Effects of viscous dissipation and fluid axial heat conduction on heat transfer for non-Newtonian fluids in ducts with uniform wall temperature: Part I: Parallel plates and circular ducts

Abstract

Laminar heat transfer in parallel plates and circular ducts subject to uniform wall temperature is studied by taking into account both viscous dissipation and fluid axial heat conduction in an infinite region. Developing temperature fields are evaluated numerically by a finite-difference method for various Brinkman numbers ( Br) and Peclet numbers ( Pe). Nusselt numbers are presented graphically for Pe = 10 and Pe → ∞, and Br = 0, ± 0.5 and ± 1 for non-Newtonian fluids described by the power-law model with the flow index of n = 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. It is shown that Nusselt number has a single fixed value independent of Br in the thermally developing region and its numerical value is equal to that at the fully developed region for non-zero Br, when the preheating of incoming fluid due to both viscous dissipation and fluid axial heat conduction is considered.