Title: Computational investigation of the velocity and temperature fields in corrugated heat exchanger channels using RANS based turbulence models with experimental validation

Authors: Erman Aslan; Imdat Taymaz; Yasar Islamoglu; Mardiros Engin; Ilkay Colpan; Gokhan Karabas; Guven Ozcelik

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, Istanbul University, TR-34320, Istanbul, Turkey ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Sakarya University, TR-54187, Sakarya, Turkey ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Sakarya University, TR-54187, Sakarya, Turkey ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Istanbul University, TR-34320, Istanbul, Turkey ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Istanbul University, TR-34320, Istanbul, Turkey ' Kevser Is? Sanayii ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, TR-34040, Istanbul, Turkey ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Istanbul Arel University, TR-34537, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: The characteristics of convective heat transfer and friction factor for periodic corrugated channels are investigated numerically. In the numerical study, the finite volume method (FVM) is used. Three different Reynolds averaged numerical simulation (RANS) based turbulent models, namely the k-ω, the shear stress transport (SST) model and the transition SST model are employed and compared with each other. Experimental results obtained from a previous study are used for the assessment of the numerical results. Investigations are performed for air flowing through corrugated channels with an inclination angle of 30°. The Reynolds number is varied within the range 2,000 to 11,000, while keeping the Prandtl number constant at 0.70. Variations of the Nusselt number, Colburn factor, friction factor and goodness factor with the Reynolds number are studied. Effects of the corrugation geometry and channel height are discussed. The overall performances of the considered turbulence model are observed to be quite similar. The SST model is observed to show a slightly better overall performance.

Keywords: corrugated channel; convective heat transfer; friction factor; finite volume method; FVM; RANS based turbulence models.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2018.089526

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2018 Vol.18 No.1, pp.33 - 45

Received: 25 Oct 2016
Accepted: 15 Sep 2017
Published online: 29 Jan 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article