Experimental study of pre-swirl flow effect on the heat transfer process in the entry region of a convergent pipe

Experiments have been performed to study the heat transfer process of swirling flow issued into a heated convergent pipe with a convergent angle of 5 degrees with respect to the pipe axis. A flat vane swirler situated at the entrance of the pipe is used to generate the swirling flow. During the experiments, the Reynolds number ranges from 7970 to 47,820, and the swirl number from 0 to 1.2. It is found that the convergence of the pipe can accelerate the flow which has an effect to suppress the turbulence generated in the flow and reduce the heat transfer. However, in the region of weak swirl (S = 0-0.65), the Nusselt numbers increase with increasing swirl numbers until S = 0.65, where turbulence intensity is expected to be large enough and not suppressible. In the region of strong swirl (S > 0.65), where recirculation flow is expected to be generated in the core of the swirling flow, the heat transfer characteristic can be altered significantly. At very high swirl (S >= 1.0), the accelerated flow in the circumferential direction is expected to be dominant, which leads to suppress the turbulence and reduce the heat transfer. The Nusselt number is found proportional to the swirl number. Correlations of the Nusselt numbers in terms of the swirl number, the Reynolds number and the dimensionless distance are attempted and are very successful in both the weak and the strong swirl regions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.