Heat transfer enhancement in vertical tubes plays an important role on the thermal performance of many heat exchangers and thermal devices.In this work,laminar mixed convection of airflow in a vertical dimpled tube wa...Heat transfer enhancement in vertical tubes plays an important role on the thermal performance of many heat exchangers and thermal devices.In this work,laminar mixed convection of airflow in a vertical dimpled tube was numerically investigated.Three-dimensional elliptical governing equations were solved using the finite-volume technique.For a given dimpled pitch,the effects of three different dimple heights(h/D=0.013,0.027,0.037) have been studied at different Richardson numbers(0.1,1.0 and 1.5).The generated vortex in the vicinity of the dimple destructs the thermal boundary layer and enhances the heat transfer.Therefore,lower wall temperature is seen where the dimples are located.Fluid flow velocity at the near-wall region significantly increases because of buoyancy forces with the increase of Richardson numbers.Such an acceleration at the near-wall region makes the dimples more effective at higher Richardson number.Using a dimpled tube enhances the heat transfer coefficient.However,the pressure drop is not important.For instance,in the case of Ri=1.5 and h/D=0.037,20% gains in the heat transfer enhancement only costs2.5% in the pressure loss.In general,it is recommended using a dimpled tube where the effects of buoyancy forces are important.展开更多
文摘Heat transfer enhancement in vertical tubes plays an important role on the thermal performance of many heat exchangers and thermal devices.In this work,laminar mixed convection of airflow in a vertical dimpled tube was numerically investigated.Three-dimensional elliptical governing equations were solved using the finite-volume technique.For a given dimpled pitch,the effects of three different dimple heights(h/D=0.013,0.027,0.037) have been studied at different Richardson numbers(0.1,1.0 and 1.5).The generated vortex in the vicinity of the dimple destructs the thermal boundary layer and enhances the heat transfer.Therefore,lower wall temperature is seen where the dimples are located.Fluid flow velocity at the near-wall region significantly increases because of buoyancy forces with the increase of Richardson numbers.Such an acceleration at the near-wall region makes the dimples more effective at higher Richardson number.Using a dimpled tube enhances the heat transfer coefficient.However,the pressure drop is not important.For instance,in the case of Ri=1.5 and h/D=0.037,20% gains in the heat transfer enhancement only costs2.5% in the pressure loss.In general,it is recommended using a dimpled tube where the effects of buoyancy forces are important.