularly for smaller PCM volumes.

Effects of natural convection on latent heat storage performance of salt in a horizontal concentric tube

Many measurements of ice growth rates in NaCl solutions have been made to determine the role of natural convection in the control of such growth rates. The results of two analyses are presented. In one, only thermal natural convection is treated for growth in pure water. The second treats the simultaneous effects of both mass and thermal natural convection in salt solutions. This second analysis correctly predicts higher ice growth rates in dilute salt solutions than in pure water.

Effects of structure characteristics and fluid on the effective thermal conductivity of sintered copper foam

Nanofluids are colloidal suspensions of nano-scale particles in water, or other base fluids. In this paper, the effect of natural convection on laminar flow of nanofluids in a horizontal tube has been addressed. The obtained experimental data could not be reconciled with existing correlations over a wide range of Prandtl number under laminar mixed convection. Three improved correlations have been derived by using single-phase fluid approach. These correlations fit our data to within ± 10 % and also agree with the data in literature quite well. Such results verify that nanofluids can be treated as a homogeneous mixture with effective thermophysical properties. Utimately, the new correlations have grasped the essence of natural convection and can reduce to both normal forced convection and pure natural convection equations at limiting cases.

Large–scale phase–field lattice Boltzmann study on the effects of natural convection on dendrite morphology formed during directional solidification of a binary alloy