Study on coordinative optimization of convection in tubes with variable heat flux

Abstract

The laminar heat transfer in the thermal entrance region in round tubes, which has a variable surface heat flux boundary condition, is analytically studied. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient is closely related to the wall temperature gradient along the tube axis. The greater the gradient, the higher the heat transfer rate. Furthermore, the coordination of the velocity and the temperature gradient fields is also analysed under different surface heat fluxes. The validity of the field coordination principle is verified by checking the correlation of heat transfer coefficient and the coordination degree. The results also demonstrate that optimizing the thermal boundary condition is a way to enhance heat transfer.