Numerical study of heat transfer in a porous medium of steel balls

Abstract

In this study, heat transfer in unidirectional flow through a porous medium with the fluid phase being water is analyzed using the commercial software Comsol ©. The aim of the study is to validate the suitability of this package for similar problems regarding heat transfer calculations in unidirectional flow through porous media. The porous medium used in the study is comprised of steed balls of 3 mm in diameter filled in a pipe of 51.4 mm inner diameter. The superficial velocity range is 3-10 mm/s which correspond to a Reynolds number range of 150-500 for an empty pipe. Heat is applied peripherally on the outer surface of the pipe at a rate of 7.5 kW/m 2 using electrical ribbon heaters. The numerical results obtained using the commercial software Comsol © are compared with those obtained in the experiments once conducted by the author of this article. Results have shown that Comsol © can generate reliable results in heat transfer problems through porous media, provided all parameters are selected correctly, thus making it unnecessary to prepare expensive experimental setups and spending extensive time to conduct experiments.

Numerical study of effect porous media on heat transfer in a horizontal annular tube

“…The values of two porosities are mutable part, but the glass pellets diameter is constant at 24 mm. Figures [9]- [11] show effect of Re on the performance factor, Nu and pressure drop in the annuli tube occupied with glass balls. Figures [9]- [11] show the Re effect on the performance factor pressure drop and Nu, in the annuli tube occupied with glass balls.…”

“…Results show that increasing radius of the annular tube, diameter of porous pellets caused enhancement of the rate of Nu, and Ra decreased with increasing of Nusselt number. Mehmet [11] numerically investigated the impact of utilizing a porous medium on a pipe thermal performance. The results show that the Nusselt number was found in the longitudinal direction and studied the flow rate.…”

Study of heat and mass transfer control inside channel partially filled with a porous medium using nanofluids

“…The average density of this phase is not constant; the mass conservation equation of the gas phase is given by: (6)  Vapour phase (7) o The average velocities of the nanofluid phase and the gas phase are obtained using Darcy's law:  Nanofluid phase (8) -Gas phase (9) o Energy conservation equation (10) is the latent heat of vaporization at temperature T (K):…”

“…Fluid flow and heat transfer in porous media has been the subject of several investigations in the recent years [1][2][3][4][5] due to its wide applications in engineering fields such as heat exchangers, geothermal energy, oil recovery, solar collectors, building construction and especially drying processes [6][7]. Consequently, the high-energy consumption during drying of porous solids has made it a subject of scientific and technological interest in a great number of industrial applications, including food, wood [8], paper, textile, ceramics, building materials, steel Balls [9] and brick which is the subject of our study. In recent years, nanofluids have been an active field of research due to its greatly enhanced thermal properties.…”

The Porosity Effect of Stainless Steel Balls on Forced Convection Pipe Flow

“…A new correlation of average Nusselt number was gained. Pamuk [6] studied numerically and experimentally heat transfer flow in pipe filled with steed balls of 3 mm in diameter. Heat flux is utilized on the external surface of the pipe at 7.5 kW/m 2 .…”