Analogy of forced convective heat transfer between developing laminar flows in curved pipes and orthogonally rotating pipes

Abstract

Based on a quantitative analogy between developing laminar flows in curved pipes and orthogonally rotating straight pipes, a corresponding analogy of forced convective heat transfer in the entry regions of the pipes is described through similarity arguments and computational studies. Three-dimensional developments of these flows are characterized by secondary flows due to the centrifugal or the Coriolis forces. Similarity considerations taking the secondary flow into account suggest a remarkable effect of the Prandtl number or the heat transfer structure, which is demonstrated by the computational results. When the curvature parameter of curved pipe flow and the Rossby number of rotating pipe flow are sufficiently large, it is shown that the development of the temperature fields and the Nusselt numbers of the two flows are similar when the governing parameters and the Prandtl numbers of the two flows are equal. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 29(6): 512–522, 2000