Computational fluid dynamics based study for analyzing heat transfer and friction factor in semi-circular rib-roughened equilateral triangular duct

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based study on semicircular rib-roughened equilateral triangular duct is to investigate heat transfer, friction factor and thermohydraulic performance parameter. The analysis is carried out by simulating problem in ANSYS (Fluent). The Reynolds number in the study varies from 4,000 to 24,000. Nusselt number is calculated for different Reynolds number using various turbulent models available in ANSYS (Fluent) for a smooth duct and compared the results with the Dittus–Boelter correlation.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis has been done by solving basic fluid governing equations (continuity, momentum and energy) by using finite volume method (FVM). The semicircular ribs were fabricated on the absorber plate. The constant amount of heat flux is applied on the absorber plate, whereas other two walls are made adiabatic. The semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations (SIMPLE) algorithm is used with pressure–velocity-coupled disretization to estimate the results. The selection of turbulent model has been done on the basis of Nusselt number prediction in the smooth duct.FindingsThe renormalization-group k − ε model predicts the Nusselt number more accurately as compared to standard k − ε model, standard k − ω model, shear stress transport (SST) k − ω and realizable k − ε model in the Reynolds number ranges from 4,000 to 24,000 with a ± 5.5% deviation from Dittus–Boelter equation for smooth duct. The maximum thermo-hydraulic performance is observed of the order of 1.7 for arrangement which has a relative roughness height of 0.067 and relative roughness pitch of 7.5 at higher Reynolds Number of 24,000.Originality/valueAlthough, many experimental studies are available in the area of rib-roughened ducts, the present study is based on CFD analysis of semicircular rib-roughened equilateral triangular duct and the results are predicted in terms of Nusselt number, friction factor and thermohydraulic performance parameter. Moreover, the predicted result of Nusselt number and friction factor is validated by comparing with Dittus–Boelter correlation and modified Blasius equation, respectively. This advantage made Fluent a powerful tool for analyzing the internal fluid flow through roughened ducts.