Heat Transfer Enhancement in Separated and Vortex Flows

Abstract

This document summarizes the research performance done at the Heat Transfer Laboratory of the University of Minnesota on heat transfer and energy separation in separated and vortex flow supported by DOE in the period September 1, 1998--August 31, 2003. Unsteady and complicated flow structures in separated or vortex flows are the main reason for a poor understanding of heat transfer under such conditions. The research from the University of Minnesota focused on the following important aspects of understanding such flows: (1) Heat/mass transfer from a circular cylinder; (2) study of energy separation and heat transfer in free jet flows and shear layers; and (3) study of energy separation on the surface and in the wake of a cylinder in crossflow. The current study used three different experimental setups to accomplish these goals. A wind tunnel and a liquid tunnel using water and mixtures of ethylene glycol and water, is used for the study of prandtl number effect with uniform heat flux from the circular cylinder. A high velocity air jet is used to study energy separation in free jets. A high speed wind tunnel, same as used for the first part, is utilized for energy separation effects on the surface and in the wake of the circular cylinder. The final outcome of this study is a substantial advancement in this research area.