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Numerical study of fluid flow and convective heat transfer characteristics in a twisted elliptic tube

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Abstract

We investigated the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a Twisted elliptic tube (TET). The effects of geometry parameters such as the aspect ratio and number of rotations in the TET were analyzed comparatively using three-dimensional (3-D) numerical simulation. We also solved numerically the conservation equations of continuity, momentum, and energy in the TET. Fully developed flow in the TET was modeled using the realizable k-ε turbulence model and steady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The simulation was performed for Reynolds numbers of 100, 1000 and 10000. The pressure drop and the heat transfer of the TET were assessed in terms of the Darcy friction factor and Colburn j-factor, and overall performance was evaluated using the area and volume goodness factors.

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Correspondence to Man Yeong Ha.

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Recommended by Associate Editor Hyoung-gwon Choi

M. Y. Ha received his B.S. degree from Pusan National University, Korea in 1981, his M.S. degree, in 1983, from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, and his Ph.D. degree from Pennsylvania State University, USA in 1990. Dr. Ha is currently a Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University in Buasn, Korea. He serves as an Editor of the Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology. His research interests are focused on thermal management, computational fluid dynamics, and micro/nano fluids.

H. R. Kim received his M.S. degree in 2011 from Pusan National University, Korea. In his master course, he conducted a number of studies under the supervision of Prof. Man-Yeong Ha. His research interests are focused on thermofluid phenomena analysis for enhancing the efficiency of industrial devices.

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Kim, H.R., Kim, S., Kim, M. et al. Numerical study of fluid flow and convective heat transfer characteristics in a twisted elliptic tube. J Mech Sci Technol 30, 719–732 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-016-0127-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-016-0127-4

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