ARTICLE:

• PERFORMANCE OF DUCT PROFILES IN SERPENTINE PASSAGES  download article

Nathan R. Rosaguti
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006 Australia

Paul E. Geyer
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006 Australia

David Fletcher
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Australia

Brian S. Haynes
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

ABSTRACT

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been used to study fully developed laminar flow and heat transfer behaviour in periodic serpentine ducts of circular, semi-circular and square duct cross-sections, analogous to those used for micro- or mini-channels within compact heat exchangers. We establish the effect of Reynolds number (5 ≤ Re ≤ 200) on thermo-hydraulic performance for the constant wall heat flux (H2) boundary condition using a number of performance evaluation criteria. Flow in these serpentine ducts is characterised by the formation of Dean vortices following each bend, enhancing both heat transfer and mixing. As the Reynolds number is increased, more complex vortical flow patterns emerge and give rise to significant heat transfer enhancement, which can exceed the pressure-drop penalty relative to those found in straight ducts by a significant amount. The serpentine duct with circular cross-sections achieves the highest rate of heat transfer and lowest pressure-drop, whilst the semi-circular cross-sections experience the greatest pressure-drop for a given Reynolds number.

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