Experimental and numerical research on heat transfer and flow characteristics in two-turn ribbed serpentine channel with lateral outflow

Abstract

This paper experimentally and numerically investigates the heat transfer and flow characteristics of a two-turn ribbed serpentine channel with lateral outflow. The heat transfer coefficient was measured by a transient liquid crystal technique. Experiments were carried out at Reynolds numbers between 5,000 and 20,000 and rotation numbers of 0 and 0.03. The results indicate that with increasing inlet Reynolds number, the high-Nusselt number regions of the middle and lateral outflow channels gradually move to upstream ribs. The inlet channel shows the highest increase rate of the Nusselt number; whereas, the rate is lowest at downstream turning area. The rotation increases the trailing surface Nusselt number of the inlet and lateral outflow channels, and the increase rate is more prominent for higher values of the Reynolds number. However, the rotation has negative effects on the averaged area Nusselt number of the middle channel in cases of Re ≤ 17,000. The pressure coefficients decrease the in inlet and middle channels along the flow direction; whereas, they slightly increase in the lateral outflow channel. There is a long low-velocity vortex formed in the lateral outflow channel, and the vortex size is considerably reduced by the rotation. Accordingly, the rotation has the most positive effects on the pressure coefficient of the lateral outflow channel.