Numerical Investigation of Thermo-Hydraulic Performance and Irreversibility Behaviour in a Pulsating Turbulent Flow Ribbed Duct

• Published in: Arabian journal for science and engineering (2011) 2024-02, Vol.49 (2), p.1515-1529
• Main Authors: Sofi, Amir Yousf, Qayoum, Adnan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Detaching; Engineering; Entropy; Finite element method; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Frequency ranges; Friction factor; Heat transfer; Humanities and Social Sciences; Mathematical analysis; multidisciplinary; Performance indices; Pulsation; Research Article-Mechanical Engineering; Reynolds number; Science; Turbulent flow; Unsteady flow
• ISSN: 2193-567X; 1319-8025; 2191-4281
• DOI: 10.1007/s13369-023-07902-w

This paper numerically investigates the thermo-hydraulic performance and irreversibility characteristics in a single-pass duct with attached and detached ribs subjected to pulsating turbulent flow. The pulsation frequency is varied from 15.3 to 70.3 Hz with the inlet Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 5000 to 20,000. The variation of Nusselt number, friction factor, Thermal Performance Index (TPI) and Augmented Entropy Generation Number (AEG) with frequency and Re has been evaluated using Finite Element Method (FEM). The simulation results reveal that the heat transfer characteristics of both attached and detached ribs increase significantly with pulsating flow at the inlet of the channel. Detached ribs with pulsating flow at the inlet depict superior heat transfer augmenting characteristics and relatively smaller Augmented Entropy Generation Numbers in comparison with attached ribs. At an inlet pulsation frequency of 15.3 Hz, a 78.43% increase in overall Thermal Performance Index is observed in detached ribs with an AEG of 0.71. Attached ribs exhibit a 49.9% enhancement in heat transfer at a pulsation frequency of 30.1 Hz and a lowest AEG of 0.79 at a pulsation frequency of 15.3 Hz. The detached ribs with pulsating flow at inlet outperform the attached ribs within a certain frequency range.