NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF CONVECTION HEAT-TRANSFER IN A RECTANGULAR PACKED DUCT WITH ASYMMETRIC HEATING

Fully developed, forced convection heat transfer in a rectangular pack ed duct is analyzed numerically based on a two-dimensional model incor porating the effects of Raschig ring packing on the Ergun equation. Th e boundary conditions are based on asymmetric heating with only the to p wall supplied with a constant heat flux, while the other walls are a diabatic. The numerical predictions are compared with measured tempera ture profiles and local Nusselt numbers obtained from a large scale pa cked duct with L/H = 16 and W/H = 8, using Raschig rings of 4.8 cm in size. The prediction represents the experimental data satisfactorily. The volumetric entropy generation of the duct is also evaluated and di splayed graphically that shows the distribution of entropy generation due to heat transfer and pressure drop in the duct. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.