Experimental study on flow and heat transfer of power law fluid in structured packed porous media of particles

Abstract

Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of power law fluid in wall bounded three-dimensional structured packed beds of spheres was investigated experimentally. The packed beds of spheres were in Simple Cubic (SC) configuration and enclosed in square cross-section duct. The Partially Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide (HPAM) solutions with different concentrations and temperatures were chosen as the working fluids, of which the rheological behavior can be described by a power-law type non-Newtonian fluid.The relationship between the pressure-drop and flow velocity was verified by the modified Ergun type equations. The flow regime boundaries, the coefficients AE′, BE′, and the critical particle Reynolds number in the equations were discussed for the various concentration and temperature. And Variations of the local (or mean) convection heat transfer coefficient of HPAM solutions with the power index, Reynolds number and heat flux were examined and discussed. Also the concept of thermal efficiency was introduced to gain the comprehensive evaluation of its flow and heat transfer characteristics. At last, the temperature difference between particle and fluid along the flow direction was analyzed. The results can provide a theoretical basis and enrich the basic experiment data for the flow and heat transfer mechanism of the power-law type non-Newtonian fluid flowing through the three-dimensional structured packed porous media of particle.