Effect of Rotation and Surface Roughness on Heat Transfer Rate to Flow through Vertical Cylinders in Steam Condensation Process

Abstract

The enhancement in the rate of the heat transfer resulting from rotating smooth and rough vertical cylinders, of 1.28 and 21.75μm average roughness, respectively, are experimentally studied. Experiments were carried out for cooling fluid Reynolds numbers from 3300 to 7800 with varying the rotational speed up to 280rpm. Experimental runs at the stationary case showed an acceptable agreement with the theoretical values. The experimental Nusselt number values at various rotational speeds are correlated as functions of Reynolds, Weber, and Prandtl numbers for smooth and rough surfaces. The correlated equations were compared with the correlation obtained by another author. The results show that the enhancement of the heat transfer rate becomes more appreciable for low Reynolds numbers at high rotational speeds and for high Reynolds numbers at low rotational speeds. The rotation causes an enhancement in the overall heat transfer coefficient of ∼89% at Re=7800, We=1084, and Pr=1.48 for smooth surface and of ∼13.7% at Re=4700, We=4891, and Pr=1.696 for rough surface. Also, the enhancement in the heat transfer rates utilizing rotary surface becomes more pronounced for the smooth surface compared with the rough one, therefore the choice of the heat transfer surface is very important. The present work shows a reduction in the heat transfer rate below its peak value depending on the type of the heat transfer surface. It is shown that the enhancement in the heat transfer, i.e., enhancement in the Nusselt number, depends on the Weber number value and the surface type while the Nusselt number value mainly depends on the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. Correlated equation have been developed to represent the Nusselt number values as functions of the Weber and Reynolds numbers within the stated ranges of the parameters.