Abstract
AbstractThe transient cooling by natural convection of a warm crude oil contained in a large vertical cylindrical storage tank located in a cold environment is investigated. The governing mass, momentum and energy equations utilizing a temperature‐dependent apparent viscosity were solved numerically, and from the results a correlation is developed between the Nusselt number at the sidewall and the instantaneous Rayleigh number driving the time‐dependent flow. A simplified heat loss model is developed to predict the mean tank temperature over time, utilizing this correlation to calculate a time‐dependent heat transfer coefficient for the sidewall. The results from the simplified model are compared with the mean tank temperatures results from a simulation of the full natural convection equations for the cooling of a crude oil in a 60 m diameter tank, and excellent agreement is obtained.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
