Convective Heat Transfer Research Articles

Natural convective heat transfer analysis of a vertical tapered inner annulus tube with dual inverted frusto-conical turbulator using CFD

Natural convective heat transfer analysis of a vertical tapered inner annulus tube with dual inverted frusto-conical turbulator using CFD

Three-Dimensional CFD Analysis of a Hot Water Storage Tank with Various Inlet/Outlet Configurations

This study presents a comprehensive 3D numerical analysis of thermal stratification, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer efficiency across six hot water storage tank configurations, identified as Tank-1 through Tank-6. The objective is to determine the most effective design for achieving uniform temperature distribution, stable stratification, and efficient heat retention in sensible heat storage systems, with potential for integration with phase change materials (PCMs). Using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6, simulations were conducted to evaluate key performance indicators, including the Richardson number, capacity ratio, and exergy efficiency. Among the tanks, Tank-1 demonstrated the highest efficiency, with a capacity ratio of 84.6% and an exergy efficiency of 72.5%, while Tank-3, which achieved a capacity ratio of 70.2% and exergy efficiency of 50.5%, was identified as the most practical for real-world applications due to its balanced heat distribution and feasibility for PCM integration. Calculated dimensionless numbers (Reynolds number: 635, Prandtl number: 4.5, and Peclet number: 2858) indicated laminar flow and dominant convective heat transfer across all the configurations. These findings provide valuable insights into the design of efficient thermal storage systems, with Tank-3’s configuration offering a practical balance of thermal performance and operational feasibility. Future work will explore the inclusion of PCM containers within Tank-3, as well as applications for heat pump and solar water heaters, and high-temperature heat storage with various working fluids.

Experimental Study on Flow and Thermal Transport in Additively Manufactured Lattices Based on Cube-Shaped Unit Cell

Abstract This paper presents the convective heat transfer coefficient of cubic lattices under both buoyancy-induced and forced convection. Additionally, it examines the effective thermal conductivity, permeability, and inertial coefficient of a cubic unit cell of porosity ∼0.87. The test specimens were additively manufactured using stainless steel 420 (with 40% bronze infiltration) using the binder jetting technique. In the buoyancy-driven convection experiments, three different aspect ratios (width/height) varying from 0.5 to 2 were tested across three different heating orientations, viz., bottom wall (0 deg), side wall (90 deg), and top wall (180 deg). The lattice with the lowest aspect ratio had the highest convective heat transfer coefficient in all three heating orientations. The forced convection heat transfer coefficient was determined for an additively manufactured part comprising 10 × 10 cubic unit cell array in the plane perpendicular to the flow and 20 unit cells in the streamwise direction. Additionally, the flow characteristics of the cubic lattice were characterized through permeability (K) and inertial coefficient (Cf), determined by conducting separate pressure drop experiments over a wide range of flow velocities. The thermal hydraulic performance (THP) of the cubic lattice was assessed by combining the periodic regime convective heat transfer coefficient with the pressure drop data obtained from the experimentally determined values of K and Cf. The comprehensive characterization of flow and thermal transport, including K and Cf, along with hsf, keff, presented in this paper, provides a robust foundation for their application in volume-averaged computations for detailed parametric study.

Convective Heat Transfer in Uniformly Accelerated and Decelerated Turbulent Pipe Flows

This study presents a detailed investigation of the temporal evolution of the Nusselt number (Nu) in uniformly accelerated and decelerated turbulent pipe flows under a constant heat flux using direct numerical simulations. The influence of different acceleration and deceleration rates on heat transfer is systematically studied, addressing a gap in the previous research. The simulations confirm several key experimental findings, including the presence of three distinct phases in the Nusselt number temporal response—delay, recovery, and quasi-steady phases—as well as the characteristics of thermal structures in unsteady pipe flow. In accelerated flows, the delay in the turbulence response to changes in velocity results in reduced heat transfer, with average Nu values up to 48% lower than those for steady-flow conditions at the same mean Reynolds number. Conversely, decelerated flows exhibit enhanced heat transfer, with average Nu exceeding steady values by up to 42% due to the onset of secondary instabilities that amplify turbulence. To characterize the Nu response across the full range of acceleration and deceleration rates, a new model based on a hyperbolic tangent function is proposed, which provides a more accurate description of the heat transfer response than previous models. The results suggest the potential to design unsteady periodic cycles, combining slow acceleration and rapid deceleration, to enhance heat transfer compared to steady flows.

Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection and sensitivity analysis of heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian fluid in concentric cylinders with wall heat and mass flux

Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection and sensitivity analysis of heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian fluid in concentric cylinders with wall heat and mass flux

Influence of a City Block on ES-CFD Coupled Analysis

Coupled analysis using the complementary methods of energy simulation (ES) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can improve the calculation accuracy of thermal environment simulations. However, existing studies on ES-CFD coupled analyses that consider the effects of solar radiation and surrounding conditions have been insufficient. In practice, net solar radiation fluctuates, owing to the influence of urban blocks, and the solar radiation incident on the interior determines the heating range of the interior, which results in fluctuations in the convective heat transfer coefficient. This study conducted an ES-CFD coupled analysis to examine differences in the convective heat transfer coefficients due to the different insolation conditions and the surroundings of target buildings. The risk of condensation was evaluated using the dew point temperature in the analysis model, and a neutral insulation performance was employed in the set cases with the presence or absence of urban streets as a variable. Buildings within urban city blocks were observed to have a lower dew point temperature and a higher risk of condensation, which is a reasonable assessment. The results of this study will contribute significantly to the development of comprehensive simulation technologies.

An experimental investigation examining the usage of a hybrid nanofluid in an automobile radiator

AbstractSeveral modifications have been made to the radiator’s dimensions and materials as part of the evolution of the automotive cooling cycle. Coolant is an important factor that greatly affects the efficiency of the cooling cycle. In applications involving heat transmission, nanofluids have become a viable possibility coolant. Two distinct types of nanoparticles floating in the base fluid make up the hybrid nanofluid, a newly invented class of nanofluids. Tests of hybrid nanofluids as a working fluid substitute for conventional fluids have been assisted by the current study. In the radiator of a 2005 Honda, the MWCNT–Al2O3/water nanofluid was tested at various volumetric concentrations (Φ) using a 50:50 mixing ratio. The outcomes of the experiments were compared with those obtained by using pure water. The radiator’s performance was evaluated by adjusting the fluid flow rate and operating the fluid at two distinct temperatures (60, 80 °C). The outcomes demonstrated that the convection heat transfer coefficient increased with a ratio reached 28.5% over the distilled water at the same temperature and flow rate. Both effectiveness and the Nusselt number had improved, coming in at 22.54% and 23.74%, respectively. Depending on the fluid concentration there is an increase in the pressure drop up to 24% than ordinary fluid. It discovered considerable agreement between the research outcomes by comparing them with earlier publications. An experimental correlation was inferred from the results to estimate the Nusselt number as a function of the Reynolds number and (Φ).

Numerical Investigations on the Enhancement of Convective Heat Transfer in Fast-Firing Brick Kilns

In order to reduce CO2 emissions in the brick manufacturing process, the effectiveness of the energy-intensive firing process needs to be improved. This can be achieved by enhancing the heat transfer in order to reduce firing times. As a result, current development of tunnel kilns is oriented toward fast firing as a long-term goal. However, a struggling building sector and complicated challenges, such as different requirements for product quality, have impeded developments in this direction. This creates potential for the further development of oven designs, such as improved airflow through the kiln. In this article, numerical flow simulations are used to investigate two different reconstruction measures and compare them to the initial setup. In the first measure, the kiln height is reduced, while in the second measure, the kiln cars are adjusted to alternate the height of the bricks so that every other pair of bricks is elevated, creating a staggered arrangement. Both measures are investigated to determine the effect on the heating rate compared to the initial configuration. A transient grid independence study is performed, ensuring numerical convergence and the setup is validated by experimental results from measurements on the initial kiln configuration. The simulations show that lowering the kiln height improves the heat transfer rate by 40%, while the staggered arrangement of the bricks triples it. This leads to an average brick temperature after two hours which is around 130 °C higher compared to the initial kiln configuration. Therefore, the firing time can be significantly reduced. However, the average pressure loss coefficient rises by 70% to 90%, respectively, in the staggered configuration.

Variable viscosity and activation energy aspects in convection heat transfer over gravity driven solar collector plate for thermal energy storage

Variable viscosity, activation energy and microgravity effects on Darcy nanofluid for the thermal performance improvement in thermal energy storage systems through stretching flat plate solar collector is the focus of this research. Thermal energy storage (TES) can be improved though solar collectors, phase change materials and photovoltaic cells using nanofluid in the base liquid. To increase the reaction rate in nanoparticles, the activation energy and solar radiations are used for the efficiency of TES. The viscosity of nanofluid improves the heat and mass transmission. Due to solar radiations, nanofluid plays prominent role in TES applications such as heat exchangers, electronic cooling devices and solar power generation through solar plate collector. Solar energy based mathematical model is developed to execute the frequency of oscillating heat transfer in TES numerically. Primitive and Stokes coefficients are used for feasible programming. Finite difference analysis is performed to display oscillatory thermal energy using Gaussian-elimination matrix scheme. Steady velocity, surface temperature and concentrations are plotted and utilized in oscillatory formula to perform oscillatory skin friction, oscillatory heat transfer and oscillatory mass transfer along π⁄4 angle. Fluid velocity enhances but temperature and concentration variation decreases as viscosity decreases. High amplitude in velocity, temperature and concentration is sketched as activation energy and microgravity increases. Steady heat and mass transmission enhances as thermophoretic and Brownian motion enhances. Amplitude and frequency of oscillations in heat transport, skin friction and mass transport enhances as Prandtl and Schmidt component enhances. In validation of results, the 0.00064% percentage error for heat transport and 0.00102% percentage error for mass transmission are deduced.

Heat Transfer Characteristics of Cryogenically Frozen Kulfi (A Dairy Dessert)

Kulfi was frozen from concentrated milk as well as from reconstituted dry mix with solids content of 60%. The convective heat transfer coefficients during freezing of kulfi by deep freeze and cryogenic methods were determined using one-dimensional transient heat conduction equation. The heat transfer coefficient for cryogenic freezing of kulfi from milk and dry mix concentrates was 210.57 W m-2K-1 and 216.84 W m-2K-1, respectively when compared to 8.33 W m-2K-1 for conventional deep-frozen kulfi. Freezing was achieved in 267 min in deep freeze method, while it reduced to just 185-190 s under cryogenic conditions. The freezing time was predicted using empirical equations, and the prediction accuracies were compared. Cryogenic freezing was nearly 87.66 times faster than deep freezing, and Pham’s model best-predicted the freezing time. Organoleptic evaluation using fuzzy-logic revealed that the order of ranking of quality attributes of kulfi was body and texture (highly important) > melting characteristics (highly important) > flavour and taste (highly important) > colour and appearance (important), and cryogenically frozen kulfi was statistically (p<0.05) superior to conventionally frozen kulfi.

The Role of Heater Size and Location in Modulating Natural Convection Behavior in Cu-Water Nanofluid-Loaded Square Enclosures

Enhancing the energy efficiency of thermal systems reduces their consumption, lowers costs, and reduces undesired environmental impact, thus making these systems more sustainable. The current work introduces a passive method for heat transfer enhancement that is carried out using natural convection by nanofluid. This work introduces a computational study of the process of natural convection within a square cavity containing Cu/H2O nanofluid. The cavity wall on the left side undergoes partial isothermal heating, while the opposing side is fully cooled isothermally, with all other boundaries maintained adiabatic. A mathematical model formulated based on a 2-D model was used to provide the solution for the system of governing equations of mass, momentum, and energy conservation, employing the finite element technique. A commercial CFD package is utilized to perform the computational simulation. The present investigation delves into the impact of the Rayleigh number, nanoparticle concentration, heater length, and heater location on the flow field and heat transfer characteristics. The model outcomes were displayed for a wide range of the pertinent parameters as 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106, 0.25 ≤ lh ≤ 1.0, 0.125 ≤ hc ≤ 0.875, and 0.02 ≤ ϕ ≤ 0.10. Also, correlation equations relating the average Nusselt number to these crucial parameters are derived. These equations are simple and can be applied in practice easily in many fields, such as electric and electronic equipment cooling and thermal management of heat sources. Also, these equations gather all the parameters that affect the heat transfer process. They are shedding light on the intricate interplay between these parameters in the natural convection heat transfer process.

Investigation of convective heat transport in a Carreau hybrid nanofluid between two stretchable rotatory disks

Abstract Hybrid nanofluids (HNFs) have outstanding energy transfer capabilities that are comparable to mono-nanofluids. Materials had appliances in obvious fields such as heat generation, micropower generation, and solar collectors. The objective of this study is to investigate the new aspects of convective heat transfer in an electrically conducting Carreau HNF situated between two parallel discs. In addition to the presumed stretchability and rotation of the discs, physical phenomena like nonlinear radiation, viscous dissipation, Joule dissipation, and heat generation and absorption are considered. The Cu and TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in engine oil to understand the intricate phenomenon of hybridization. The Tiwari and Das nanofluid model is employed to model the governing partial differential equations (PDEs) and then simplified using boundary layer approximation. The suitable transformations of similarity variables are defined and implemented to change the set of formulated PDEs into ordinary differential equations. The reduced system is solved semi-analytically by the homotopy analysis method. The influences of involving physical parameters on the velocity and temperature are plotted with the help of graphical figures. This study brings forth a significant contribution by uncovering novel flow features that have previously remained unexplored. By addressing a well-defined problem, our research provides valuable insights into the enhancement of thermal transport, with direct implications for diverse engineering devices such as solar collectors, heat exchangers, and microelectronics.

Steady-State Temperature Prediction for Cluster-Laid Tunnel Cables Based on Self-Modeling in Natural Convection

Accurate temperature prediction of the operating tunnel cable is crucial for its safe and efficient function. To achieve a rapid and accurate prediction of the steady-state temperature of the tunnel cable, the self-modeling pattern in natural convection on the cable surface in the rectangular tunnel is investigated, and the self-modeling method for the convective heat transfer coefficient calculation is proposed. A thermal circuit model for single cables is further established to predict the cable core temperature, and the model is extended to predict the cluster-laid cable core temperature based on the combined method. The results show that when the tunnel size is neglected, the maximum relative deviation of the convective heat transfer coefficient between the self-modeling method and the finite element simulation is only 1.78% in the studied cases, indicating that the natural convection on the cable surface approximately satisfies the self-modeling method. Additionally, applying the self-modeling method to the thermal circuit can accurately predict the temperature of the single cable core. Furthermore, for the three-phase four-circuit cable, the maximum deviation between the temperature prediction results and the finite element results is within 2 K in the studied cases, which verifies the predictive accuracy of the combined method for the cluster-laid tunnel cable.

Numerical study on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of supercritical CO2 in horizontal tube under various non-uniform heating conditions

Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) is deemed the potential working medium for thermodynamic cycles in the next generation of power machinery. In this paper, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of highly buoyant turbulent sCO2 in horizontal tubes are numerical studied under the non-uniform heating conditions. The tube with a typical internal diameter of 10 mm is selected with mass flux equaling to 300 kg/(m2·s), effective heat fluxes ranging from 20 to 60 kW/m2, and pressure equaling to 8 MPa. The results confirmed that the heat transfer of sCO2 inside the horizontal tube in the circumferential or axial non-uniform heating conditions is greatly deteriorated by 13 %-68 % compared to the uniform heating. The overall heat transfer performance of semi-circumferential axial non-uniform heating is about 2.5 % higher than that of bottom semi-circumferential uniform heating, while the axial temperature difference of the bottom surface exceeds 150 K. Screening three representative heating positions, the bottom heating has the best temperature uniformity. The corresponding turbulent streamlines featured by unique helical structures can substantially improve the circumferential and radial heat transfer over 10 %, enhancing the heat transfer performance of the smooth tube close to that of rifled tubes. Based on the numerical data, viable correlations were developed for calculating the axial local Nusselt number of forced convection heat transfer of sCO2 in horizontal tubes considering the effects of cross-sectional vorticity, secondary flow intensity, and buoyancy-natural convection, and the prediction values are in good agreement with experimental data.

Experimental analysis of a solar air heater using waste mild steel chips as a sensible heat storage material.

Heat storage materials improve the utility of solar air heaters (SAHs) after sunset. This study investigates an improved solar air heater (SAH) performance with baffles and waste mild steel chips as sensible heat storage (SHS) materials. Comparative experimental natural convection heat transfer studies were performed with four different improved air heater setups under similar solar radiation conditions. These setups consist of a flat collector plate (I), a baffled plate collector (II), a flat plate collector with SHS (III) and a baffled plate collector with SHS (IV) respectively. Setups I, II, III and IV were obtained by modifying the same air heater enclosure and each experiment was replicated for three similar sunny days. During the periods, the solar radiation varied in the range of 556-934 W/m2. The maximum thermal efficiencies found for setups I, II, III and IV were 18.76%, 22.40%, 27.21% and 28.22% respectively under natural convection. The highest average useful energy rate was produced by setup IV, followed by setups III, II and I. After sunset, setups III and IV were able to deliver warm air for an extended period of 1h, 18min and 1h, 42min, respectively. It was found that setups III and IV had sensible thermal energy storage reserves of 0.38kJ and 0.53kJ, respectively. The storage efficiencies found for setups III and IV were 60.25% and 70.89%, respectively. Among the four setups, setup IV boasts the most economical energy cost at 1.39 ₹/kWh and having the least payback period of 1year 4months. As a result, the employment of baffles and waste mild steel chips as SHS in a flat plate SAH not only presents a method for harvesting waste for efficient heat retention, but it also effectively uses solar energy for beneficial uses.

Dynamics of a hot flexible cantilever plate under natural convection heat transfer in a square cavity

This study investigates the fluid-structure interactions of a flapping plate within a square cavity under four distinct boundary conditions, where two opposing walls are heated isothermally, and the others are adiabatic. These configurations are defined as case 1 (cooled side walls), case 2 (cooled top and bottom walls), case 3 (heated bottom and cooled top wall), and case 4 (heated top wall and cooled bottom wall). The effects of non-dimensional parameters, including Rayleigh number (Ra), Cauchy number (Ca), and mass ratio (β) on plate dynamics and convective heat transfer are analyzed. Numerical investigations are executed utilizing the SU2 open-source multi-physics computational fluid dynamics solver, with a fixed Prandtl number (Pr) set at 0.71 and dimensionless temperature difference (ϵ) established at 0.6. The results show that in cases 1 and 4, the plate exhibits no observable unsteadiness, while cases 2 and 3 reveal different oscillatory behavior within certain parameter ranges, including static mode, periodic flapping mode, quasi-periodic flapping mode, and chaotic flapping mode. In particular, the configuration in case 3 possesses higher inherent instability than case 2, causing the earlier onset of Hopf bifurcation. These findings provide valuable insights into the influence of boundary conditions on the behavior of flexible structures in fluid environments, highlighting the critical role of flow instabilities and boundary conditions in determining the dynamic response of the system.

A Comparative Analysis of Fractal and Fractionalized Thermal Non-Equilibrium Model for Chaotic Convection Saturated by Porous Medium

The convective heat transfer is one of the most important mechanism of heat transference for controlling the chaotic characteristics in porous media. A comparative study of thermal non-equilibrium model is proposed for fractal porous under the consideration of chaotic convection. A novel chaos control is focused between fractal porous and fractional porous by means of newly proposed differential and integral techniques. The sensitivity analysis for chaos expansion and uncertainty quantification for the flow in heterogeneous media have been perceived to the problem of chaotic convection through numerical simulations. In order to approximate the propagation of chaos, two types of simulations have been carried out in terms of chaotic attractors through fractal and fractional approaches. For examining a variety of chaos under the numerical simulations in which fractal domain is varied and fractional domain is fixed, fractal domain is fixed and fractional domain is varied, and both fractal as well as fractional domain are varied. Finally, it is observed that the fractional and fractal memory effects have caused by interactions between uncertain parameters and disclosed the microstructures on the permeability of porous media.

Thermal analysis of packed bed thermal energy storage system with dimpled spherical capsules

The thermal storage potential of a packed bed filled with paraffin wax capsules was examined. Heat transfer fluid (HTF) at 70 °C inlet temperature for dimpled and plain stainless-steel capsules was compared for three different flow rates, 1 L/min, 3 L/min and 5 L/min. In general, dimpled spherical capsules sustain more heat than plain spherical capsules at the same flow rate, according to instantaneous and cumulative heat stored. Spherical capsules with dimples exhibited a 30 % improvement in charging rate compared to smooth spheres, particularly at elevated flow rates. Specifically, at a flow rate of 5 L/min, dimpled capsules achieved faster charging and sustained higher temperature compared to plain capsules. Higher flow rates (3 and 5 L/min) result in steeper temperature increases and an earlier peak temperature phase compared to the lower flow rate (1 L/min). Key dimensionless heat transfer numbers were examined. The Stefan number was found to be 0.1966 for an HTF inlet temperature of 70 °C and a latent heat of fusion (Lm) of 213 kJ/kg. Heat transfer increases when Reynolds numbers increased from laminar (123.8 at 1 L/min) to turbulent (619.1 at 5 L/min). Rayleigh number decreased over time but increased for dimpled capsules, indicating improved convection. Dimpled capsules had higher Nusselt numbers and increases with flow rate, indicating better convective heat transfer. Dimpled capsules absorbed heat faster and stored more energy, giving them a viable and efficient Packed Bed Latent Thermal Energy Storage system design.

The impact of non-isothermal adsorption of dissolved gas on drying of acoustically levitated slurry droplet

In this study, we developed a transient convective heat and mass transfer model of an acoustically levitated slurry droplet evaporating in an atmosphere of air, water vapor, and soluble gas. The advanced model considers the effects of acoustic streaming, forced convection, non-isothermal gas absorption, and adsorption of dissolved gas on the evaporation rate of a liquid droplet containing small active solid particles. Adsorption of dissolved in a droplet soluble gas by solid particles leads to decreased dissolved gas concentration in a liquid droplet. A reduction in dissolved gas concentration in a liquid droplet causes an increase in the mass flux of active soluble gas from a gaseous phase to a slurry droplet, which causes a rise in the heating effect of absorption and an increase in evaporation rate of a droplet. The heat effect of adsorption also intensifies the evaporation rate. It is shown that the time of porous shell formation is essentially shorter when solid particles in slurry droplets are active compared to inert particles.

Experimental study of convective heat transfer with a multi-scale roughness

The heat transfer in a turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection with a multi-scale roughness at the bottom is studied experimentally. Two different regimes for the heat transfer are found. The first regime has scaling exponent γI=0.4 and corresponds to the reduced values of the Nusselt number. The second regime with enhanced values of the Nusselt number has a scaling exponent γII=0.32, which is noticeably larger than in the case of smooth boundaries. Significant variation in the Prandtl number (from 6.4 to 62) does not change the scaling exponent value of the second regime but increases the values of Nusselt number. The scaling exponent for the relation Re∼Raα is insensitive to the change of the heat transfer regime and is close to 1/2 for all values of Ra. The characteristic ratio of the velocity pulsations to the mean velocity does not depend on the Rayleigh number and is characterized by close values (about 0.8). The local temperature measurements support the mechanism of the transition from the reduced Nusselt number regime to the enhanced one, which is based on the formation of flows between obstacles.