Effect of enclosure on heat transfer characteristics of dual swirling flame impinging on a flat surface

Abstract

Experimental investigations have been carried out for impingement heat transfer characteristics of an enclosed dual swirling flame for various enclosure configurations. Effects of the size of the enclosure (DE = 70 mm, 90 mm, 90 mm, 110 mm and 150 mm) and the level of gap between the top of the enclosure and the target surface (G = 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28 mm) have been examined at fixed other operating conditions (Re(o), H/Dh and S). In addition to this, the effects of variation in outer swirling flame Reynolds numbers (Re(o) = 7000–13,000), dimensionless separation distances (H/Dh = 2–5) and the swirl number (S = 0.86, 1.54 and 2.4) have also been examined. Impingement heat transfer characteristics strongly depend on the size of the enclosure (DE) and the level of gap (G). Larger sized enclosures (DE of 110 and 150 mm) with smaller gap levels (G of 12 and 16 mm) perform much better than small sized enclosures (DE of 70 and 80 mm) with larger gap levels (G of 24 and 28 mm). Heat transfer performance continuously increases with an increase in Re(o) in presence of an enclosure in contrast to unenclosed flames where performance deteriorates at high Re(o). The heat transfer enhancement effect in presence of enclosure is more pronounced at larger separation distances (H/Dh of 4 and 5) because of the formation of the outer recirculation zone (ORZ). The effect of the presence of enclosure on impingement heat transfer enhancement becomes more significant at higher levels of swirl.