Parametric and Numerical Study of Fully Developed Flow and Heat Transfer in Rotating Rectangular Ducts

Abstract

This work is concerned with fully developed constant-density turbulent flow through rectangular straight ducts rotating in an orthogonal mode. Ducts of both square and 2:1 aspect ratio cross sections have been examined. For the square duct, predictions have been performed for Reynolds numbers of 33,500 and 97,000 and for the 2:1 aspect ratio duct the computations were carried out for a Reynolds number of 33,500. Values of the inverse Rossby number (Ro = ΩD/Wb) ranged from 0.005 to 0.2. Except in the immediate vicinity of the wall, the standard high-Reynolds-number version of the k–ε model is used to account for the effect of turbulence. Across the near-wall sublayer the damping of turbulence is modeled through a low-Reynolds-number one-equation model. Low rotational speeds cause the formation of a pair of symmetric streamwise vortices. At higher rotational speeds, flow instabilities on the pressure side lead to transition to a more complex four-vortex structure. The transition point depends on both the cross-sectional geometry and the flow Reynolds number. Moreover, over a range of Rossby number, either two– or four–vortex solutions are possible depending upon initial conditions. The rotation leads to significant differences between the values of friction factor and Nusselt number on the suction and pressure surfaces of the duct. The degree of heat transfer augmentation on the pressure side is found to depend on the Reynolds number as well as on Rossby number. In contrast, heat transfer attenuation on the suction side is only Rossby-number dependent.