An advanced aero-thermodynamic study of a heart-shaped dimpled pipe

Abstract

The detailed flow field and local heat transfer enhancement in a pipe with heart-shaped dimples on the internal surface were experimentally studied. The flow structures were investigated at a flow regime of Re=20k in five different measurement planes around a dimple in the streamwise and spanwise directions using both planar PIV and stereo PIV. A ray tracing-based image correction method was utilized to overcome the important image distortions caused by the optically complex geometry of the dimple for the planar PIV measurements. Furthermore, the convective heat transfer coefficient on the wall of the dimple was investigated utilizing steady-state liquid crystal thermography (LCT) and infrared thermography within the flow regime range of Re=20k-60k. A comprehensive uncertainty analysis was conducted to account for the multiple measured quantities and corresponding error sources on such a complex geometry. The resulting heat transfer and flow fields revealed that maximum heat transfer enhancement is concentrated along the reattachment line downstream of the dimple where higher kinetic energy levels are observed. The enhancement factor, which is a measure of the heat transfer improvement relative to a smooth pipe, was evaluated on average at 1.7 across the dimpled surface, with local maxima reaching values up to 2.8. The dimpled pipe under examination had a relative skin friction coefficient of approximately 1.8 compared to a smooth pipe. This outperforms some of the roughness elements, such as ribs and spherical dimples, previously studied on similar circular channels in literature.