An Experimental Study of Convective Heat Transfer in Radially Rotating Rectangular Ducts

The paper presents an experimental study of convective heat transfer in radially rotating isothermal rectangular ducts with various height and width aspect ratios. The convective heat transfer is affected by secondary flows resulting from Coriolis force and the buoyancy flow, which is in turn due to the centrifugal force in the duct. The growth and strength of the secondary flow depend on the rotational Reynolds number; the effect of the buoyancy flow is characterized by the rotational Rayleigh number. The aspect ratio of the duct may affect the secondary flow and the buoyancy flow, and therefore is also a critical parameter in the heat transfer mechanism. In the present work the effects of the main flow, the rotational speed, and the aspect ratio γ on heat transfer are subjects of major interest. Ducts of aspect ratios γ=5, 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.2 at rotational speed up to 3000 rpm are studied. The main flow Reynolds number ranges from 700 to 20,000 to cover the laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow regimes in the duct flow. Test data and discussion are presented.