Overall Assessment of Heat Transfer for a Rarefied Flow in a Microchannel with Obstacles Using Lattice Boltzmann Method

The objective of this investigation is to assess the effect of obstacles on numerical heat transfer and fluid flow momentum in a rectangular microchannel(MC).Two distinct configurations were studied:one without obstacles and the other with alternating obstacles placed on the upper and lower walls.The research utilized the thermal lattice Boltzmann method(LBM),which solves the energy and momentum equations of fluids with the BGK approximation,implemented in a Python coding environment.Temperature jump and slip velocity conditions were utilized in the simulation for the MC and extended to all obstacle boundaries.The study aims to analyze the rarefaction effect,with Knudsen numbers(Kn)of 0.012,0.02,and 0.05.The outcomes indicate that rarefaction has a significant impact on the velocity and temperature distribution.The presence of nine obstacles led to slower fluid movement inside the microchannel MC,resulting in faster cooling at the outlet.In MCs with obstacles,the rarefaction effect plays a crucial role in decreasing the Nusselt number(Nu)and skin friction coefficient(Cf).Furthermore,the study demonstrated that the obstacles played a crucial role in boosting fluid flow and heat transfer in the MC.The findings suggest that the examined configurations could have potential applications as cooling technologies in micro-electro-mechanical systems and microdevice applications.

Simulating the Turbulent Hydrothermal Behavior of Oil/MWCNT Nanofluid in a Solar Channel Heat Exchanger Equipped with Vortex Generators

Re-engineering the channel heat exchangers(CHEs)is the goal of many recent studies,due to their great importance in the scope of energy transport in various industrial and environmental fields.Changing the internal geometry of the CHEs by using extended surfaces,i.e.,VGs(vortex generators),is the most common technique to enhance the efficiency of heat exchangers.This work aims to develop a newdesign of solar collectors to improve the overall energy efficiency.The study presents a new channel design by introducing VGs.The FVM(finite volume method)was adopted as a numerical technique to solve the problem,with the use of Oil/MWCNT(oil/multi-walled carbon nano-tubes)nanofluid to raise the thermal conductivity of the flow field.The study is achieved for a Re number ranging from12×10^(3) to 27×10^(3),while the concentration(φ)of solid particles in the fluid(Oil)is set to 4%.The computational results showed that the hydrothermal characteristics depend strongly on the flow patterns with the presence of VGs within the CHE.Increasing the Oil/MWCNT rates with the presence of VGs generates negative turbulent velocities with high amounts,which promotes the good agitation of nanofluid particles,resulting in enhanced great transfer rates.

CFD-Based Simulation and Analysis of Hydrothermal Aspects in Solar Channel Heat Exchangers with Various Designed Vortex Generators

The hydrothermal behavior of air inside a solar channel heat exchanger equipped with various shaped ribs is analyzed numerically.The bottom wall of the exchanger is kept adiabatic,while a constant value of the temperature is set at the upper wall.The duct is equipped with a flat rectangular fin on the upper wall and an upstream V-shaped baffle on the lower wall.Furthermore,five hot wall-attached rib shapes are considered:trapezoidal,square,triangular pointing upstream(type Ⅰ),triangular pointing downstream(type Ⅱ),and equilateral-triangular(type Ⅲ)cross sections.Effects of the flow rates are also inspected for various Reynolds numbers in the turbulent regime(1.2×10^(4)-3.2×10^(4)).The highest performance(η)value is given for the Ⅱ-triangular rib case in all Re values,while the square-shaped ribs show a significant decrease in the η along the achieved Re range.The η value at Remax is 2.567 for the Ⅱ-triangular roughness case.Compared with the other simulated cases,this performance is decreased by about 3.768%in the case of Ⅰ-triangular ribs,15.249% in the case of Ⅲ-triangular ribs,20.802% in the case of trapezoidal ribs,while 27.541% in the case of square ribs,at the same Remax.Also,a comparison ismade with air-heat exchangers that have non-rough walls and contain cross-shaped VGs presented previously,in order to highlight the effectiveness of the rough surface presence in the baffled and finned channels.The obtained results indicated that the triangular-shaped rib(type Ⅱ)has the most significant hydrothermal behavior than the other cases.This indicates the necessity of roughness heat transfer surfaces for finned and baffled channels to improve significantly the performance of the air-heat exchangers they contain.

3D numerical study and comparison of thermal-flow performance of various annular finne d-tub e designs

With the increase of heat transfer problems in marine vehicles and submerged power stations in oceans,the search for an efficient finned-tube heat exchanger has become particularly important.The purpose of the present investigation is to analyze and compare the thermal exchange and flow characteristics between five different fin designs,namely:a concentric circular finned-tube(CCFT),an eccentric circular finned-tube(ECFT),a perforated circular finned-tube(PCFT),a serrated circular finned-tube(SCFT),and a star-shaped finned-tube(S-SFT).The fin design and spacing impact on the thermal-flow performance of a heat exchanger was computed at Reynolds numbers varying from 4,300 to 15,000.From the numerical results,and when the fin spacing has been changed from 2 to 7 mm,an enhancement in the Colburn factor and a reduction in the friction factor and fin performances were observed for all cases under study.Three criteria were checked to select the most efficient fin design:the performance evaluation criterion P EC,the global performance criterion G PC,and the mass global performance criterion M G PC.Whatever the value of Reynolds number,the conventional CCFT provided the lowest performance evaluation criterion P EC,while the SCFT gave the highest amount of P EC.The most significant value of G PC was reached with the ECFT;however,G PC remained almost the same for CCFT,PCFT,SCFT,and S-SFT.In terms of the mass global performance criterion,the S-SFT provides the highest M Gpc as compared with the full fins of CCFT(41-73%higher)and ECFT(29-54%higher).Thus,the heat exchanger with S-SFT is recommended to be used in the cooling of offshore energy systems.