Thermal Transport Phenomena in Turbulent Gas Flow Through a Tube at High Temperature Difference and Uniform Wall Temperature

Abstract

A numerical study is performed to investigate thermal transport phenomena in turbulent gas flow through a tube heated at high temperature difference and uniform wall temperature. A k-ε turbulence model is employed to determine the turbulent viscosity and the turbulent kinetic energy. The turbulent heat flux is expressed by a Boussinesq approximation in which the eddy diffusivity of the heat is determined by a t2-ε, heat transfer model. The governing boundary layer equations are discretized by means of a control-volume finite difference technique and are numerically solved using a marching procedure. It is disclosed from the study that (i) laminarization takes place in a turbulent gas flow through a pipe with high uniform wall temperature just as it does in a pipe with high unform wall heat flux, and (ii) the flow in a tube heated to high temperature difference and uniform wall temperature is laminarized at a lower heat than that under the uniform heat flux condirion.