A numerical study of laminar flow heat transfer in curved tubes
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Compared to the relatively simple case of steady flow in a straight tube, flow in a curved tube is extremely complex. When a fluid flows through a curved tube, a pressure gradient is set up across the tube to balance the centrifugal force arising from the curvature, the pressure near the outer wall being greater than that at the inner wall. Thus, secondary flow patterns, as shown in figure 1, emerge within the cross section. This secondary circulation is superimposed on the main stream in such a way that the resultant flow in the upper and lower halves of the tube is helical in nature. Further, the secondary flow effect tends to distort the axial velocity profile, shifting the region of maximum axial velocity from the center towards the outer wall of the pipe. The total frictional loss of energy near the wall increases and the flow experiences more resistance in passing through the tube. Also, the viscous shear at the outer wall increases, causing the volumetric rate of flow to be less for a curved system than for that of a straight pipe at an equal axial pressure gradient. Various experimentalists have collected heat transfer data for curved systems and noted that higher heat transfer coefficients were obtained for curved systems than for corresponding straight pipe configurations.
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