Waqar A. Khan

Optimization of plate fin heat sinks using entropy generation minimization

In this study, an entropy generation minimization, EGM, technique is applied as a unique measure to study the thermodynamic losses caused by heat transfer and pressure drop in cylindrical pin-fin heat sinks. The use of EGM allows the combined effect of thermal resistance and pressure drop to be assessed through the simultaneous interaction with the heat sink. A general expression for the entropy generation rate is obtained by considering the whole heat sink as a control volume and applying the conservation equations for mass and energy with the entropy balance. Analytical/empirical correlations for heat transfer coefficients and friction factors are used in the optimization model, where the characteristic length is used as the diameter of the pin and reference velocity used in Reynolds number and pressure drop is based on the minimum free area available for the fluid flow. Both in-line and staggered arrangements are studied and their relative performance is compared on the basis of equal overall volume of heat sinks. It is shown that all relevant design parameters for pin-fin heat sinks, including geometric parameters, material properties and flow conditions can be simultaneously optimized.

Fluid flow and heat transfer of carbon nanotubes along a flat plate with Navier slip boundary

Homogeneous flow model is used to study the flow and heat transfer of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) along a flat plate subjected to Navier slip and uniform heat flux boundary conditions. This is the first paper on the flow and heat transfer of CNTs along a flat plate. Two types of CNTs, namely, single- and multi-wall CNTs are used with water, kerosene or engine oil as base fluids. The empirical correlations are used for the thermophysical properties of CNTs in terms of the solid volume fraction of CNTs. For the effective thermal conductivity of CNTs, Xue (Phys B Condens Matter 368:302–307, 2005) model has been used and the results are compared with the existing theoretical models. The governing partial differential equations and boundary conditions are converted into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using suitable similarity transformations. These equations are solved numerically using a very efficient finite difference method with shooting scheme. The effects of the governing parameters on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, skin friction, and Nusselt numbers are investigated and presented in graphical and tabular forms. The numerical results of skin friction and Nusselt numbers are compared with the available data for special cases and are found in good agreement.

FLUID FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN POWER-LAW FLUIDS ACROSS CIRCULAR CYLINDERS - ANALYTICAL STUDY

An integral approach of the boundary layer analysis is employed for the modeling of fluid flow around and heat transfer from infinite circular cylinders in power-law fluids. The Von Karman-Pohlhausen method is used to solve the momentum integral equation whereas the energy integral equation is solved for both isothermal and isoflux boundary conditions. A fourth-order velocity profile in the hydrodynamic boundary layer and a third-order temperature profile in the thermal boundary layer are used to solve both integral equations. Closed form expressions are obtained for the drag and heat transfer coefficients that can be used for a wide range of the power-law index, and generalized Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. It is found that pseudoplastic fluids offer less skin friction and higher heat transfer coefficients than dilatant fluids. As a result, the drag coefficients decrease and the heat transfer increases with the decrease in power-law index. Comparison of the analytical models with available experimental/numerical data proves the applicability of the integral approach for power-law fluids. DOI: 10.1115/1.2241747

MHD Free Convective Boundary Layer Flow of a Nanofluid past a Flat Vertical Plate with Newtonian Heating Boundary Condition

Steady two dimensional MHD laminar free convective boundary layer flows of an electrically conducting Newtonian nanofluid over a solid stationary vertical plate in a quiescent fluid taking into account the Newtonian heating boundary condition is investigated numerically. A magnetic field can be used to control the motion of an electrically conducting fluid in micro/nano scale systems used for transportation of fluid. The transport equations along with the boundary conditions are first converted into dimensionless form and then using linear group of transformations, the similarity governing equations are developed. The transformed equations are solved numerically using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg fourth-fifth order method with shooting technique. The effects of different controlling parameters, namely, Lewis number, Prandtl number, buoyancy ratio, thermophoresis, Brownian motion, magnetic field and Newtonian heating on the flow and heat transfer are investigated. The numerical results for the dimensionless axial velocity, temperature and nanoparticle volume fraction as well as the reduced Nusselt and Sherwood number have been presented graphically and discussed. It is found that the rate of heat and mass transfer increase as Newtonian heating parameter increases. The dimensionless velocity and temperature distributions increase with the increase of Newtonian heating parameter. The results of the reduced heat transfer rate is compared for convective heating boundary condition and found an excellent agreement.

The Role of Fin Geometry in Heat Sink Performance

The following study will examine the eect on overall thermal/fluid performance associated with dierent fin geometries, including, rectangular plates as well as square, circular and elliptical pin fins. The use of EGM allows the combined eect of thermal resistance and pressure drop to be assessed through the simultaneous interaction with the heat sink. A general expression for the entropy generation rate is obtained by using the conservations equations for mass, energy, and entropy. The formulation for the dimensionless entropy generation rate is developed in terms of dimensionless variables, including the aspect ratio, Reynolds number, Nusselt number and the drag coecient. Selected fin geometries are examined for the minimum entropy generation rate corresponding to dierent parameters including axis ratio, aspect ratio, and approach velocity. The results clearly indicate that the preferred fin profile is very dependent on these parameters. NOMENCLATURE L = characteristic length of the fin [m] Ac = cross sectional area of the fin [m 2 ] Ap = planform area for drag force [m 2 ] Aw = wetted surface area of the fin [m 2 ] a,b = semi major and minor axis length of the

Fluid Flow Around and Heat Transfer From an Infinite Circular Cylinder

In this study, an integral approach of the boundary layer analysis is employed to investigate fluid flow around and heat transfer from an infinite circular cylinder. The Von Karman‐Pohlhausen method is used to solve momentum integral equation and the energy integral equation is solved for both isothermal and isoflux boundary conditions. A fourth-order velocity profile in the hydrodynamic boundary layer and a third-order temperature profile in the thermal boundary layer are used to solve both integral equations. Closed form expressions are obtained for the drag and the average heat transfer coefficients which can be used for a wide range of Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. The results for both drag and heat transfer coefficients are in good agreement with experimental/numerical data for a circular cylinder. DOI: 10.1115/1.1924629

MHD boundary layer slip flow and heat transfer of ferrofluid along a stretching cylinder with prescribed heat flux.

This study investigates the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of ferrofluid along a stretching cylinder. The velocity slip and prescribed surface heat flux boundary conditions are employed on the cylinder surface. Water as conventional base fluid containing nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3O4) is used. Comparison between magnetic (Fe3O4) and non-magnetic (Al2O3) nanoparticles is also made. The governing non-linear partial differential equations are reduced to non-linear ordinary differential equations and then solved numerically using shooting method. Present results are compared with the available data in the limiting cases. The present results are found to be in an excellent agreement. It is observed that with an increase in the magnetic field strength, the percent difference in the heat transfer rate of magnetic nanoparticles with Al2O3 decreases. Surface shear stress and the heat transfer rate at the surface increase as the curvature parameter increases, i.e curvature helps to enhance the heat transfer.

The Influence of Material Properties and Spreading Resistance in the Thermal Design of Plate Fin Heat Sinks

The thermal design of plate fin heat sinks can benefit from optimization procedures where all design variables are simultaneously prescribed, ensuring the best thermodynamic and air flow characteristic possible. While a cursory review of the thermal network established between heat sources and sinks in typical plate fin heat sinks would indicate that the film resistance at the fluid-solid boundary dominates, it is shown that the effects of other resistance elements, such as the spreading resistance and the material resistance, although of lesser magnitude, play an important role in the optimization and selection of heat sink design conditions. An analytical model is presented for calculating the best possible design parameters for plate fin heat sinks using an entropy generation minimization procedure with constrained variable optimization. The method characterizes the contribution to entropy production of all relevant thermal resistances in the path between source and sink as well as the contribution to viscous dissipation associated with fluid flow at the boundaries of the heat sink. The minimization procedure provides a fast, convenient method for establishing the “best case” design characteristics of plate fin heat sinks given a set of prescribed boundary conditions. It is shown that heat sinks made of composite materials containing nonmetallic constituents, with a thermal conductivity as much as an order of magnitude less that typical metallic heat sinks, can provide an effective alternative where performance, cost, and manufacturability are of importance. It is also shown that the spreading resistance encountered when heat flows from a heat source to the base plate of a heat sink, while significant, can be compensated for by making appropriate design modifications to the heat sink. DOI: 10.1115/1.2429713

Optimization of pin-fin heat sinks using entropy generation minimization

In this study, an entropy generation minimization, EGM, technique is applied as a unique measure to study the thermodynamic losses caused by heat transfer and pressure drop in cylindrical pin-fin heat sinks. The use of EGM allows the combined effect of thermal resistance and pressure drop to be assessed through the simultaneous interaction with the heat sink. A general expression for the entropy generation rate is obtained by considering the whole heat sink as a control volume and applying the conservation equations for mass and energy with the entropy balance. Analytical/empirical correlations for heat transfer coefficients and friction factors are used in the optimization model, where the characteristic length is used as the diameter of the pin and reference velocity used in Reynolds number and pressure drop is based on the minimum free area available for the fluid flow. Both in-line and staggered arrangements are studied and their relative performance is compared on the basis of equal overall volume of heat sinks. It is shown that all relevant design parameters for pin-fin heat sinks, including geometric parameters, material properties and flow conditions can be simultaneously optimized.

Fluid flow around and heat transfer from elliptical cylinders : Analytical approach

An integral method of boundary-layer analysis is employed to derive closed-form expressions for the calculation of total drag and average heat transfer for flow across an elliptical cylinder under isothermal and isoflux thermal boundary conditions. The Von Karman-Pohlhausen integral method is used to solve the momentum and energy equations for both thermal boundary conditions. A fourth-order velocity profile in the hydrodynamic boundary layer and a third-order temperature profile in the thermal boundary layer are used. The present results are in good agreement with existing experimental/numerical data and, in the limiting cases, can be used for circular cylinders and finite plates. Nomenclature a = semimajor axis of elliptical cylinder, m b = semiminor axis of elliptical cylinder, m C D = total drag coefficient C D f = friction drag coefficient C D p = pressure drag coefficient C f = skin friction coefficient, ≡ 2τw/ρU 2 app