Effects of horizontal self-rotation on flow and heat transfer of supercritical n-decane in regenerative circular/rectangular cooling channels

Abstract

Concerning the rotation flight of a hypersonic vehicle centered on its geometric axis, the rotational flow and heat transfer characteristics of supercritical n-decane in horizontal circular and rectangular tubes were comprehensively analyzed based on numerical simulation. The computational domain was established and the corresponding governing equations of mass conservation, momentum conservation, and energy conservation were mathematically formulated as well were the thermophysical properties and boundary conditions. A procedure for setting up the numerical simulation was finally implemented. A mesh independence study in the case of a rotating speed of 300 rpm and a turbulence model study based on a stationary/swinging tube were comprehensively conducted and the RANS model was well validated. For the circular tube, the wall temperature distribution trend along the flow direction is similar but the magnitude is not uniform. Also, the fluid temperature near the upper wall is larger than that in the vicinity of the lower wall, i.e., the relaminarization plays an essential role in this phenomenon. The velocity difference near the wall can be weakened by the centrifugal force. For the rectangular tube, the velocity magnitude and temperature distribution are found to be greatly affected by the rotation (i.e., centrifugal force). The relative temperature magnitude near the upper and lower walls will be reversed at a rotation speed of n = 100–500 rpm. Subsequently, a symmetrical temperature distribution can be observed once the speed increases to a certain value (e.g., n = 700–900 rpm). In summary, the centrifugal force plays a more important role in a rectangular tube than in a circular tube.