Numerical Analysis of Thermal Development of Laminar Flow in a Concentric Multilayer Annulus

Abstract

The thermal behavior of laminar flow in a concentric multilayer annulus is investigated numerically for varying dimensionless inner radii and a defined number of fluid layers. Under a hydrodynamically developed flow assumption within the fluid layers, the development of temperature profiles and heat transfer along the annulus are analyzed for two different boundary conditions. The mean temperature distribution, local Nusselt number, and mean Nusselt number are discussed in detail with an emphasis on the effects of the inner radius and number of fluid layers. The obtained results indicate that the change in heat transfer coefficient in a layered annulus is more pronounced at a small inner radius or larger radius ratio. A further insertion of more than ten layers has insignificant influence on the convective heat transfer in a layered annulus.