The Effect of Varying Fiber Characteristics on the Simultaneous Measurement of Heat and Momentum Transfer to Flowing Fiber Suspensions

Abstract

Heat transfer and pressure loss measurements were obtained simultaneously for a range of wood pulp fiber suspensions flowing in a pipeline. Data were obtained over a selected range of flow rates and temperatures from a specially built flow loop. It was found that the magnitude of the heat transfer coefficient was above water at equivalent experimental conditions and at very low fiber concentrations, but progressively decreased until it was below water at slightly higher concentrations. Similar trends were obtained for the pressure drop measurements obtained simultaneously, showing good correspondence between the two sets of data. It was found that both heat and momentum transfer are affected in a closely similar way by varying fiber properties, such as fiber length, fiber flexibility, fiber chemical and mechanical treatment, the variation of fibers from different parts of the tree, as well as the different pulping methods used to liberate the fibers from the wood structure. Drag reduction increased and heat transfer coefficient decreased with increasing fiber flexibility as found by previous workers.