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Article
Publication date: 30 October 2023

N. Keerthi Reddy, Aejung Yoon, Sankar Mani and H.A. Kumara Swamy

Natural convection in finite enclosures is a common phenomenon in various thermal applications. To provide the thermal design guidelines, this study aims to numerically explore…

Abstract

Purpose

Natural convection in finite enclosures is a common phenomenon in various thermal applications. To provide the thermal design guidelines, this study aims to numerically explore the potential of using internal baffles and nanofluids to either enhance or suppress heat transport in a vertical annulus. Furthermore, the annular-shaped enclosure is filled with aqueous-silver nanofluid and the effects of five distinct nanoparticle shapes are examined. In addition, the influence of baffle design parameters, including baffle position, thickness and length, is thoroughly analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

The finite difference method is used in conjunction with the alternating direction implicit and successive line over relaxation techniques to solve nonlinear and coupled partial differential equations. The single phase model is used for nanofluid which is considered as a homogeneous fluid with improved thermal properties. The independence tests are carried out for assessing the sufficiency of grid size and time step for obtaining results accurately.

Findings

The baffle dimension parameters and nanoparticle shape exhibit significant impact on the convective flow and heat transfer characteristics, leading to the following results: sphere- and blade-shaped nanoparticles demonstrate around 30% enhancement in the heat transport capability compared with platelet-shaped nanoparticles, which exhibit the least. When considering the baffle design parameter, either a decrease in the baffle length and thickness or an increase in baffle height leads to an improvement in heat transport rate. Consequently, a threefold increase in baffle height yields a 40% improvement in thermal performance.

Originality/value

Understanding the impact of nanoparticle shapes and baffle design parameters on flow and thermal behavior will enable engineers to provide valuable insight on thermal management and overall system efficiency. Therefore, the current work focuses on exploring buoyant nanofluid flow and thermal mechanism in a baffled annular-shaped enclosure. Specifically, an internal baffle that exhibits conductive heat transfer through it is considered, and the impact of baffle dimensions (thickness, length and position) on the fluid flow behavior and thermal characteristics is investigated. In addition, the current study also addresses the influence of five distinct nanoparticle shapes (e.g. spherical, cylindrical, platelet, blade and brick) on the flow and thermal behavior in the baffled annular geometry. In addition to deepening the understanding of nanofluid behavior in a baffled vertical annulus, the current study contributes to the ongoing advancements in thermal applications by providing certain guidelines to design application-specific enclosures.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Nicola Massarotti, Michela Ciccolella, Gino Cortellessa and Alessandro Mauro

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the numerical analysis of transient free convection heat transfer in partially porous cylindrical domains. The authors analyze the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the numerical analysis of transient free convection heat transfer in partially porous cylindrical domains. The authors analyze the dependence of velocity and temperature fields on the geometry, by analyzing transient flow behavior for different values of cavity aspect ratio and radii ratio; both inner and outer radius are assumed variable in order to not change the difference ro-ri. Moreover, several Darcy numbers have been considered.

Design/methodology/approach

A dual time-stepping procedure based on the transient artificial compressibility version of the characteristic-based split algorithm has been adopted in order to solve the transient equations of the generalized model for heat and fluid flow through porous media. The present model has been validated against experimental data available in the scientific literature for two different problems, steady-state free convection in a porous annulus and transient natural convection in a porous cylinder, showing an excellent agreement.

Findings

For vertically divided half porous cavities, with Rayleigh numbers equal to 3.4×106 for the 4:1 cavity and 3.4×105 for the 8:1 cavity, the numerical results show that transient oscillations tend to disappear in presence of cylindrical geometry, differently from what happens for rectangular one. The magnitude of this phenomenon increases with radii ratio; the porous layer also affects the stability of velocity and temperature fields, as oscillations tend to decrease in presence of a porous matrix with lower value of the Darcy number.

Research limitations/implications

A proper analysis of partially porous annular cavities is fundamental for the correct estimation of Nusselt numbers, as the formulas provided for rectangular domains are not able to describe these problems.

Practical implications

The proposed model represents a useful tool for the study of transient natural convection problems in porous and partially porous cylindrical and annular cavities, typical of many engineering applications. Moreover, a fully explicit scheme reduces the computational costs and ensures flexibility.

Originality/value

This is the first time that a fully explicit finite element scheme is employed for the solution of transient natural convection in partially porous tall annular cavities.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 26 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 June 2016

Chahinez Ghernoug, Mahfoud Djezzar, Hassane Naji and Abdelkarim Bouras

The purpose of this paper is to numerically study the double-diffusive natural convection within an eccentric horizontal cylindrical annulus filled with a Newtonian fluid. The…

220

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to numerically study the double-diffusive natural convection within an eccentric horizontal cylindrical annulus filled with a Newtonian fluid. The annulus walls are maintained at uniform temperatures and concentrations so as to induce aiding thermal and mass buoyancy forces within the fluid. For that, this simulation span a moderate range of thermal Rayleigh number (100RaT100,000), Lewis (0.1Le10), buoyancy ratio (0N5) and Prandtl number (Pr=0.71) to examine their effects on flow motion and heat and mass transfers.

Design/methodology/approach

A finite volume method in conjunction with the successive under-relaxation algorithm has been developed to solve the bipolar equations. These are written in dimensionless form in terms of vorticity, stream function, temperature and concentration. Beforehand, the implemented computer code has been validated through already published findings in the literature. The isotherms, streamlines and iso-concentrations are exhibited for various values of Rayleigh and Lewis numbers, and buoyancy ratio. In addition, heat and mass transfer rates in the annulus are translated in terms of Nusslet and Sherwood numbers along the enclosure’s sides.

Findings

It is observed that, for the range of parameters considered here, the results show that the average Sherwood number increases with, while the average Nusselt number slightly dips as the Lewis number increases. It is also found that, under the convective mode, the local Nusselt number (or Sherwood) increases with the buoyancy ratio. Likewise, according to Lewis number’s value, the flow pattern is either symmetric and stable or asymmetric and random. Besides that, the heat transfer is transiting from a conductive mode to a convective mode with increasing the thermal Rayleigh number, and the flow structure and the rates of heat and mass transfer are significantly influenced by this parameter.

Research limitations/implications

The range of the Rayleigh number considered here covers only the laminar case, with some constant parameters, namely the Prandtl number (Pr = 0.71), and the tilt angle (α=90°). The analysis here is only valid for steady, two-dimensional, laminar and aiding flow within an eccentric horizontal cylindrical annulus. This motivates further investigations involving other relevant parameters as N (opposite flows), Ra, Pr, Le, the eccentricity, the tilt angle, etc.

Practical implications

An original framework for handling the double-diffusive natural convection within annuli is available, based on the bipolar equations. In addition, the achievement of this work could help researchers design thermal systems supported by annulus passages. Applications of the results can be of value in various arrangements such as storage of liquefied gases, electronic cable cooling systems, nuclear reactors, underground disposal of nuclear wastes, manifolds of solar energy collectors, etc.

Originality/value

Given the geometry concerned, the bipolar coordinates have been used to set the inner and outer walls boundary conditions properly without interpolation. In addition, since studies on double-diffusive natural convection in annuli are lacking, the obtained results may be of interest to handle other configurations (e.g., elliptical-shaped speakers) with other boundary conditions.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2020

Fateh Mebarek-Oudina, R. Bessaih, B. Mahanthesh, A.J. Chamkha and J. Raza

Metal-cooled reactors generally use molten metals such as sodium, potassium or a combination of sodium and potassium because of their excellent heat transfer properties so that…

Abstract

Purpose

Metal-cooled reactors generally use molten metals such as sodium, potassium or a combination of sodium and potassium because of their excellent heat transfer properties so that the reactor can operate at much lower pressures and higher temperatures. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the stability of natural convection in an inclined ring filled with molten potassium under the influence of a radial magnetism.

Design/methodology/approach

A numerical simulation of electrically conductive fluid natural convection stability is performed on an inclined cylindrical annulus under the influence of a radial magnetism. The upper and lower walls are adiabatic, while the internal and external cylinders are kept at even temperatures. The equations governing this fluid system are solved numerically using finite volume method. The SIMPLER algorithm is used for pressure-speed coupling in the momentum equation.

Findings

Numerical results for various effective parameters that solve the problem in the initial oscillatory state are discussed in terms of isobars, isotherms and flow lines in the annulus for a wide range of Hartmann numbers (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 80), inclination angles (0 ≤ γ ≤ 90°) and radii ratios λ ≤ 6. The dependency stability diagrams between complicated situations with the critical value of the Rayleigh number RaCr and the corresponding frequency FrCr are established on the basis of the numeric data of this investigation. The angle of inclination and the radii ratio of the annulus have a significant effect on the stabilization of the magneto-convective flux and show that the best stabilization of the natural oscillatory convection is obtained by the intensity of the strongest magnetic field, the high radii ratio and inclination of the annulus at γ = 30°.

Practical implications

This numerical model is selected for its various applications in technology and industry.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the influence of the inclination of the cylindrical annulus (ring), with various radii ratio, on natural oscillatory convection under a radial magnetism has never been investigated.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1992

V.K. GARG and A.Z. SZERI

This numerical study of natural convection flow in a horizontal cylindrical annulus is aimed at establishing the utility of the Galerkin‐spline formulation for natural convection…

Abstract

This numerical study of natural convection flow in a horizontal cylindrical annulus is aimed at establishing the utility of the Galerkin‐spline formulation for natural convection problems. The annulus has isothermal walls and the fluid is of constant material properties except for its density; density variation is incorporated via the Boussinesq approximation. Two formulations are employed, the velocity formulation and the streamfunction formulation. We are able to demonstrate the usefulness of the Galerkin‐spline formulation for the problem and in comparison with published data, show that it leads to greater accuracy than the finite difference method. We also show the streamfunction formulation to be superior computationally to the velocity formulation. We find no bifurcation from the basic state up to 60,000 in Grashof number, even without a priori assumption of symmetry about the vertical plane. This last finding is in sharp contrast to results obtained when porous material fills the annulus.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 2 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1995

J.P. Barbosa Mota and E. Saatdjian

Natural convection in a porous layer between two horizontal, concentriccylinders is investigated numerically by solving the 2‐DDarcy‐Boussinesq equations on a very fine grid…

Abstract

Natural convection in a porous layer between two horizontal, concentric cylinders is investigated numerically by solving the 2‐D Darcy‐Boussinesq equations on a very fine grid. The parabolic‐elliptic system was solved by a second order finite difference scheme based on the implicit alternating direction method coupled with successive under relaxation. The calculations show that for radius ratios above 1.7, the functional relationship between the mean Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number exhibits a closed hysteresis loop associated with the transition from a two to a four cell flow pattern. For very small radius ratios, steady state regimes containing 2, 4, 6, and 8 cells are progressively obtained as the Rayleigh number is increased, but no hysteresis behaviour is observed. For a radius ratio of 2, the numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Multi‐cellular regimes and hysteresis loops have also been reported in the literature for fluid annuli but some differences between the two cases exist and are fully explained below.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2021

Mahyar Ashouri, Mohammad Mehdi Zarei and Ali Moosavi

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of geometrical parameters, eccentricity and perforated fins on natural convection heat transfer in a finned horizontal…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of geometrical parameters, eccentricity and perforated fins on natural convection heat transfer in a finned horizontal annulus using three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann flux solver.

Design/methodology/approach

Three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann flux solver is used in the present study for simulating conjugate heat transfer within an annulus. D3Q15 and D3Q7 models are used to solve the fluid flow and temperature field, respectively. The finite volume method is used to discretize mass, momentum and energy equations. The Chapman–Enskog expansion analysis is used to establish the connection between the lattice Boltzmann equation local solution and macroscopic fluxes. To improve the accuracy of the lattice Boltzmann method for curved boundaries, lattice Boltzmann equation local solution at each cell interface is considered to be independent of each other.

Findings

It is found that the maximum heat transfer rate occurs at low fin spacing especially by increasing the fin height and decreasing the internal-cylindrical distance. The effect of inner cylinder eccentricity is not much considerable (up to 5.2% enhancement) while the impact of fin eccentricity is more remarkable. Negative fin eccentricity further enhances the heat transfer rate compared to a positive fin eccentricity and the maximum heat transfer enhancement of 91.7% is obtained. The influence of using perforated fins is more considerable at low fin spacing although some heat transfer enhancements are observed at higher fin spacing.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is to study three-dimensional natural convection in a finned-horizontal annulus using three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann flux solver, as well as to apply symmetry and periodic boundary conditions and to analyze the effect of eccentric annular fins (for the first time for air) and perforated annular fins (for the first time so far) on the heat transfer rate.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2001

M.A.I. El‐Shaarawi and S.A. Haider

Conjugate laminar forced convection heat transfer in the entry region of eccentric annuli is numerically investigated. Heat transfer parameters are presented for a fluid of Pr …

Abstract

Conjugate laminar forced convection heat transfer in the entry region of eccentric annuli is numerically investigated. Heat transfer parameters are presented for a fluid of Pr = 0.7 flowing in an annulus of radius ratio 0.5 for four values of dimensionless eccentricity ranging from 0.1 to 0.7. Solid‐fluid conductivity ratio (KR) is varied to cover the range for practical cases with commonly encountered inner and outer tube thickness. Boundary conditions applied are isothermal heating of the inner surface of the core tube, while the outer surface of the external tube is maintained at the inlet fluid temperature. Limits for KR above which the conjugation can be neglected are obtained.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1994

T.S. Lee

Mixed recirculatory flow in the annuli of stationary and rotatinghorizontal cylinders were studied numerically. A set of distorted‘false transient’ parameters were introduced to…

Abstract

Mixed recirculatory flow in the annuli of stationary and rotating horizontal cylinders were studied numerically. A set of distorted ‘false transient’ parameters were introduced to speed up the steady state solution of the unsteady vorticity, energy and stream function—vorticity equations. The inner cylinder of the annuli is assumed heated and rotating at Reynolds numbers that exclude the effects of centrifugal acceleration and three‐dimensional Taylor vortices. The Prandtl number considered is in the range of 0.01 to 1.0 and Rayleigh number in the range of 102 to 106. Radius ratios of the cylinders considered are 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0. For a radius ratio of 2.5, inner cylinder rotation in the Reynolds number range of 0 to 1120 was considered. Vertical eccentricities in the range of ±2/3 were studied for cases of the rotating inner cylinder. Numerical experiments show that the mean Nusselt number increases with Rayleigh number for both cases of concentric and eccentric stationary inner cylinder. At a Prandtl number of order 1.0 with a fixed Rayleigh number, when the inner cylinder is made to rotate, the mean Nusselt number decreases throughout the flow. At lower Prandtl number of the order 0.1 to 0.01, the mean Nusselt number remained fairly constant with respect to the rotational Reynolds number.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 4 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 November 2023

H.A. Kumara Swamy, Sankar Mani, N. Keerthi Reddy and Younghae Do

One of the major challenges in the design of thermal equipment is to minimize the entropy production and enhance the thermal dissipation rate for improving energy efficiency of…

Abstract

Purpose

One of the major challenges in the design of thermal equipment is to minimize the entropy production and enhance the thermal dissipation rate for improving energy efficiency of the devices. In several industrial applications, the structure of thermal device is cylindrical shape. In this regard, this paper aims to explore the impact of isothermal cylindrical solid block on nanofluid (Ag – H2O) convective flow and entropy generation in a cylindrical annular chamber subjected to different thermal conditions. Furthermore, the present study also addresses the structural impact of cylindrical solid block placed at the center of annular domain.

Design/methodology/approach

The alternating direction implicit and successive over relaxation techniques are used in the current investigation to solve the coupled partial differential equations. Furthermore, estimation of average Nusselt number and total entropy generation involves integration and is achieved by Simpson and Trapezoidal’s rules, respectively. Mesh independence checks have been carried out to ensure the accuracy of numerical results.

Findings

Computations have been performed to analyze the simultaneous multiple influences, such as different thermal conditions, size and aspect ratio of the hot obstacle, Rayleigh number and nanoparticle shape on buoyancy-driven nanoliquid movement, heat dissipation, irreversibility distribution, cup-mixing temperature and performance evaluation criteria in an annular chamber. The computational results reveal that the nanoparticle shape and obstacle size produce conducive situation for increasing system’s thermal efficiency. Furthermore, utilization of nonspherical shaped nanoparticles enhances the heat transfer rate with minimum entropy generation in the enclosure. Also, greater performance evaluation criteria has been noticed for larger obstacle for both uniform and nonuniform heating.

Research limitations/implications

The current numerical investigation can be extended to further explore the thermal performance with different positions of solid obstacle, inclination angles, by applying Lorentz force, internal heat generation and so on numerically or experimentally.

Originality/value

A pioneering numerical investigation on the structural influence of hot solid block on the convective nanofluid flow, energy transport and entropy production in an annular space has been analyzed. The results in the present study are novel, related to various modern industrial applications. These results could be used as a firsthand information for the design engineers to obtain highly efficient thermal systems.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

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