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Heat transfer and pressure drop investigation through pipe with different shapes using different types of nanofluids

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Abstract

In the present study, the heat transfer and hydrodynamic analysis of flow through single-pipe heat exchangers of circular and square cross-sectional configurations were performed. The experimental and numerical investigations were conducted to evaluate the performance of two metallic oxides (Al2O3 and SiO2) and two carbon-based nanostructured nanofluids (KRG and GNP) in comparison with the distilled water (DW). The data obtained from the experimental runs with DW as a working fluid in both test sections were used to validate the 3-D numerical models for the square and circular pipe heat exchangers. The flow in both test sections is considered as a fully developed turbulent flow with the Reynolds number range of 6000–11,000, and both the test sections were subjected to a uniform heat flux at their outer surfaces. The concentrations of all nanofluids used in the present study were in the range of (0.025–0.1 mass%). The test rig was firstly validated during the water run by using different empirical correlations for the evaluation of pressure drop and Nusselt number and showing a very good agreement, and then, the numerical models were validated with the data obtained experimentally and the errors were less than 10% for both models. For the square tube flow, the average errors between the numerical and experimental findings of Nusselt number and pressure drop were 6.8% and 2.49%, respectively, and for the circular pipe flow, the evaluated errors were 9.34% and 5.92% for Nusselt number and pressure drop, respectively. The performance index for all the nanofluids was calculated to obtain the convective heat transfer coefficients and friction losses of the fluids in both the tubes. The results showed that the non-covalent graphene–DW is not suitable for heat transfer applications due to its higher viscosity. The results also showed a different enhancement of heat transfer for the same nanofluid in circular and square tube flows, whereas the performance index of the same nanofluid appears nearly the same for flow through both the cross sections.

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Abbreviations

Al2O3 :

Aluminium oxide

A c :

Cross-sectional area (m2)

A s :

Total heat transfer surface area (m2)

C f :

Friction coefficient

C p :

Specific heat (kJ kg−1 K−1)

D :

Nominal diameter of circular tube (mm)

D h :

Hydraulic tube diameter [4Ac/p (m)]

D ins :

Diameter of insulation layer (mm)

d p :

Nanoparticle diameter (µm)

DW:

Distilled water

f :

Friction factor

H :

Head produced by the pump (m)

h :

Convection heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

I :

Current (A)

K :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

k :

Turbulent kinetic energy

L :

Tube computational length (mm)

L S :

Side length of square tube (m)

Nu :

Nusselt number

P :

Pressure (Pa)

p :

Perimeter (m)

Pr :

Prandtl number

q :

Heat transfer rate (W)

q″:

Heat flux (W m−2)

Re :

Reynolds number

SiO2 :

Silicon oxide

T :

Temperature (K)

T b :

Fluid bulk temperature (K)

T in :

Inlet temperature (K)

T o :

Outlet temperature (K)

T w :

Tube wall temperature (K)

u :

Velocity component in x direction (m s−1)

v :

Velocity component in y direction (m s−1)

V :

Mean flow velocity (m s−1)

ΔV :

Voltage difference (V)

\(\dot{V}\) :

Volume flow rate (m3)

\(\dot{W}\) :

Hydraulic pumping power (W)

α th :

Thermal diffusivity of the fluid (m2 s−1)

\(\gamma\) :

Specific mass of the fluid (N m−3)

ε :

Turbulent dissipation rate (m2 s−2)

ν :

Momentum diffusivity or kinematic viscosity (m2 s−1)

φ :

Nanoparticle volume fraction (%)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (N m s−1)

µ t :

Eddy viscosity (N m s−1)

τ :

Shear stress (Pa)

ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

ω :

Nanoparticle mass concentration

b:

Bulk

bf:

Base fluid

cr:

Circular

in:

Inlet

ins:

Insulation

nf:

Nanofluid

o:

Outlet

s:

Solid

sq:

Square

t:

Turbulence

th:

Thermal

f:

Fluid

p:

Particles

w:

Wall

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the University of Malaya Research Grant (UMRG: RP045C-17AET) and the University of Malaya Postgraduate Research Grant (PPP: PG 104-2016A) for support to conduct this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Ali H. Abdelrazek, S. N. Kazi, Nukman Yusoff & Cheen Sean Oon

  2. Department for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Omer A. Alawi

  3. Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Omer A. Alawi

  4. Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, 47050, Pakistan

    Hafiz Muhammad Ali

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  1. Ali H. Abdelrazek
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  2. S. N. Kazi
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Abdelrazek, A.H., Kazi, S.N., Alawi, O.A. et al. Heat transfer and pressure drop investigation through pipe with different shapes using different types of nanofluids. J Therm Anal Calorim 139, 1637–1653 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-019-08562-5

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