Numerical simulation of a crossflow moving porous bed using a thermal non-equilibrium model

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of physical properties on heat transfer between solid and fluid phases in a cross flow moving porous bed, in which the fluid moves with longitudinal and transversal components with respect to the permeable bed. For simulating flow and heat transfer, a two-energy equation model is applied in addition to a mechanical model. Transport equations are discretized using the control-volume method and the system of algebraic equations is relaxed via the SIMPLE algorithm. The effects of flow properties, such as Reynolds number, solid-to-fluid velocity ratio, permeability and porosity, as well as the effects of thermal properties, namely solid-to-fluid thermal capacity and solid-to-fluid thermal conductivity ratio, are analyzed. The numerical results show that the Reynolds number affects strongly the flow behavior and for high values of the solid-to-fluid velocity ratio, solid-to-fluid thermal capacity ratio and solid-to-fluid thermal conductivity ratio, there is a decrease in temperature gradients everywhere in the domain and the fluid temperature reaches higher values mainly in the symmetry region of the channel.