ME 8342 - Convection D. M. Lunde Candidate M.S.

Student

Single-Phase Convective Heat Transfer in a Pipe with Curvature

Abstract: Heat transfer and heat exchanger devices that contain tubes many times contain tube bends and fittings. The resulting streamwise curvature of fluid due to the presence of bends and fittings creates secondary flows resulting in an overall increase in convective heat transfer. The physical underpinnings that cause this effect are discussed and an attempt is made to tie together the previous work in this area of study for the calculation of practical, engineering values. The discussion begins with identifying curvature geometry, it then moves to the development of the governing momentum and energy equations (both laminar and turbulent), and ends with a review of work done in solving these equations and a summary of corresponding experimental work.

I.

Introduction:

Curved pipes are commonplace in nearly all piping networks. They are quite prevalent in applications where heat transfer between fluid-fluid and fluid-solid mediums takes place. Some common examples of curved pipes appear in large chillers and boilers, shell and tube heat exchangers, fin-tube heat exchangers, and chemical reactors for industrial processes [3]; they can be classified in the following ways: helical coils, spirals, and tube bends (fittings). See Figures 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Notice the radius of curvature R is constant for a pipe bend and helical coil, but it continually varies from Rmin to Rmax for a spiral.

Figure 1: Helical Coil Geometry [3]

Figure 2: Spiral Coil Geometry [3]

Undergraduate heat transfer texts typically do not develop the necessary knowledge base to successfully setup and solve practical, engineering problems associated with convective heat transfer in curved pipe geometries. Yet, their ubiquitous use implies that one might find utility in understanding the fundamental changes in the fluid flow and heat transfer processes associate with streamwise curvature. In heat exchangers and piping networks the contribution to the overall heat transfer of a device resulting from the streamwise curvature is great enough that many times it cannot be ignored [4].

Figure 3: Tube Bend Geometry [3]

The geometry of a curved pipe naturally implies the use of one of two types of orthogonal curvilinear coordinate systems: the cylindrical coordinate system (r, , z) or the toroidal coordinate system (r, , ) (where the radius of curvature of the pipe R is held constant). Figures 4 and 5 show the geometry of either system respectively.

Figure 4: Cylindrical Coordinates (r, , z) [3]

Figure 5: Toroidal Coordinates (r, , ) [3]

Although the toirodal system can make more physical sense for the geometry under consideration it is also far more esoteric, and for that reason all equations will be reported in cylindrical coordinates. The interested reader is referred to Sankariah and Rao (1972) and Tyagi and Sharma (1975) for the momentum and energy equations in the toroidal system, respectively. Curved pipes are subjected to some of the same complications as straight pipes. Entrance effects, exit effects and validity of thermal boundary conditions must all be considered. Figure 6 displays some of these areas of complications.

Figure 6: Areas of Analytical Complication for Curved Pipes

As fluid enters the bend it experiences a centrifugal force due to the streamwise curvature. This force superimposed with the driving pressure gradient in the axial direction creates a secondary flow transverse to the primary flow. The flow, therefore, becomes fully three dimensional while in the bend. The momentum of the fluid entering the turn drives the fluid towards the outside of the tube. This squeezes the boundary layer, shrinking it and increasing the convective heat transfer coefficient. It also causes a shift in the peak temperature and velocity to the outside of the bend [4]. The extra centrifugal body force can be added to the momentum equation to account for its influence. Complications arise, however, because the body force will vary with the fluids position in the pipe:

Dean (1927) was the first to investigate the secondary flow in curved pipes. He introduced a nondimensional grouping to account for the curvature of the pipe:

In a helical coil there is also an influence from the coil pitch b (see Figure 1). An effective radius is defined to account for this geometric parameter:

The Helical coil number is then defined:

II.

Problem Formulation:

To calculate values of engineering interests (such as friction factors and Nusselt numbers) theoretically, the continuity, momentum, and energy equations must be solved. When solving the more basic convection problems (such as laminar fluid flow and heat transfer on a flat plate or in a tube) one can typically decouple the fluid flow and heat transfer problems without sacrificing greatly the accuracy of the final solution. This technique greatly simplifies the solution to the governing differential equations. When a new type of fluid flow/heat transfer situation arises, it is typical to solve the easier or more tractable problems first. Laminar flows will be considered first and turbulent flows second. Laminar Flow The laminar analysis holds for a range of Dean numbers, but the curvature must be small, typically between De >20 and De < 1200 [5]. For Dean < 20, the velocity and temperature profiles are not that different from a straight tube [6] (see Figure 7). As the radius of curvature decreases, the likelihood of separation on the inside of the bend increases and the laminar analysis results will no longer hold. From [5] the continuity equation in cylindrical coordinates:

From [5] the laminar energy equation:

From [5] the laminar momentum equations are:

Notice in the laminar, momentum equations that we must keep the pressure and velocity variations in the and r directions. This is because of the curvature of the streamlines; the extra body force can be seen introduced in the above equations. However, the overarching axial pressure gradient drives the flow and is signified by an average gradient value in the z direction. We have not made the assumption that the flow is fully developed; we have kept the gradients in the momentum equations in the z direction. Finally, from the energy equation we can see that conduction has been neglected in the z direction but kept in the and r directions. Turbulent Flow Turbulent flow through a tube bend is treated much the same way as turbulent flow through a pipe or over a plate. However, when performing the Reynolds Decomposition and calculating the Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes equations different terms are kept than for the classical boundary layer assumptions.

The RANS turbulent momentum and continuity equations are not repeated here because of their length, but they can easily be found in [4]. The RANS turbulent energy equation is:

The turbulent equations are computed in the normal way with a Prandtl mixing length model or a model. The turbulent equations are always solved numerically.

III.

Problem Solutions

Laminar Flow: A number of techniques exist to solve the laminar momentum and energy equations. For fully developed, hydrodynamic flow in a helical coil or tube bend integral techniques were used to solve the momentum equations by Mori & Nakayama (1965) and Ito (1970), Fourier-series (product separation) methods were used by McConalogue & Srivastava (1968), and Akiyama & Cheng (1971) predicted the fully developed flow by finite-difference techniques. Patankar, Pratap & Spalding [5] also solved the momentum and energy equations by a finite difference technique. Figure 7 shows their computed velocity distribution for the two planes referenced in Figure 8.

Figure 7: Effect of Dean number on axial velocity profiles in (a) the plane AA and (b) the plane BB (see Figure 8). (i) De = 0 (straight tube). (ii) De = 60. (iii) De = 500. (iv) De = 1200 [5]

Figure 8: Plane Definitions for Velocity and Temperature Profiles [5]

Patankar, Pratap & Spalding [5] also reported calculated temperature distributions. The results are seen in Figure 9. Here, K is the Dean number and the plane AA is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 9: Effect of Dean number on the Temperature Profile along the Plane AA; Pr = 0.71

Notice there are oscillations in the temperature profile of Figure 9. Patankar, Pratap & Spalding commented on this phenomenon finally concluding it to be the result of the secondary flow creating small oscillation in the temperature profile. The calculations were run at different step sizes and it was concluded that there were no instabilities in the solution technique used in the study [5]. The authors then compared their calculations of velocity in the development region of the bend to data taken by Austin (1971). The results match well with the experiment and can be seen in Figure 10. Figure 10 shows results from [5] of the development of the laminar velocity profile as it enters a curved pipe. Different values of the bend angle are plotted versus the relative magnitude of the local velocity over the cross-sectional mean velocity. Notice that the velocity peak is near the outside corner of the pipe. The profile is nearly fully developed at a bend angle of 90 and is in good agreement with the experimental data found by Austin (1971). The velocity profile must change in plane BB to account for the movement of fluid to the outside of the pipe.

Figure 10: Development of axial velocity at De = 198 and R/a = 29.1 in (a) the plane BB and (b) the plane AA (see Figure 8) ---------, predictions; * Austin (1971) [5]

For computing the average Nusselt value around a bend experimental work was performed by Mori & Nakayama (1967), Dravid, Smith & Merrill (1971), Akiyama & Cheng (1972), Tarbell & Samuels (1973), and Kalb & Seader (1974) [3]. Manlapaz-Churchill (1981) produced a curve fit based on the available experimental data and came up with the following correlation for an isothermal pipe wall:

It is also interesting to note that the stream function for the fluid flow problem can be solved and streamlines can be plotted to visualize the secondary flow. Sankaraiah & Rao [6] accomplished this and plotted the streamlines in Figure 11 for De = 500.

Figure 11: Streamlines for De = 500 [5]

Turbulent Flow The validity of the solution of the turbulent equations rests heavily on the turbulence model utilized. The Prandtl missing length model or the two equation could be used. Turbulent velocity profiles in a bend are reported by Azzola & Humphrey (1984), Rowe (1970), and Weske (1948) [3]. Azzola and Humphrey noted that the flow distortion from the streamwise curvature in the bend persists until up to five diameters [3]. How the distorted velocity and temperature profiles affect the Nusselt number downstream of the bend is dealt with extensively in [2]. Kreith [4] used experimental results of wall shear and velocity distribution obtained by Wattendorf (1934) and calculated Nusselt numbers applicable for flow where , , and His results are not for a pipe but for a rectangular duct with curvature. For the purpose of turbulent analysis the flow in the curved duct/pipe is typically divided into the laminar sub layer, the buffer layer, and the turbulent core. Using the experimental results Krieth was able to calculate how the eddy diffusivity varied across the tube cross-section. His results and approximation (linear fit) are seen in Figure 12. The figures are difficult to see because the requested copies were not made by the author. Kreiths paper was not in circulation and library staff had to copy the article from storage. The axes are relabeled as best possible.

Figure 12: Eddy Diffusivity Distribution for Concave Surface [4]

The universal boundary layer was also plotted by Kreith. He plotted experimental data (Wattendorf, 1934 and Martinelli, 1947), and showed that concave and convex (inside and outside corner) surfaces differ from the flat plat turbulent boundary layer. Figure 13 displays this.

Figure 13: Dimensionless Velocity Distribution for Concave, Convex, and Straight Walls [4]

10

The final Nusselt numbers obtained by Kreith are not repeated here because of their length and formulation but can easily be found in [4].

Figure 14: Circumferential Variation in Nusselt number in Fully Developed Flow Through a Coil [1]

11

Figure 14 shows results from Iacovides & Lauder [1]. They solved the turbulent momentum and heat transfer equations in the toroidal coordinate system with the two equation turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation (k-) model. They used an elliptical equation solver. Their computations were compared with experimental results from Sebam & McLaughlin (1963). Their results seem to be in good agreement except at smaller curvatures the experimental results of Nusselt numbers are higher than those predicted by the computation. Interestingly, their results show trends of Nusselt numbers on the outer surface nearly two to three times the Nusselt numbers on the inner surface. They also reported that the inside to outside wall Nusselt number ratio was 5:1 at a length 75 from the bend inlet (Re = 4300, De = 1800, and Pr = 0.7) [1]. Schmidt (1967) computed the best fit average Nusselt numbers from various experimental and theoretical works and found the following to have the largest application range:

Where

is the equivalent Nusselt number for a straight run of pipe with the same Re and Pr.

IV.

Concluding Remarks

Curved pipes/bends are used in nearly all piping networks and across many industries. This paper presented the fundamental physics behind heat transfer and fluid flow in pipes with streamwise curvature. Typical geometry and nomenclature along with the appropriate curvilinear coordinate systems used to represent curved pipes was introduced. The basic cylindrical coordinate forms of the continuity, momentum, and thermal energy equations were formulated for both laminar and turbulent flows. Due to the streamwise curvature, the concept of secondary flow was introduced and basic physical reasoning for increased heat transfer in curved pipes was introduced. A review of solutions to the fluid flow and heat transfer problems for both laminar and turbulent flow cases was presented. Finally, basic average Nusselt number correlations for curved pipes were introduced. This paper was primarily concerned with constant temperature surface boundary conditions. Other types of thermal boundary conditions are presented in [3].

12

V.

Works Cited
1. Iacovides, H., & Launder, B. (1984). The Computation of Momentum and Heat Transport in Turbulent Flow Around Pipe Bends. First U.K. National Conference on Heat Transfer, (pp. 10971114). 2. Kakac, S., Gogus, Y., & Ozgu, M. R. (1974). Investigation of the Effect of Tunrs on Turbulent Forced Convection Heat Transfer in Pipes. In N. Afgan, & E. U. Schlunder, Heat Exchangers: Design and theory Sourcebook (pp. 637-662). New York: McGraw-Hill. 3. Kakac, S., Shah, R. K., & Aung, W. (1987). Handbook of Single-Phase Convective Heat Transfer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 4. Kreith, F. (1955). The influence of Curvature on Heat Transfer to Incompressible Fluids. Trans. ASME , 1247-1256. 5. Patankar, S. V., Pratap, V. S., & Spalding, D. B. (1974). Prediction of Laminar Flow and Heat Transfer in Helically Coiled Pipes. Journal of Fluid Mechanics , 539-551. 6. Sankaraiah, M., & Rao, Y. V. (1973). Analysis of Steady Laminar Flow of an Incompressible Newtonian Fluid Through Curved Pipes of Small Curvature. Journal of Fluids Engineering , 75-80.

13

Appendix A: Motivations for Study

The author is particularly interested in this topic because of ties to the local Minneapolis Company, GARN. GARN was founded in 1984 and currently creates a line of wood-fired hydronic heaters. This simply means that wood is burned in a combustor, hot combustion products pass through a heat exchanger, and that heat is transferred to water as a thermal storage medium. See Figure 15.

Figure 15: Block Diagram of Wood Combustor

By burning the wood properly, the thermal efficiency of the combustion process is increased dramatically, and pollutants from wood smoke are minimized. Hydronic heating has been around for almost a century and is commonplace in most commercial and many residential buildings. Hot water systems tie into conventional baseboard, radiant floor, and forced air systems. New EPA regulations for wood-fired hydronic heaters require efficiency and pollutant standards that surpass typical industrial boilers, so the GARN product line has undergone testing to see if it complies with the regulations. It was found that heat transfer around the pipe bends in the heat exchanger could not be readily calculated and the deviations from heat transfer predictions were significant. It was, therefore, realized that further investigations into the heat transfer in curved pipes was needed. It is highly desirable in the design process to accurately estimate the heat transfer from the hot gaseous products to the water storage tank in order to maximize the efficiency of the unit while maintaining the simplest and most cost-effective heat exchanger. This paper will ultimately influence the redesign of the GARN heat exchanger, and hopefully its success in passing the new EPA regulations. 14