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CFD analysis of heat transfer by free convection over a vertical cylinder with circular fins of triangular cross-section

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Abstract

In this study, heat transfer through free convection mode across circular fins on a vertical cylinder is investigated. The analysis encompasses both laminar (104 < Ra < 108) and turbulent (1010 < Ra < 1012) regimes, varying the Rayleigh number (Ra) from 1.135 E11 to 1.773 E11. Extensive computations are conducted for different dimensionless fin diameters (D/d) and fin spacings (x/d), ranging from 2 to 5 and 0.1 to 6.0, respectively. To elucidate the flow regime for a vertical cylinder with triangular-profiled circular fins, the Reynolds mean Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation is employed, utilizing Fluent 17.2 for numerical simulations. The study explores the influence of D/d, x/d, Ra, and Nusselt number (Nu) on convective heat transfer characteristics. The heat transfer rate from the fins array is observed to increase in both laminar and turbulent regimes with higher values of D/d and x/d. Moreover, the optimal fin spacing is estimated to enhance heat transfer during turbulent flow. To validate the results, the computed Nu values are compared with experimental data, achieving a reasonable accuracy of ± 7.7% and ± 5.25% for laminar and turbulent flows, respectively. The significance of these findings extends to various industrial applications, including chemical processing, power plants, and others. The study provides valuable insights for further research in the field of free convection, facilitating the design and optimization of heat transfer systems in diverse engineering and scientific domains.

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Data availabilty

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available on request.

Abbreviations

\(A\) :

Total surface area \(\left({\mathrm{mm}}^{2}\right)\)

\(D\) :

Diameter of fin \(\left(\mathrm{mm}\right)\)

\(d\) :

Diameter of tube \(\left(\mathrm{mm}\right)\)

\(D/d\) :

Dimensionless fin diameter

\(E\) :

Energy \((\mathrm{J})\)

\(g\) :

Acceleration owing to gravity \(\left(\mathrm{m}/{\mathrm{s}}^{2}\right)\)

\(h\) :

Mean heat transfer coefficient \(\left(\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{m}}^{2}\mathrm{K}\right)\)

\(K\) :

Von Karman constant

\(k\) :

Heat conductivity \(\left(\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{m K}\right)\)

\(L\) :

Characteristic cylinder length \(\left(\mathrm{mm}\right)\)

\(\mathrm{Nu}\) :

Nusselt number

\(P\) :

Pressure \(\left(\mathrm{Pa}\right)\)

\(Q\) :

Total convective heat transfer \(\left(\mathrm{W}\right)\)

\(R\) :

Specific gas constant \(\left(\mathrm{J}/\mathrm{kg K}\right)\)

\(\mathrm{Ra}\) :

Rayleigh number

\(T\) :

Temperature \(\left(\mathrm{K}\right)\)

\(t\) :

Thickness of fin \(\left(\mathrm{mm}\right)\)

\(u\) :

Velocity in \(x\)-direction \(\left(\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}\right)\)

\(x\) :

Fin spacing

\(x/d\) :

Dimensionless fin spacing

\(\alpha\) :

Heat diffusivity \(\left({\mathrm{m}}^{2}/\mathrm{s}\right)\)

\(\beta\) :

Heat expansion coefficient \(\left(1/\mathrm{K}\right)\)

\(\nu\) :

Kinematic viscosity \(\left({\mathrm{m}}^{2}/\mathrm{s}\right)\)

\(\rho\) :

Density \(\left(\mathrm{kg}/{\mathrm{m}}^{3}\right)\)

\(\Delta\) :

Difference

\(a\) :

Average

\(c\) :

Cylinder

\(f\) :

Fin

\(b\) :

Bulk mean

\(o\) :

Optimum

\(w\) :

Wall

\(\infty\) :

Ambient

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, A.P., 522502, India

    Ramakrishna Konijeti & Abhishek Dasore

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, RGM College of Engineering and Technology, Nandyal, A.P., 518501, India

    Upendra Rajak

  3. Mechanical Engineering Department, IES College of Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 462044, India

    Rajan Kumar & Anil Singh Yadav

  4. Mechanical Engineering Department, MANIT, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 462003, India

    Abhishek Sharma

Authors
  1. Ramakrishna Konijeti
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  2. Abhishek Dasore
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  3. Upendra Rajak
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  4. Rajan Kumar
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  5. Abhishek Sharma
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  6. Anil Singh Yadav
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Contributions

The contribution of all the authors is equal. The concept, idea, framework, editing and critical analysis of the results was done jointly by RK, AD, UR, RK*, AS, ASY.

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Correspondence to Rajan Kumar.

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Konijeti, R., Dasore, A., Rajak, U. et al. CFD analysis of heat transfer by free convection over a vertical cylinder with circular fins of triangular cross-section. Multiscale and Multidiscip. Model. Exp. and Des. 7, 741–753 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41939-023-00237-x

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