Application of the Temperature Oscillation Method to Laminar Flow in Straight Horizontal and Curved Minichannels

Abstract

This work deals with the application of the temperature oscillation method to measure local values of the heat transfer coefficient in laminar flow in a straight horizontal pipe and in a pipe with a bend. This method, applied here for the first time in such experimental conditions, uses a time-varying heat flux as a boundary condition, which is a condition of the third kind. Since an analytical solution for such conditions could not be identified in the existing literature, a numerical study of this problem is applied here. Experimental data for a straight horizontal pipe confirm the numerical results within a reasonable level of error. Experimental measurements on a straight horizontal tube are consistent with predicted results in the literature for both total and local heat transfer coefficient values. The measurements on bent tubes show a very significant influence on the local values compared to the straight tube and in the overall values this change appears as an increase in the heat transfer coefficient.