Numerical evaluation of laminar heat transfer enhancement in nanofluid flow in coiled square tubes

Convective heat transfer can be enhanced by changing flow geometry and/or by enhancing thermal conductivity of the fluid. This study proposes simultaneous passive heat transfer enhancement by combining the geometry effect utilizing nanofluids inflow in coils. The two nanofluid suspensions examined in this study are: water-Al2O3 and water-CuO. The flow behavior and heat transfer performance of these nanofluid suspensions in various configurations of coiled square tubes, e.g., conical spiral, in-plane spiral, and helical spiral, are investigated and compared with those for water flowing in a straight tube. Laminar flow of a Newtonian nanofluid in coils made of square cross section tubes is simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)approach, where the nanofluid properties are treated as functions of particle volumetric concentration and temperature. The results indicate that addition of small amounts of nanoparticles up to 1% improves significantly the heat transfer performance; however, further addition tends to deteriorate heat transfer performance

Computational Study of Transport Phenomena and Deformation Behavior of Stimuli Sensitive Hydrogels

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Numerical investigation of phase change materials thermal capacitor for pipe flow

This study addresses the performance of phase change material as thermal capacitor. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to take into account the conjugate heat transfer between water as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and PCM as thermal capacitor. A pulsating inlet temperature with constant inlet velocity is prescribed to represent temperature variation. The performance of thermal capacitor is evaluated by closely monitoring outlet temperature and comparing it with inlet temperature to examine the reduction in temperature fluctuation. To intensify heat transfer between HTF and PCM, extended surfaces (fins) are installed on PCM side. The results indicate that PCM thermal capacitor can reduce temperature fluctuation by ∼ 1 °C. This reduction can be improved further when extended surface is installed with ∼ 1.5 °C reduction in temperature fluctuation is achieved. Moreover, it is found that the maximum temperature is delayed at the outlet due to slow conjugate heat transfer between HTF and PCM. Inlet velocity is found to have considerable influence of the temperature fluctuation reduction: Slower inlet velocity results in a better temperature fluctuation reduction. This study is expected to serve as a guideline in designing PCM-based thermal capacitor

Numerical Evaluation of Heat Transfer and Entropy Generation of Helical Tubes with Various Cross-sections under Constant Heat Flux Condition

The presence of curvature-induced secondary flow in helical pipe which create complex transport phenomena and higher transfer rate has attracted significant attention from both academic and industry. Flow behavior and transport processes in helical tube have been intensively investigated. Nevertheless, most studies were focused on the performance based on first law of thermodynamics with limited studies concerning the performance based on second law of thermodynamics. The objective of this study is to investigate the heat transfer performance of helical tube according to both first and second law. The heat transfer rate and entropy generation of helical tubes with various cross-sections, i.e. circular, ellipse and square, subjected to constant wall heat flux conditions are numerically evaluated by utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Their performances are compared to those of straight tube with identical cross-section. The results indicate that helical tube provides higher heat transfer at the cost of higher pressure. Moreover, it was found that entropy generation in helical tubes is considerably lower as compared to that in straight tube. Among the studied cross-sections, square has the highest heat transfer albeit having the highest pressure drop and entropy generation for both straight and helical tubes

Numerical investigation of phase change materials thermal capacitor for pipe flow

This study addresses the performance of phase change material as thermal capacitor. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to take into account the conjugate heat transfer between water as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and PCM as thermal capacitor. A pulsating inlet temperature with constant inlet velocity is prescribed to represent temperature variation. The performance of thermal capacitor is evaluated by closely monitoring outlet temperature and comparing it with inlet temperature to examine the reduction in temperature fluctuation. To intensify heat transfer between HTF and PCM, extended surfaces (fins) are installed on PCM side. The results indicate that PCM thermal capacitor can reduce temperature fluctuation by ∼ 1 °C. This reduction can be improved further when extended surface is installed with ∼ 1.5 °C reduction in temperature fluctuation is achieved. Moreover, it is found that the maximum temperature is delayed at the outlet due to slow conjugate heat transfer between HTF and PCM. Inlet velocity is found to have considerable influence of the temperature fluctuation reduction: Slower inlet velocity results in a better temperature fluctuation reduction. This study is expected to serve as a guideline in designing PCM-based thermal capacitor

Numerical Evaluation of Heat Transfer and Entropy Generation of Helical Tubes with Various Cross-sections under Constant Heat Flux Condition

The presence of curvature-induced secondary flow in helical pipe which create complex transport phenomena and higher transfer rate has attracted significant attention from both academic and industry. Flow behavior and transport processes in helical tube have been intensively investigated. Nevertheless, most studies were focused on the performance based on first law of thermodynamics with limited studies concerning the performance based on second law of thermodynamics. The objective of this study is to investigate the heat transfer performance of helical tube according to both first and second law. The heat transfer rate and entropy generation of helical tubes with various cross-sections, i.e. circular, ellipse and square, subjected to constant wall heat flux conditions are numerically evaluated by utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Their performances are compared to those of straight tube with identical cross-section. The results indicate that helical tube provides higher heat transfer at the cost of higher pressure. Moreover, it was found that entropy generation in helical tubes is considerably lower as compared to that in straight tube. Among the studied cross-sections, square has the highest heat transfer albeit having the highest pressure drop and entropy generation for both straight and helical tubes

Investigation on the effect of blending ratio and airflow rate on syngas profile produced from co-gasification of blended feedstock

Shortages of feedstock supply due to seasonal availability, high transportation costs, and lack of biomass market are creating serious problems in continues operation of bioenergy industry. Aiming at this problem, utilization of blended feedstock is proposed. In this work blends of two different biomasses (wood and coconut shells) were co-gasified using externally heated downdraft gasifier. The effects of varying biomass blending ratio and airflow rate on gaseous components of syngas and its heating value were investigated. The results obtained from the experiments revealed that W20:CS80 blend yielded higher values for H2 (20 Vol.%) and HHV (18 MJ/Nm3) as compared to the other blends. The higher airflow rate has a negative effect on syngas profile and heating value. The CO and CH4 were observed higher at the start of the process, however, CO was observed decreasing afterward, and the CH4 dropped to 5.0 Vol.%. The maximum H2 and CH4 were obtained at 2.5 LPM airflow rate. The process was noticed more stable at low air flow rates. The HHV was observed higher at the start of process at low airflow rate. It is concluded that low airflow rate and a higher ratio of coconut shells can improve the syngas quality during co-gasification

Investigation on the effect of blending ratio and airflow rate on syngas profile produced from co-gasification of blended feedstock

Shortages of feedstock supply due to seasonal availability, high transportation costs, and lack of biomass market are creating serious problems in continues operation of bioenergy industry. Aiming at this problem, utilization of blended feedstock is proposed. In this work blends of two different biomasses (wood and coconut shells) were co-gasified using externally heated downdraft gasifier. The effects of varying biomass blending ratio and airflow rate on gaseous components of syngas and its heating value were investigated. The results obtained from the experiments revealed that W20:CS80 blend yielded higher values for H2 (20 Vol.%) and HHV (18 MJ/Nm3) as compared to the other blends. The higher airflow rate has a negative effect on syngas profile and heating value. The CO and CH4 were observed higher at the start of the process, however, CO was observed decreasing afterward, and the CH4 dropped to 5.0 Vol.%. The maximum H2 and CH4 were obtained at 2.5 LPM airflow rate. The process was noticed more stable at low air flow rates. The HHV was observed higher at the start of process at low airflow rate. It is concluded that low airflow rate and a higher ratio of coconut shells can improve the syngas quality during co-gasification

A phenomenological model for hydrogels with rigid skin formation

10.1142/S1758825112001361International Journal of Applied Mechanics41

The Influence of Temperature on Stability of Aluminum Foam Cell Wall during Foaming Process

This study concerns about the influence of foaming temperature which is applied to foaming process of aluminum foam to improve the stability of aluminum foam cell wall. Powder metallurgical method with four major foaming temperatures of 750°C, 800°C, 850°C and 900°C have been selected. Furthermore, the porosity of the foam was determined by ImageJ Analysis Software. Microhardness testing on the cell wall of aluminium foam was conducted according to ASTM E 92 using microhardness tester LM24AT with 200 grams and 15 s for loading time. The universal testing machine was applied to characterize the effect of foaming temperature on compression strength. The aluminum foam was observed in macroscopic and microscopic level using optical microscope (OM). The result revealed that the foaming temperature of 800°C gave the lowest value of porosity, with the highest hardness and compressive strength of 55.29 HV and 1.41 MPa, respectively. In addition, the highest porosity level was acquired by foaming temperature which was set at 900 °C. The lowest hardness value of 38.50 HV was obtained by foaming temperature of 700°C and the minimum compressive strength value of 0.75 MPa was exhibited when the foaming temperature was set at 900°C