Applied Energy 64 (1999) 441451

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Enhancement of convection heat-transfer in a rectangular duct

Yasar Demirel, Habib H. Al-Ali*, Basem A. Abu-Al-Saud
Department of Chemical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

Abstract Characteristics of wall-to-air heat transfer for a fully developed forced convection have been studied in a large rectangular packed duct with 160 cm heated length, 40 cm width, and for low bed equivalent diameter to particle diameter ratio. The separation distance between the top and bottom walls is 10 cm. A uniform heat ux is supplied at the top wall, while the bottom wall is insulated. Raschig rings in two and spherical packing in three sizes have been used in the air ow passage to investigate the enhancement of heat transfer due to packing. Temperature proles for the steady and unsteady states have been measured. In modeling, the Ergun equation and energy equations are solved to calculate the temperature prole for the steady-state only. It has been found that the introduction of the packing into the air ow passage increases the wall-to-uid heat transfer approximately three times compared with that of empty bed. This nding can enhance the rational use of energy from solar air heaters, chemical reactors, electronic cooling and many other engineering applications. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Enhancement of convection; Asymmetric heating; Rectangular packed bed; Transient convection

1. Introduction Packed tubes and channels are widely used in chemical reactors, heat storage and recovery, electronic cooling, and solar air-heaters. In 1931, Colburn reported that the rate of heat transfer from a wall to air through a packed tube is about eight times higher than that of an empty tube. An experimental investigation of heat transfer in a rectangular duct has also shown considerable increase when packing is used in a uid ow passage [1,2]. The particles cause mixing and prevent the build-up of the slow moving layer of the uid next to the wall, and, therefore, enhance the radial
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +966-3-8603802/6129; fax: +966-3-8602215/5755. E-mail address: hhali@kfupm.edu.sa (H.H. Al-Ali). 0306-2619/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0306-2619(99)00110-5

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transfer of heat within the uid. This enhancement of heat transfer reaches a maximum at a certain ratio of packing diameter to tube diameter [1,3]. Some research on the wall and particle-shape eects, and the inuence of tube and particle diameter on the heat transfer in packed beds are reported by Dixon [4], Borkink and Westerterp [5]. Recently special importance was given to the convection heat-transfer in a packed bed with a low tube-to-particle diameter ratio of dt adp ` 12 [4,6,7] due to the large number of industrially-important reactions that are carried out in narrow reactor tubes immersed in a cooling medium [8]. The bed-to-particle diameter ratio is also low in packed solar air-heaters [9]. Transient convection in a xed bed has attracted considerable attention [10,11]. The transient behaviour of a packed bed with a low range of de adp was studied by Kershenbaum and Lopez-Isunza [12]. The present study reports the increase in the heat transfer due to packing in a rectangular bed with a low bed equivalent diameter to particle diameter ratio of 4X52 ` de adp ` 7X48. Transient air ow temperature proles in the bed are also displayed. 2. Experimental set-up and procedure A forced-convection air ow was used for the experiments. A sketch of the packed bed is shown in Fig. 1. The packed bed is horizontally oriented. The bed consists of the top wall made of stainless steel of 1 mm thickness and heated uniformly. All the other three walls were made of acrylic plates and insulated with ceramic bres with a thermal conductivity k=0.018 W/m K. The dimensions of the bed are 180 cm in length, L; 40 cm in width, W; and 10 cm in depth. The heat transfer section, 160 cm in length, L, is preceded by a calming section of 10 cm length and followed by an exit section of 10 cm length. The ratio of heated packed length to depth of the bed LaH equls 16. A perforated plate was placed at the beginning of the packed section to promote a more uniform velocity prole, while another perforated plate was used to hold the packing in the heated section during the experiments. The packing was introduced through the removable top wall. The packing media consists of Raschig rings made of introduced vinyl chloride (PVC) and spheres made of expanded polystyrene. The properties of the packing are given in Table 1. Resistance-heating loops were used as the heating element to supply a uniform heat ux at the top wall of the heated section. The electrical power, between 75 and 187 W/m2, was controlled through a rheostat. Details of the heating element are described elsewhere [13]. Six self-adhesive surface thermocouples (K-type, ChromelAlumel) were placed at 25, 45, 69, 91, 113 and 135 cm from the inlet to monitor the temperatures of the top wall. Four self-adhesive thermocouples placed at 30, 63, 96 and 129 cm from the inlet to measure the temperatures on the bottom wall. Three levels of K-type thermocouple probes located at 30, 63, 96, 129 cm from the inlet were mounted on the acrylic-side wall. Each level has three thermojunctions in the transverse direction at 2, 5 and 8 cm from the top wall. The response time of the thermocouples is 1020 ms. All the thermocouples were shielded against radiation. These 12 thermocouple probes measured the axial and transverse temperatures of the air ow in the heated packed bed.

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Fig. 1. Schematic of set-up.

Table 1 The properties of the packing Properties Inside diameter, cm Outside diameter, cm Height, cm Equivalent diameter, dp , cm Void fraction, 4 de adp , Number of units, Thermal conductivity, k, W/m K Specic heat, Cp , kJ/kg C Density, &, kg/m3
a b

Sphere (EPS)a 4.8 4.8 0.564 4.520 456 0.037 1.25 20

Sphere (EPS) 3.8 3.8 0.392 5.710 1261 0.037 1.25 20

Sphere (EPS) 2.9 2.9 0.353 7.482 3065 0.037 1.25 20

Raschig ring (PVC)b 4.0 4.8 4.8 3.85 0.806 5.636 467 0.14 825 1320

Raschig ring (PVC) 2.6 3.4 3.4 3.26 0.702 6.656 1490 0.14 825 1320

EPS: expanded polystyrene. PVC: polyvinyl chloride.

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A data acquisition and control system consisting of an OMEGA-WB-AAI16 board with graphical interface application software called the QUICKLOG and PC computer was used to record and display the thermocouple signals. The measurement accuracy of the thermocouples is 0.2 C. A calibrated anemometer, type OMEGA-HHF710, was used to measure the air-ow rate. The anemometer has an accuracy of 1% of reading and a resolution of 0.01 m/s. Experiments were performed for forced convection air ow in the empty and packed bed under various mass ow rates and heat uxes to investigate the heat transfer in the system under steady-state and transient conditions. In each run, the air ow rate, heat ux, temperature distributions of the air ow in the packed bed, temperatures at the top and bottom walls were measured. The maximum temperature at the top wall and the increase in air ow temperature between the inlet and outlet were 42 and 6 C, respectively. The maximum temperature dierence between the top wall and the air ow at the exit was not larger than 10 C. Measurements were taken at values of Reynolds number Rep Rep udp a# in the range 240 to 1450. 3. Modeling A quasi-homogeneous, two-dimensional model with an average void fraction, 4, was employed. It was assumed that (i) the system is at steady-state and fully developed, (ii) the air and solid are in local thermal equilibrium, (iii) the axial dispersion of heat and the viscous eect in the ow are negligible [5,14], and (iv) the physical properties are constant. The governing equations are dP d2 u 14 2 " 2C &u dx dy dp 4 3 u dT 1 d2 T dx e dy2 I

where e is the eective thermal-conductivity of the packed bed, " is the viscosity of the uid, u is the supercial velocity, T is the air ow temperature, P is the pressure, and C is a constant and determined as 4.27 [15] for the Raschig ring and taken as 1.75 for the spherical packing. Due to the geometry of the Raschig ring and the rectangular duct, a modication to the Ergun equation [16] is consistent with the fact that the Ergun equation predicts a pressure drop lower than actual data for cylindrical packing [17]. By neglecting the viscous eect, the pressure drop for a Raschig ring is obtained from dP G2 1 4 4X27 dx dp &43 Q

where G is the mass ux and & is the density. The maximum deviation between experimental and calculated pressure-drop data is 9%. The boundary conditions of

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Eqs. (1) and (2) are u0 du 0 dy dT Q dy ke dT 0 dy T T0 t y 0 t y Ha2 t y 0 t y H t x 0 I I P P P

The details of the numerical analysis are given elsewhere [15]. The equivalent diameters of the duct, de and Raschig ring, dp are given by [17]. WH2 de 2X55K WH !1a3 R

Fig. 2. Comparison of the wall and air ow average temperature proles in the ow direction for the packed sphere with dp 3X8 cm) and empty bed for ReH 2653.

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dp

61 4 ap

where K is a constant that depends on WaH for a rectangular duct, and is the shape factor for an irregular packing [17]. Modeling for transient convection is in progress. 4. Results and discussion The physical properties of air at an average temperature of 27 C are kinematic viscosity, # 1X7 106 m2/s, thermal conductivity, k 0X028 W/m  C, and heat capacity Cp 1X007 kJ/kg  C [18]. All the convection heat-transfer data are presented in terms of the Reynolds, Re, and Nusselt number, Nu. The Reynolds and the Nusselt numbers are dened, based on the distance between the heated and adiabatic walls,

Fig. 3. Experimental and predicted transverse air temperature proles for the packed (sphere with dp 3X8 cm) for Rep 607.

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H, or the diameter of the particle dp . The Reynolds numbers based on H and dp are given by ReH uHa# Rep udp a# The Nusselt numbers based on H and dp are given by NuH hHakf Nup hdp akf V W T U

where h is the heat-transfer coecient and kf and # are the thermal conductivity and kinematic viscosity of the uid, respectively.

Fig. 4. Transient temperature proles of air ow measurements for the bed packed with spheres of dp 3X8 cm, for ReH 2635, Q 188 W/m2.*, start; &, 30 min; ~, 60 min; !, 90 min.

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Fig. 5. Transient temperature proles of air ow measurements for the empty bed for ReH 2635, Q 188 W/m2. *, start; &, 30 min; ~, 60 min; !, 90 min.

Measurements for the packed and empty beds of the wall and the air-ow average temperatures in the axial directions are compared in Fig. 2. The average temperature of air ow in the packed bed is higher, while the dierence between the wall and air ow average temperatures is less compared with that of the empty bed. Experimental and the predicted transverse temperature proles of the air ow for the packed are given in Fig. 3. The temperature gradient in the vicinity of the wall is very steep due to asymmetrical wall temperatures, and the predictions are satisfactory only for the core region. The same trend is observed for various operating conditions and for dierent shapes of particles. Figs. 4 and 5 show the transient air ow temperature proles for the packed and empty beds respectively. The rise in air ow temperatures in the packed bed are higher than those obtained from the empty bed under the similar operating conditions. The Nusselt numbers were calculated using the net enthalpy increase of the air ow, i.e. Qdp IH Nup kf Tw Tb

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Fig. 6. The Nusselt numbers Nup based on particle diameter dp .

Fig. 7. Comparison of the Nusselt numbers NuH based on H obtained from the packed and empty beds.

where Q is the heat absorbed by the uid, Tw is the temperature at the wall and Tb is the bulk temperature of the uid. The Nusselt numbers based on dp are shown in Fig. 6 for spherical and Raschig rings. For the particles considered, the following correlation equation for Nup was obtained as

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Nup 0X245Re0X695 p

II

The present values of Nup indicate slightly lover values than those of the previous correlation equations [2,7]. This may be due to the low thermal-conductivity of the particles used in the bed that may inuence the radial thermal dispersion adversely [19]. The Nusselt numbers based on H, and obtained from the packed and empty bed measurements, under similar operating conditions, are compared in Fig. 7. It was found that introduction of a packing into the air ow passage increased the wall-to uid heat transfer approximately three times compared with that of the empty bed. 5. Conclusions For a low bed-to-particle diameter ratio, de adp ` 7X5, and a large rectangular packed bed, LaW 4 and LaH 16, with asymmetric heating, wall-to uid convection heat transfer was investigated. The steady-state temperature proles were measured and predicted by numerical analysis. Measurements of transient temperature proles of air ow were displayed. The convection heat transfer in the packedbed increases about three times compared with that of empty bed. Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals for funding this research project No. CHE/HEATFLUX/173. References
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[10] Dixon AG, Cresswell DL. Eective heat transfer parameters for transient packed-bed models. AIChE J 1986;32:80919. [11] Al-Nimr MA, Aldoss T, Naji MI. Transient forced convection in the entrance region of a porous tube. Can J Chem Eng 1994;72:24955. [12] Kershenbaum LS, Lopez-Isunza F. Dynamic behavior of an industrial scale xed-bed catalytic reactor. ACS Symp Ser 1982;196:10920. [13] Abu-Al-Saud BA. Convective heat transfer characteristics in the rectangularpacked beds with asymmetric heating. M. S. thesis, Chemical EngineeringDepartment, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, 1997. [14] Osinski EJ, Bar PV, Brimacombe JK. Mathematical model for gas ow through a packed bed in the presence of sources and sinks. Can J Chem Eng 1989;67:72230. [15] Makkawi Y, Demirel Y, Al-Ali HH. Numerical Analysis of convection heat transfer in a rectangular packed duct with asymmetric heating. Energy Convers Mgmt 1998;39:45563. [16] Ergun S. Fluid ow through packed columns. Chem Eng Prog 1952;48:8994. [17] Perry JH. Chemical engineers' handbook. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963. [18] Holman JP. Heat transfer. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990. [19] Gunn DJ, Ahmad MM, Sabri MN. Radial heat transfer to xed beds of particles. Chem Eng Sci 1987;42:216371.