Fanning Friction Factor Research Articles

Numerical Analysis of Enhanced Forced Convection in Perforated Surface Wavy Plate-Fin Core

Abstract Steady, periodically fully developed forced convection through three-dimensional perforated sinusoidal wavy-fin cores with uniform wall temperature is computationally investigated. Constant property air flow (Pr ≈ 0.71) with a Reynolds number range of 50 – 4000 covering both laminar and turbulent regimes is considered. The computational solutions, validated with in-house experimental data for continuous and perforated wavy-fin coupons, highlight the effects of perforation locations (characterized by phase angle β), fin porosity, inter-fin spacing, and corrugation amplitude on the thermal-hydraulic performance of the fins. The local temperature, velocity, and pressure variations, and the corresponding local heat transfer coefficient and friction drag (or the Fanning friction factor f and Colburn factor j) are reported. Fluid flows from the adjacent channels through wavy-surface perforations induce secondary flow and interrupt the boundary layer leading to an increase in f and j in both laminar and turbulent regimes. Decrease in corrugation amplitude and inter-fin spacing leads to the suppression of recirculation zones, whereas higher porosity yields increased f and j. Perforated fins nevertheless require less surface area to fulfill a specified heat load condition with a fixed pressure drop as compared to the continuous wavy fins. Furthermore, the perforation location has a noticeable effect on the local heat transfer and flow dynamics and, except for Re <∼200, wavy fins with perforations at relatively higher phase angle β perform better.

Design correlations for a novel enhanced compact heat exchanger with offset circular fins

A novel core geometry for compact heat exchangers, termed “circular offset fins (cOF)”, is proposed and experimentally investigated in the present work. This core design resembles the well-known offset strip fins used in efficient compact heat exchangers, with a key difference that instead of having rectangular fluid flow passages between deflections, this design features circular paths, resulting in fins with semicircular profiles. An experimental study examined heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics for five different core geometries. These geometries varied in passage diameters, lengths, and degrees of obstruction. The experiments were carried out over Reynolds numbers ranging from 500 to 3000 at different core wall temperatures. Data was analyzed using Kays and London's steady-state steam-to-air heat transfer technique to determine the empirical Colburn factor. The empirical Fanning friction factors for these geometries were also obtained. The asymptotic behavior of the Colburn and Fanning friction factor data allowed for the development of correlations in the function of Reynolds number and geometry dimensionless parameters. The proposed correlations predict data within ±6 % and ±8 %, respectively. The impact of different geometric parameters on core performance was assessed using the Colburn and Fanning friction factors, as well as area and volume goodness factors, and compared to rectangular offset strip fins. Direct comparisons showed that circular offset fins consistently exhibited a lower friction factor than rectangular fins. Although its Colburn factor was lower than rectangular fins up to a Reynolds number of 2000, circular fins it surpassed that of rectangular fins beyond this point. For the area goodness factor, their performance was comparable at a Reynolds number of 500, with circular fins outperforming after this point, achieving a 1.8-fold advantage at a Reynolds number of 3000. In terms of the volume goodness factor, both types of fins performed similarly up to a Reynolds number of 1000. Beyond this threshold, circular offset fins demonstrated a 1.3-fold improvement at a Reynolds number of 3000, underscoring the potential of the novel core geometry for compact heat exchanger applications.

Enhancement of heat transfer characteristics in wavy microchannel heat sinks with streamlined micropins within convergent-divergent flow passages

In the current study, the heat transfer characteristics of a novel design microchannel with a wavy sinusoidal convergent-divergent wall structure featuring streamlined pins have been numerically investigated under laminar flow conditions. Various amplitudes, wavelengths, pin heights, and Reynolds numbers are considered as parameters. The thermal and hydraulic characteristics are analyzed in terms of Nusselt number, Fanning friction factor, and Performance Evaluation Criteria number (PEC), which evaluates the heat transfer enhancement against the associated pressure drop. It is revealed that increasing the amplitude and decreasing wavelength, along with moderate pin heights, significantly augment heat transfer. The streamlined pins effectively direct the flow, and the resulting secondary flow and chaotic advection considerably enhance heat transfer in the designed configuration. The study demonstrates that the heat transfer can be improved by a factor of 4.79 compared to a straight microchannel. Under these geometric and flow conditions, the pressure drop increases by a factor of 9.87, and the PEC is found to be around 2.23. A multi-objective optimization study using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) is conducted with Genetic Aggregation Response Surface Methodology to evaluate the impact of various parameters on thermal-flow performance and to identify the optimal design with material quantity variation. According to the optimal results, a 5 % increase in material can augment thermal-flow performance by approximately 206.6 % compared to traditional microchannels. Finally, practical correlations for the Nusselt number and friction factor, accounting for various parameters, have been developed to facilitate in designing of microchannel cooling systems.

Heat transfer and friction factor analysis for tomato puree flowing in a concentric-tube heat exchanger.

The heat and momentum transfer of tomato puree through a concentric-tube heat exchanger over a range of generalized Reynolds number (0.05<Re<66.5) was experimentally and numerically analyzed. Thermophysical and rheological properties of tomato puree (12°Brix) were measured from 20 to 60°C. The velocity, pressure, and temperature were calculated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software FLUENTTM with temperature-dependent transport properties. The thermal operation of the concentric-tube exchanger was satisfactorily predicted using CFD, indicating accurate measurement of tomato puree properties with temperature variations. A concordance was found between the calculated Fanning friction factor and generalized Reynolds with the experimental correlation. A modified Sieder-Tate correlation was established, which allows properly expressing the Nusselt number as a function of the Peclet number. Simple correlations for the mechanical work and the heat transfer rate as a function of the volumetric flow rate were derived. The thermal efficiency was high at low puree flow rates but decreased with higher rates. However, at high flow rates, ceased its decline, instead showing a slight improvement. The analysis confirmed higher heat transfer rates in the concentric-tube heat exchanger compared to a plain tube at low puree flow rates. The results offer valuable insights for assessing diverse operational conditions in dairy, beverage, sauce, and concentrated food industries. Additionally, they also enhance the analysis and design of concentric-tube heat exchangers. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The knowledge of the rheological and hydrodynamical behavior of fluids in concentric-tube heat exchangers allows to explore a set of different operating conditions to improve the yield and effectiveness on the system heating/cooling design.

Experimental study on thermal–hydraulic performance of a nature-inspired mini-channel heat exchanger manufactured by 3D printing

Zigzag-channel printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) are widely used in nuclear energy, solar energy, and aerospace due to their good heat transfer performance. However, the high flow resistance of zigzag channels leads to large pumping power consumption and thus limits the overall performance. Although previous modified channels could reduce the flow resistance of PCHEs, they also bring a decrease in the heat transfer efficiency. Inspired by river islands, this study proposes a novel nature-inspired channel. The nature-inspired channel heat exchanger, along with a traditional zigzag-channel heat exchanger, were manufactured by 3D printing. The high-temperature air-air flow and heat transfer experiments show that the nature-inspired channel heat exchanger increases the average heat transfer rate by 1.5% and significantly reduces the pressure drop by 34.85%. The addition of airfoil fins at the corners effectively alleviates the flow resistance caused by flow separation, reattachment, and collision, leading to a higher Nusselt number and a lower Fanning friction factor. The Nusselt number of nature-inspired channel is 59% higher than that of the zigzag channel with a 15° inclined angle. This work demonstrates that the nature-inspired channel could significantly reduce the flow resistance while maintaining high heat transfer efficiency compared with the traditional zigzag channel.

The physical mechanism of heat transfer enhancement for Al2O3-water nanofluid forced flow in a microchannel with two-phase lattice Boltzmann method

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the mechanism of nanofluid enhanced heat transfer in microchannels and promote the application of nanofluids in industrial processes such as solar collectors, electronic cooling and automotive batteries.Design/methodology/approachThe two-phase lattice Boltzmann method was used to calculate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of Al2O3 nanofluids in a microchannel at Re = 50. By comparing the simulation results of pure water, nanofluids without calculated nanoparticle-fluid interaction forces and nanofluids with calculated nanoparticle-fluid interaction forces, the effects of physical properties improvement and interaction forces on flow and heat transfer are quantified.FindingsThe findings show that the nanofluid (φ = 3%, R = 10 nm) increases the average Nusselt number by 22.40% at Re = 50. In particular, 16.16% of the improvement relates to nanoparticles optimizing the thermophysical parameters of the base fluid. The remaining 6.24% relates to the disturbance of the thermal boundary layer caused by the interaction between nanoparticles and the base fluid. Moreover, the nanoparticle has a negligible effect on the average Fanning friction factor. Ultimately, we conclude that the nanofluid is an excellent heat transfer working medium based on its performance evaluation criterion, PEC = 1.225.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this research quantifies for the first time the contribution of nanoparticle-liquid interactions and nanofluids physical properties to enhanced heat transfer, advancing the knowledge of the nanoparticle's behavior in liquid systems.

Investigations on cooling heat transfer of CO2-based mixtures in a novel airfoil fin mini-channel at supercritical pressure

Thermal-hydraulic characteristics of three supercritical CO2-based mixtures (CO2/H2S, CO2/Xe and CO2/propane) in an airfoil fin (AFF) mini-channel adopted in the printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) under cooling conditions are comprehensively investigated through numerical simulations. The results show that the CO2/H2S mixture, which has higher critical temperature and larger critical pressure than the pure CO2, exhibits the greatest heat transfer performance among three mixtures. This advantage is particularly pronounced at relatively large Reynolds number, with small mass fraction of the H2S and under near-critical conditions. The overall friction loss of mixtures with the additive mass fraction smaller than 0.3 is comparable to that of the pure CO2. The heat transfer coefficient of the mixtures presents fluctuations during the cooling processes, and this goes against the stable and safe operation of the PCHEs. These fluctuations could be mitigated at relatively small mass flow rate and with small mass fraction of the additive. Three widely-recognized buoyancy criteria are employed to predict the onset of the buoyancy effects in the AFF channel, and the superior heat transfer of the CO2/H2S mixture could be attributed to the fiercer buoyancy effects. Considering the buoyancy effects, modified correlations for the flow and heat transfer of pure CO2 and the CO2-based mixtures in the novel mini-channel are proposed. The maximum deviations of the modified Nusselt number and fanning friction factor correlations are ± 25 % and ± 20 %, respectively.

Establishment of Colburn ‘j’ factor and Fanning friction factor ‘f’ correlations for a compact heat exchanger having perforated wavy fins using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Wavy fins find widespread application in compact heat exchangers, due to their ability to achieve high heat transfer coefficients and lower friction factors, resulting in reduced pumping power requirements and improved overall efficiency. Despite the extensive literature available on these fins, no previous study has explored the influence of perforations on wavy fins. This study aims to establish accurate correlations for evaluating the Colburn ‘j’ factor and Fanning friction factor ‘f’ in wavy fins incorporating perforations, specifically tailored for compact heat exchangers. The Colburn ‘j’ factor guides the determination of the heat transfer coefficient, while the Fanning friction factor ‘f’ is instrumental in assessing pressure drop across the fin, both essential considerations in the rating and sizing of compact heat exchangers. The numerical model involves a perforated wavy fin constructed from ‘aluminum’ with ‘air’ as the fluid medium. To derive correlations, 1458 cases were simulated using ANSYS Fluent, systematically varying geometric parameters such as fin height (h), fin spacing (s), fin thickness (t), hole diameter (d), and fin pitch (p). The study spans Reynolds numbers from laminar (200≤Re≤1500) to turbulent (2000≤Re≤10000). ‘j’ &‘f’ factor values were validated using experimental data for wavy fins without perforations, followed by additional analysis incorporating perforations. The analysis showed a 19%–35% increase in the ‘j’ factor and a 21%–33% increase in the ‘f’ factor for perforated wavy fins compared to plain wavy fins. New ‘j’ and ‘f’ factor correlations were established, with over 96.3% and 95.0% of the points within ±16% and ±18% bounds, respectively. These innovative correlations applicable across the entire spectrum of operating and design conditions are expected to facilitate a more streamlined design process for compact heat exchangers featuring this unique fin geometry, enabling designers to reduce iterations during the design phase.

Multi-Objective Optimization towards Heat Dissipation Performance of the New Tesla Valve Channels with Partitions in a Liquid-Cooled Plate

The utilization of liquid-cooled plates has been increasingly prevalent within the thermal management of batteries for new energy vehicles. Using Tesla valves as internal flow channels of liquid-cooled plates can improve heat dissipation characteristics. However, conventional Tesla valve flow channels frequently experience challenges such as inconsistencies in heat dissipations and unacceptably high levels of pressure loss. In light of this, this paper proposes a new type of Tesla valve with partitions, which is used as internal channel for liquid-cooled plate. Its purpose is to solve the shortcomings of existing flow channels. Under the working conditions of Reynolds number equal to 1000, the neural network prediction-NSGA-II multi-objective optimization method is used to optimize the channel structural parameters. The objective is to identify the optimal structural configuration that exhibits the greatest Nusselt number while simultaneously exhibiting the lowest Fanning friction factor. The variables to consider are the half of partition thickness H, partition length L, and the fillet radius R. The study result revealed that the optimal parameter combination consisted of H = 0.25 mm, R = 1.253 mm, L = 0.768 mm, which demonstrated the best performance. The Fanning friction factor of the optimized flow channel is substantially reduced compared to the reference channel, reducing by approximately 16.4%. However, the Nusselt number is not noticeably increased, increasing by only 0.9%. This indicates that the optimized structure can notably reduce the fluid’s friction resistance and pressure loss and slightly enhance the heat dissipation characteristics.

Multi-objective optimization study of airfoil fin printed circuit heat exchanger with tip gap based on machine learning

The printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE), a compact and highly efficient device, is capable of operating effectively under demanding conditions, which makes it ideal for supercritical CO2 Brayton cycles. In this study, we present a novel airfoil fin PCHE with tip gap, and conduct multi-objective optimization on the tip gap and arrangement of airfoil fins based on the analysis of the supercritical CO2 flow and heat transfer characteristics. We conduct a parameter design using Design of Experiment to examine the impact of the dimensionless design parameters, including the horizontal number (ζh), staggered number (ζs), vertical number (ζv), and gap number (ζg). To forecast the flow and heat transfer performance, we utilize a neural network model called Particle Swarm Optimization-Back Propagation (PSO-BP). We employ the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II to obtain the Pareto optimal front by utilizing ζh, ζs, ζv, and ζg as variables for optimization, and the volumetric heat transfer coefficient (hv) and Fanning friction factor (f) as objectives for optimization. The results find that the utilization of tip gap can enhance heat transfer while reducing flow resistance. The PSO-BPNN model exhibits higher prediction accuracy and excellent generalization ability compared with traditional BPNN model. The VIKOR and TOPSIS methods identify compromise schemes with excellent thermal-hydraulic performance. The mechanism of heat transfer enhancement can be elucidated using the principle of field synergy.

Thermodynamic performance and flow structures analysis of supercritical CO2 applied in a regenerative cooling channel mounted with mini-ribs

Supercritical CO2 (SCO2) is regarded as a promising supplementary coolant for traditional regenerative cooling at extremely high flight speed (Ma ≥8) due to its superior heat and mass transfer capability. Using sCO2 as the coolant, mini-ribs is introduced to the rectangular regenerative cooling channel to solve the difficulties in transferring enough heat from near walls to core mainstream at a heat flux of 5 MW/m2 in this paper. With the thermophysical properties near the supercritical point interpolated in the solver, flow structures and heat transfer performance in the cooling channels are obtained using a validated k-ω SST turbulence model. Effects of pitch ratios, channel materials and acceleration and buoyancy effects are also investigated in terms of the local bulk heat transfer coefficients, Fanning friction factors and entropy generation numbers by heat transfer and fluid flow. Overall, the existing of mini-ribs improves the heat transfer coefficient and reduces the entropy number by heat transfer at the cost of the increased fluid friction and the corresponding entropy number. Compared with the smooth channel, the overall enhanced factor can reach 1.73 with an overall thermal performance factor of 1.43 and the maximum wall temperature decreases by 27.57 % in the case of P/e = 10. When the solid channel material has higher thermal conductivity, it leads to a more uniform temperature distribution and lower entropy generation number by heat transfer with the enhanced transverse heat conduction within solid walls which also leads large heat transfer coefficients. Larger accelerations result in stronger heat transfer and larger fluid friction by strengthening the buoyancy effect which is more obvious when the state approach the critical point. This work provides a good reference for the application of supercritical CO2 in a regenerative cooling channel of scramjet engine at extremely high heat flux.

Bingham plastic fluids flow analysis in multimembranes fitted porous medium

A mathematical analysis is presented for the flow of a Bingham plastic fluid propelled by the multi-membranes pumping mechanism through porous media. Two successive membranes with different amplitude, diameter, and phase lag, are fitted at the upper wall of the channel, and the lower wall is stationary. Due to the simultaneous propagation of both membranes, the pressure is generated at the membrane's position, which helps in propelling the fluids in forward and backward directions depending upon the compression and expansion cycles of the membranes. The low Reynolds number assumption and lubrication theory are utilized to linearize the governing equations, which are further analytically derived, and then employing MATLAB codes to compute the illustrations for the interpretation of the results. The effects of key parameters like plug flow region, pore size and diameter of membranes on the velocity field, wall shear stress, pressure gradient, fanning friction factor, head loss and particle trajectories, are analysed in the microchannel. Results of the present model conclude that the geometrical properties of membranes, rheological properties of fluids and porosity of the medium significantly alter the flow and pumping characteristics which give valuable insights for the design of micro-valve less pumping actuators to be aimed at controlling microscale transport processes in various medical diagnoses and treatments.

Optimization of fin parameters in cooling systems for temperature uniformity enhancement in battery module applications with offset strip fins

The efficient thermal management of Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) stands as a critical factor in ensuring the reliable operation of electric vehicles. For managing multiple LIB modules, a common approach involves utilizing a cold plate for mounting. It has been suggested that this interspersed design proves more effective, especially for large-scale battery packs, in achieving smoother overall cooling performance and temperature uniformity. Consequently, we need a new cold plate design that not only enhances thermal performance for batteries emitting higher thermal loads but also ensures more uniform temperature distributions across battery surfaces, all while maintaining simplicity in manufacturability. In this study, we introduce a new cold plate design employing offset strip fins (OSFs) cores. We assess its thermal and hydraulic performance using objective functions such as the Colburn factor ( j ) and Fanning friction factor ( f ). Through optimization techniques, we determine the optimal shape parameters that maximize heat transfer rates on the cold plate, with only a marginal increase in pressure drop. This optimized configuration is then compared with both the baseline common cold plate and a reference OSFs cold plate. The results show a significant reduction of up to 32.3% in maximum temperature differences, signifying an improved temperature uniformity achieved with this new design.

Efficiency upgrading of solar PVT finned hybrid system in Bangladesh: Flow rate and temperature influences

This research aims to determine the impact of mass flow rate and inflow temperature on the utility and effectiveness of solar thermal systems using fins with air in various applications in Bangladesh. This study examines a three-dimensional (3D) photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system where we analyze the behavior of a hybrid system with six aluminum sheets (1 mm thick fin as a heat exchange material) inside the heat exchanger where the air takes the direction to pass in waveform through the channels (made of aluminum) using fins. The top side of the fins is bent and affixed to the bottom of the floor of the PV panel to allow heat transfer utilizing the conduction-based method. This study selects inlet fluid mass flow rate and inflow temperature between (0.015–0.535 kg/s), and (10–40 °C) respectively, while comparing the result with experimental/numerical published data based on Bangladesh's weather conditions and applies the finite element method (FEM) to solve heat transfer equations. A brief analysis of the association among Reynolds number with pressure drop and fanning friction factor is included in this paper. Our model can be mounted on building rooftops or open fields where air velocity will be controlled mechanically; thus, it has many applications. This model can be implemented within an agricultural photovoltaic (APV) system, domestic functions, dry agricultural products, and provide heat for greenhouses. The result indicates that 302–514 W thermal energy has been produced for 0.015–0.535 kg/s. For growing inflow temperature, despite the reduction in electrical efficiency, the value of adding electrical and thermal efficiency (overall efficiency) comes with elevation. A 5 °C increase in inflow temperature leads to an overall efficiency increase of 0.33%. This study's findings can help researchers better comprehend air's properties as a heat exchanger in a developed design, and they can be applied to government and commercial projects.

Flow boiling pressure drop correlation in small to micro passages

An accurate and acceptable correlation for the prediction of two-phase pressure drop is considered a crucial step in heat exchanger design. Although many existing models and correlations were developed and proposed in the past, their ability to predict within acceptable error bands when applied in general to flow boiling flows is limited, even within their originally recorded ranges. The discrepancies are worse when predicting two-phase pressure drop in small to micro-scale passages. Therefore, the aim of the work described in this paper is to assess the most well-known models and correlations using a large experimental data-bank. The data-bank includes four refrigerants, namely R134a, R245fa, HFE-7100 and HFE-7200, small to micro heat exchangers made of different metals and different channel configurations. In addition, the data cover a large range of operating conditions, which can allow generally applicability of new correlations developed. This range covers channel hydraulic diameter of 0.46−4.26 mm, heated length of 20−500 mm, system pressure of 1 − 14 bar, mass flux of 50−700 kg/m2 s, wall heat flux ranging from 2 to 234 kW/m2 and exit vapour quality up to one. Twenty six existing models and correlations that were developed and proposed for vertical/horizontal flow, single/multi-channels and circular/non-circular channels were evaluated. Moreover, the effect of using different equations for calculating the two-phase mixture viscosity, void fraction, Fanning friction factor and Lockhart–Martinelli parameter was assessed and discussed. The mean absolute error of the existing correlations when compared with our data-bank was more than 30 %. Therefore, a new correlation for calculating the two-phase multiplier, which was strongly dependent on the Boiling number and the Lockhart–Martinelli parameter, was developed and then the frictional component and total two-phase pressure drop relationships were completed.

Thermal-hydraulic performance of printed circuit heat exchangers with various channel shapes under rolling conditions

The floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are located in deep oceans, where the harsh ocean conditions cause the facilities to sway and tilt. The rolling conditions in floating LNG systems affect the uniformity of gas–liquid distribution in heat exchangers. Thermal and hydraulic performances of printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) with straight, zigzag, and trapezoidal channels are investigated under static and rolling conditions. The results reveal that all channels enhance heat transfer near the pseudo-critical point of LNG at a rolling period of 2 s and a rolling amplitude of 15°. The Nusselt number for the PCHE with a zigzag channel increases by 32.2% and 72.5% compared to those with straight and trapezoidal channels. The highest increase in comprehensive performance is obtained for the zigzag channel with an evaluation index of 1.23 under the rolling condition. Compared with under the static condition, the Nusselt number and Fanning friction factor for the zigzag channel increase by 12% and 28% under the rolling condition. The thermal performance is weakened by the nonuniform flow velocity and improved by the enhancement of flow turbulence. The thermal–hydraulic performance increases with the rolling period from 1 s to 3 s and the rolling amplitude from 15° to 45°. The maximum improvement of 65.3% and 97.2% in Nusselt number and Fanning friction factors is observed at a rolling period of 1 s and a rolling amplitude of 45°. The methods to suppress the deterioration of heat transfer in microfluidic channels under rolling conditions are proposed to satisfy the requirement of LNG with low-resistance and high-efficiency microfluidic structure.

Study on the thermal performance of the cross-flow plate heat exchangers

The exhaust gas emitted by a stenter machine will lead to energy waste and environmental heat pollution. Therefore, designing an efficient waste heat recovery apparatus for exhaust gas not only protects the environment but also saves production costs. In the article, the heat transfer performance and pressure drop of three types of heat exchangers: flat-plate heat exchanger (PHE), wavy-PHE, and zigzag-PHE were numerically studied in the context of waste heat recovery from the exhaust gas of stenter machines. The heat transfer rate (Q), Nusselt number (Nu), Colburn factor (j), pressure drop, Fanning friction factor (f), and comprehensive performance factor (JF) were investigated while Reynolds numbers ranged from 1000 to 9000. An experimental measurement was devised to validate the accuracy of the numerical simulation. The results of the research indicate that the wavy-PHE exhibits improved heat transfer efficiency and reduced pressure drop, primarily attributed to the substantial generation of secondary flow. Three new correlations for Nusselt number in different PHEs were developed based on commonly existing empirical formulas. The prediction accuracy for the Nusselt number based on the new correlations has been significantly improved in the present study.

Numerical study on the effect of baffle structure on the heat transfer performance of elastic tube bundle heat exchanger

To make up for the research gaps in the existing literature on the effect of baffle structural parameters on the vibration and heat transfer of elastic tube bundle (ETB) heat exchangers, and improve the comprehensive heat transfer performance (HTP) of heat exchangers, based on an improved elastic tube bundle (I-ETB) heat exchanger used in previous studies, using the bi-directional fluid-structure interaction calculation method, the effects of the baffle structure improvement (height and curvature) on the comprehensive HTP of the I-ETB heat exchanger at different inlet velocities (Uin) were numerically studied. The results show that: while the height factor increases from 0.70 to 0.80, the vibration amplitude of I-ETBs decreases maximum by 10.05 %, and the heat transfer coefficient (h) of I-ETB increases maximum by 5.50 %. Increasing the baffle height improves the comprehensive HTP while suppressing the vibration of the I-ETBs. While the baffle curvature is 10°, the vibration of I-ETBs is the most intense, with the amplitude of the I-ETBs improving maximum by 10.79 %. The Nusselt number per unit pressure drop Nu/ΔP and performance evaluation criteria PEC and JF (a dimensionless number related to Colburn factor j and Fanning friction factor f) values of the heat exchanger all reach the maximum while the baffle curvature is 10°. The increase of baffle curvature has a positive effect on the vibration-enhanced HTP of the I-ETBs, and when the curvature is 10°, the comprehensive HTP of the heat exchanger is better.

Numerically hydrothermal fully developed forced convective hybrid nanofluid flow through annular sector duct

In this paper, fully developed forced convective flow properties of hybrid nanofluid through annular sector duct are discussed. The studies of hybrid nanofluid, i.e. the combination of a nanofluid (nanoparticles plus water) with another nanoparticles’ volume fraction, are considered. Hybrid nanofluids become most important due to enhancement in the heat transfer rate. Copper oxide (CuO)–water is taken as the nanofluid. The volume fraction of CuO nanoparticles in water is kept fixed at 4%, whereas the volume fractions of Cu nanoparticles are taken in the range of 0–4% in this study. Under the assumption of hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed flow, the deviation in the velocity components along the axial direction vanishes in the case of momentum equations; however, the deviation in the temperature becomes constant in the case of energy equation. After dimensionless analysis, the finite volume method is applied to find the numerical solutions for velocity, temperature, heat transfer rate and fanning friction factor. During physical analysis, it has been concluded that the percentage enhancement in heat transfer rate is comparably more than fanning friction factor when we increase the volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles in the CuO–water nanofluid. Furthermore, the same observation has been noticed in the case of heat transfer rate when the platelet shape factor of the nanoparticles has been used instead of brick and cylinder shape factors. Increase in fRe is 8.01% when we increase the Cu nanoparticles’ volume fraction from 1% to 4%, whereas the increments in Nu are 15.09%, 18.56% and 20.81% for the brick-, cylinder- and platelet-shaped nanoparticles, respectively, for all values of the ratio of radii, [Formula: see text], and apex angle, [Formula: see text], in both thermal cases.

Wide flow model for converging gravity currents and the effects of the flow resistance model on the propagation

We are investigating flows in the viscous-buoyancy balance regime in a converging channel with a cross section described by a power function y∼xkzr, where x and y are the streamwise and spanwise horizontal coordinates, respectively, and z is the vertical coordinate. We are interested in the different results depending on whether we use a simplified model of the flow resistance law, which varies depending on whether the height of the current is much greater/smaller than the channel width or a somewhat more general model described by the Darcy–Weisbach equation in which the flow resistance law depends on the shape of the cross section through the Fanning friction factor. The simplified models, one of which developed here is original and new, allow a self-similar solution of the second kind, unlike the general model. The general model, to the best of our knowledge applied for the first time to a generic cross section described by a power function, requires numerical integration. However, a comparison of the front propagation of the gravity current according to the different models, performed by numerical integration of the differential problem, shows that the current assumes a self-similar arrangement as a good approximation for the general model. For some channel geometries, the three models give a very similar result, which results in a difficult attribution to a specific model based on experiments. The effects of anisotropy in the vertical direction of the channel cross section are also highlighted by both the numerical and self-similar solutions.