Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analysis of enhancement and impairment mechanisms of natural convection heat transfer on a vertical finned plate

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigated the heat transfer enhancement and impairment mechanisms of the laminar natural convection on a vertical finned plate. Numerical analyses were performed for wide ranges of Prandtl numbers 0.7–2014, Rayleigh numbers 3.69×105−8.49×1010 and fin heights 0.0025–0.5 m. Experiments were performed for a few cases for verification. Four different heat transfer mechanisms were identified: corner, core acceleration, chimney and in-flow effects. The competitions of these mechanisms depending on the fin geometries and the Prandtl number resulted in complex variations of the heat transfer. The results showed the heat transfer enhancement of maximum 6.9 % for Pr = 2014, L = 0.1 m and H = 0.015 m and impairment up to 47 % for Pr = 0.7, L = 0.1 m and H = 0.015 m compared with that of a flat plate with the same heat transfer area and baseplate length.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

Bi :

Biot number (hL/k)

D m :

Mass diffusivity (m2/s)

Gr L :

Grashof number (gβΔTL3/ν2)

g :

Gravitational acceleration [9.8 m/s2]

H :

Fin height [m]

h h :

Heat transfer coefficient [W/m2·K]

h m :

Mass transfer coefficient [m/s]

I lim :

Limiting current density [A/m2]

k :

Thermal conductivity [W/m·K]

L :

Length of baseplate [m]

N :

Number of fins

Nu L :

Nusselt number (hL/k)

n :

Number of electrons in charge transfer reaction

Pr :

Prandtl number (ν/α)

p :

Pressure [N/m2]

q w :

Heat flux at the wall [N/m2]

Ra L :

Rayleigh number (GrLPr)

S :

Fin spacing [m]

Sc :

Schmidt number (ν/Dm)

Sh L :

Sherwood number (hmL/Dm)

T :

Temperature [K]

T f :

Reference temperature [K]

T w :

Wall temperature [K]

t :

Fin thickness [m]

t n :

Transference number

U x :

Uncertainty of x

u, v, w :

Fluid velocity components [m/s]

W :

Width of the baseplate [m]

α :

Thermal diffusivity [m2/s]

β :

Volume expansion coefficient [1/K]

μ :

Viscosity [kg/m·s]

ν :

Kinematic viscosity [m2/s]

ρ :

Density [kg/m3]

References

  1. Y. Wang, Analysis model for the passive containment cooling system, J. Convergence Inf. Technol., 7, (2012) 75–83.

    Google Scholar 

  2. T. Silvonen, Reliability Analysis for Passive Systems, Mat-2.4108, Aalto University, Finland (2011) 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  3. J. Y. Moon, J. H. Heo and B. J. Chung, Influence of chimney width on the natural convection cooling of a vertical finned plate, Nucl. Eng. Des., 293, (2015) 503–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. H. Y. Li and S. M. Chao, Measurement of performance of plate-fin heat sinks with cross flow cooling, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., 52, (2009) 2949–2955.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  5. J. R. Culham and Y. S. Muzychka, Optimization of plate fin heat sink using entropy generation minimization, IEEE Trans. Compon. Packag. Technol., 24, (2001) 159–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. S. Lee, Optimum design and selection of heat sinks, IEEE Trans. Compon. Packag. Manuf. Technol. Part A, 18, (1995) 812–817.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. F. Incropera, Liquid Cooling of Electronic Devices by Single-Phase Convection, John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA (1999) 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  8. R. R. Schmidt, Liquid cooling is back, Electronics COOLING, https://www.electronics-cooling.com/2005/08/liquid-cooling-is-back/ (2005).

  9. P. Sabharwall, E. S. Kim, M. McKellar, N. Anderson and M. Patterson, Process Heat Exchanger Options for the Advanced High Temperature Reactor, INL/EXT-11-21584, Idaho National Laboratory (2011).

  10. U. Kemerli, D. Özgür, A. Öztürk and K. Kahveci, Effect of high-Prandtl number on microscale flow and heat transfer, Proc. World Congr. Mech. Chem. Mater. Eng. (MCM 2015), Barcelona, Spain (2015).

  11. S. H. Hong and B. J. Chung, Variations of the optimal fin spacing according to Prandtl number in natural convection, Int. J. Therm. Sci., 101, (2016) 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. J. R. Welling and C. B. Wooldridge, Free convection heat transfer coefficients form rectangular vertical fins, J. Heat Transf., 87, (1965) 439–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. C. B. Sobhan, S. P. Venkateshan and K. N. Seetharamu, Experimental studies on steady free convection heat transfer from fins and fin arrays, Heat Mass Transf., 25, (1990) 345–352.

    Google Scholar 

  14. C. W. Leung, S. D. Probert and M. J. Shilston, Heat exchanger design: thermal performances of rectangular fins protruding from vertical or horizontal rectangular bases, Appl. Energ., 20, (1985) 123–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. X. Zhang and D. Liu, Optimum geometric arrangement of vertical rectangular fin arrays in natural convection, Energy Convers. Manage., 51, (2010) 2449–2456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. K. M. Cakar, Numerical investigation of natural convection from vertical plate finned heat sinks, M.S. Thesis, Middle East Technical University, Turkey (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Y. Shin, S. B. Seo and I. C. Bang, Study on flow characteristics of high-Pr heat transfer fluid near the wall in a rectangular natural circulation loop, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., 121, (2018) 1350–1363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. FLUENT User’s Guide Release 6.3, Fluent Incorporated (2006).

  19. B. Yazicioğlu and H. Yüncü, Optimum fin spacing of rectangular fins on a vertical base in free convection heat transfer, Heat Mass Transf., 44, (2007) 11–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. B. G. Rao, V. D. Rao, S. V. Naidu, K. V. Sharma and B. Sreenivasulu, Heat transfer from a vertical fin array by laminar natural convection and radiation-a quasi-3D approach, Heat Transf. Asian Res., 40, (2011) 524–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. G. Kumar, K. R. Sharma, A. Dwivedi, A. S. Yadav and H. Patel, Experimental investigation of natural convection from heated triangular fin array within a rectangular enclosure, Int. Rev. Appl. Eng. Res., 4, (2014) 203–210.

    Google Scholar 

  22. B. Yazicioğlu, Performance of rectangular fins on a vertical base in free convection heat transfer, M.S. Thesis, Middle East Technical University of Turkey (2005).

  23. C. W. Leung and S. D. Probert, Natural convective heat exchanger with vertical rectangular fins and base: design criteria, J. Mech. Eng. Sci., 201, (1987) 365–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. C. W. Leung and S. D. Probert, Thermal effectiveness of short-protrusion rectangular, heat-exchanger fins, Appl. Energy, 34, (1989) 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. I. Tari and M. Mehrtash, Natural convection heat transfer from inclined plate-fin heat sinks, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., 56, (2013) 574–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. K. E. Starner and H. N. Mcmanus, An experimental investigation of free convection heat transfer from rectangular fin arrays, J. Heat. Transf., 85, (1963) 273–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. S. M. Ohk and B. J. Chung, Natural convection heat transfer inside an open vertical pipe: influences of length, diameter and Prandtl number, Int. J. Therm. Sci., 115, (2017) 54–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. L. P. Davis and J. J. Perona, Development of free convection flow of a gas in a heated vertical open tube, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., 14, (1971) 889–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. W. Elenbass, The dissipation of heat by free convection the inner surface of vertical tubes of different shapes of cross-section, Physica, 9, (1942) 865–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. A. Bejan, Convection Heat Transfer, 3rd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York (2004) 207–210.

    Google Scholar 

  31. A. Auletta, O. Manca, B. Morrone and V. Naso, Heat transfer enhancement by the chimney effect in a vertical isoflux channel, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., 44, (2001) 4345–4357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. S. E. Haaland and E. M. Sparrow, Solutions for the channel plume and the parallel-walled chimney, Numer. Heat Transfer, 6, (1983) 155–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. M. Kageyama and R. Izumi, Natural heat convection in a vertical circular tube, Bull. Jpn. Soc. Mech. Eng., 13, (1970) 382–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. M. S. Chae, D. Y. Lee and B. J. Chung, Experimental study on local variation of buoyancy-aided mixed convection heat transfer in a vertical pipe using a mass transfer method, Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci., 104, (2019) 105–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. J. Y. Moon and B. J. Chung, Influence of Prandtl number, height and lateral cooling condition on laminar natural convection in a rectangular enclosure, Heat Mass Transf., 5, (2019) 1593–1605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. V. G. Levich, Physicochemical Hydrodynamics, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA (1962).

    Google Scholar 

  37. J. N. Agar, Diffusion and convection at electrodes, Discuss. Faraday Soc., 1, (1947) 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  38. C. W. Tobias and R. G. Hickman, Ionic mass transfer by combined free and forced convection, Zeitschrift. Für. Physikalische. Chemie., 229, (1965) 145–166.

    Google Scholar 

  39. S. H. Ko, D. W. Moon and B. J. Chung, Applications of electroplating method for heat transfer studies using analogy concept, Nucl. Eng. Technol., 38, (2006) 251–258.

    Google Scholar 

  40. H. K. Park and B. J. Chung, Mass transfer experiments for the heat load during in-vessel retention of core melt, Nucl. Eng. Technol., 48, (2016) 906–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. J. W. Bae, W. K. Kim and B. J. Chung, Visualization of natural convection heat transfer inside an inclined circular pipe, Int. Commun. Heat Mass Transf., 92, (2018) 15–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. E. J. Fenech and C. W. Tobias, Mass transfer by free convection at horizontal electrodes, Electrochim. Acta, 2, (1960) 311–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. H. W. Coleman and W. G. Steele, Experimental and Uncertainty Analysis for Engineers, 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Son, New York, USA (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  44. E. J. Le Fevre and A. J. Ede, Laminar free convection from the outer surface of a vertical circular cylinder, Proc. 9th Int. Congr. Appl. Mech. (1956) 175–183.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and was supported by Nuclear Research & Development Program grant funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) (grant code: 2020M2D2A1A02065563).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi-do, Seoul, 17104, Korea

    Je-Young Moon, Hae-Kyun Park & Bum-Jin Chung

  2. Innovative SMR System Development Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, 34057, Korea

    Seung-Hyun Hong

Authors
  1. Je-Young Moon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Seung-Hyun Hong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hae-Kyun Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bum-Jin Chung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bum-Jin Chung.

Additional information

Je-Young Moon is a Ph.D. candidate of Nuclear Engineering Department in Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Korea. She received her Master’s degree from Kyung Hee University, Korea. She has been studying natural convection phenomena of various applications from enclosure to helical coil since junior. Her research interests include convection heat transfers in packed bed, CFD simulation, pool boiling phenomena and electrochemical systems.

Seung-Hyun Hong is working as a researcher at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, Korea. He received his Master’s degree from Kyung Hee University of Korea on the topic of critical heat flux measurement using the hydrogen reduction system. He has been studying fin heat transfer mechanisms since undergraduate. His current research interests are fluid system design for small modular reactor (SMR).

Hae-Kyun Park is a Ph.D. candidate of Nuclear Engineering Department in Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Korea. He received his Master’s degree from Kyung Hee University of Korea on the topic of corium behavior under IVR-ERVC (in-vessel retention of molten corium through external reactor vessel cooling) condition. His current research interests are natural circulation system and boiling phenomenon with hydrogen evolution system. He has been awarded for citation awards of Nuclear Engineering and Technology (NET) from Korean Nuclear Society (KNS) in October, 2019.

Bum-Jin Chung is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering Department in Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Korea. He received his Ph.D. from Seoul National University, Korea. He has worked for Korean Ministry of Science and Technology and studied in the University of Manchester, U.K. He had been the Professor in Jeju National University for 10 years since 2002. He had served as the national nuclear R&D program manager at the National Research Foundation of Korea for a year and joined the faculty of Kyung Hee University, 2013. His current research interests are packed bed heat transfers, mixed convection and electrochemical systems.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Moon, JY., Hong, SH., Park, HK. et al. Analysis of enhancement and impairment mechanisms of natural convection heat transfer on a vertical finned plate. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 5315–5325 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1132-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1132-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation