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Heat Transfer Enhancement in Transformers by Optimizing Fin Designs and Using Nanofluids

  • Research Article - Mechanical Engineering
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Abstract

In this paper, we have simulated different fin geometries at different flow intensities to study the optimum design for better flow and heat transfer characteristics to be used in transformers’ cooling. We use energy density of oil (pressure) as flow intensity parameter being a compressible fluid which is dependent on temperature variation. We observe direct proportionality of shear stresses (pressure drop) with flow intensity. Pressure drop is dominant in rectangular fins with higher height-to-width ratio (h/w), and it decreases sharply for lower h / w ratio especially at bends, whereas it is significantly better in conic-shaped fins especially at \(a\ge \) 1.2. We observe an inverse proportionality of temperature drop with the flow intensity due to transient heat transfer phenomenon. We observe smooth temperature drop for conic-shaped fins. We have also investigated oil-based alumina nanofluids (in different wt/V ratios) as coolant for heat transfer enhancement in transformers. It is observed experimentally that dielectric strength improves with oil-based nanofluids. We obtain about 8.67% better results by adding 0.08% particles in oil. Comparative analysis with previous works shows that alumina-based nanofluids have better results than others. Still, there is a lot of work to be done in their use at commercial level due to their short durability.

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Abbreviations

h/w :

Height-to-width ratio

wt/V:

Weight per volume

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

PEL:

Pak Electron Limited

SIMPLE:

Semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

\(\rho \) :

Density (kg/\(\text {m}^{3})\)

\({\varvec{\nabla }}\) :

Divergence (1/m)

\(\nabla T\) :

Gradient of temperature (\(^{\circ }\)C/m)

\(A_n \) :

Cross-sectional area in n-direction (\(\text {m}^{2})\)

\(A_\mathrm{r} \) :

Cross-sectional area along radius (\(\text {m}^{2})\)

\(A_\mathrm{s} \) :

Surface area (\(\text {m}^{2})\)

\(a, b, r, \dot{h}, k\) :

Conic section components

h :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/\(\text {m}^{2}\)\(^{\circ }\)C)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/m \(^{\circ }\)C)

\(Q_n \) :

Heat transfer rate in n-direction (W)

\(Q_\mathrm{r} \) :

Heat transfer rate along radius (W)

\(S_\mathrm{T} \) :

Source term

T :

Temperature (\(^{\circ }\)C or K)

\(\mu _\mathrm{f} \) :

Dynamics viscosity (Pa s)

\(c_\mathrm{Pf} \) :

Fluid specific heat (J/ \(^{\circ }\)C or J/K)

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Kazmi Electric Works for the experimental support, and Mr. Engr. Momin Khan and Dr. Mahabat Khan for providing useful information, advice and help on various technical issues. This study is sponsored by Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Farhan, Muhammad Saad Hameed, Hafiz Muhammad Suleman & Muhammad Anwar

  2. State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flows in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Muhammad Farhan

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

    Hafiz Muhammad Suleman

  4. Faculty of Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Muhammad Anwar

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  1. Muhammad Farhan
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Correspondence to Muhammad Farhan.

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Farhan, M., Saad Hameed, M., Suleman, H.M. et al. Heat Transfer Enhancement in Transformers by Optimizing Fin Designs and Using Nanofluids. Arab J Sci Eng 44, 5733–5742 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-03726-9

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