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A numerical study is performed to investigate turbulent flow characteristics in a pipe rotating around the axis. Emphasis is placed on the effect of pipe rotation on the friction coefficient and velocity distribution in the hydrodynamically, fully‐developed flow region. The k—ε turbulence model is modified by taking the swirling effect into account, in which the model function including the Richardson number is introduced to the ε equation. The governing boundary‐layer equations are discretized by means of a control volume finite‐difference technique for numerical computation. Results obtained from the modified model agree well with experiment data in the existing literature. It is found from the study that (i) an axial rotation of the pipe induces an attenuation in the turbulent kinetic energy, resulting in a reduction in the friction coefficient, the turbulent and (ii) an increase in the velocity ratio causes substantial decreases in the friction coefficient, the turbulent kinetic energy and the streamwise velocity gradient near the wall.

A theoretical study is performed to investigate transport phenomena in channel flows under uniform heating from either both side walls or a single side. The anisotropic t^2¯− ε_t heat‐transfer model is employed to determine thermal eddy diffusivity. The governing boundary‐layer equations are discretized by means of a control volume finite‐difference technique and numerically solved using a marching procedure. It is found that under strong heating from both walls, laminarization occurs as in the circular tube flow case; during the laminarization process, both the velocity and temperature gradients in the vicinity of the heated walls decrease along the flow, resulting in a substantial attenuation in both the turbulent kinetic energy and the temperature variance over the entire channel cross section; both decrease causes a deterioration in heat transfer performance; and in contrast, laminarization is suppressed in the presence of one‐side‐heating, because turbulent kinetic energy is produced in the vicinity of the other insulated wall.

A numerical study is performed to investigate turbulent Couette flow and heat transfer characteristics in concentric annuli with a slightly heated inner cylinder moving in the flow direction. A two‐equation k‐ε turbulence model is employed to determine the turbulent viscosity and the turbulent kinetic energy. The turbulent heat flux is expressed by Boussinesq approximation in which the eddy diffusivity for heat is given as functions of the temperature variance t^2‐ and the dissipation rate of temperature fluctuations ε_t, together with k and ε. The governing boundary‐layer equations are discretized by means of control volume finite‐difference technique and numerically solved using a marching procedure. It is disclosed from the study that the streamwise movement of the inner core causes substantial reductions in the turbulent kinetic energy and the temperature variance, particularly near the inner wall region, resulting in the deterioration of the Nusselt number, and that an attenuation in heat transfer performance is induced by the velocity ratio of the moving inner cylinder to the fluid flow.

A theoretical and experimental study is performed to investigate unsteady, two‐dimensional, incompressible fluid flow over both sides of a slot‐perforated flat surface, which is placed in a two‐dimensional channel. The governing boundary‐layer equations are discretized by means of a finite‐difference technique to determine streamwise and transverse velocity components. The roles of both the Reynolds number and the ratio of the slot width, d, to the plate thickness, δ, on the velocity field are disclosed. It is found from the study that: (i) the flow pattern between two plates can be classified into four categories depending on a combination of Re and d/δ, (ii) at a small value of Re and/or d/δ, flow over the slot exhibits no timewise variation, (iii) when Re and d/δ exceed certain values, an alternate crossing of flow from one side of the plate to the other occurs across the slot, and (iv) a further increase in Re results in a complex flow both inside the slot and on the plate downstream of the slot. These results are confirmed by the flow visualization using ion‐exchange resins.

The aim of this article is to present the results of a parametric analysis of the entropy generation due to mixed convection in the entry‐developing region between two differentially heated isothermal vertical plates.

The entropy generation was estimated via a numerical solution of the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations governing the flow and heat transfer in the vertical channel between the two parallel plates. The resultant temperature and velocity profiles were used to estimate the entropy generation and other heat transfer parameters over a wide range of the operating parameters. The investigated parameters include the buoyancy parameter (Gr/Re), Eckert number (Ec), Reynolds number (Re), Prandtl number (Pr) and the ratio of the dimensionless temperature of the two plates (θ_T).

The optimum values of the buoyancy parameter (Gr/Re) optimum at which the entropy generation assumes its minimum for the problem under consideration have been obtained numerically and presented over a wide range of the other operating parameters. The effect of the other operating parameters on the entropy generation is presented and discussed as well.

The results of this investigation are limited to the geometry of vertical channel parallel plates under isothermal boundary conditions. However, the concept of minimization of entropy generation via controlling the buoyancy parameter is applicable for any other geometry under any other thermal boundary conditions.

The results presented in this paper can be used for optimum designs of heat transfer equipment based on the principle of entropy generation minimization with particular focus on the optimum design of plate and frame heat exchanger and the optimization of electronic packages and stacked packaging of laminar‐convection‐cooled printed circuits.

This paper introduces the entropy generation minimization via controlling the operating parameters and clearly identifies the optimum buoyancy parameter (Gr/Re) at which entropy generation assumes its minimum under different operating conditions.