Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer in Straight Pipe of Elliptic Cross-section Rotating in Orthogonal Mode

Authors

  • O. T. Popoola Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin
  • O. A. Lasode Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin
  • I. K. Adegun Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin
  • A. B. Rabiu Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63746/njtd.v23i1.4498

Keywords:

Heat Transfer, Orthogonal mode, Elliptic Pipes, Rotation

Abstract

In rotary energy systems, enormous heat is generated which must be conveyed away through cooling passages embedded in the design. The study is aimed at numerically investigating mixed convective heat transfer in elliptic pipes rotating in orthogonal mode with the objectives of evaluating the influence of eccentricity (e), Prandtl number (Pr) and Rossby number (Ro) on Nusselt number (Nu). Ansys Fluent was employed for simulation. Elliptic pipes of e =0.433, 0.866 and 0.916 having the same surface area were utilised for the study. The bulk  and wall temperatures  were determined from the area-weighted average temperature of the fluid and wall. The findings of the study showed that, at Ro=0.015 the pipe of e= 0.916 gave the highest heat transfer with Nu=50. Pipe of e=0.866 and e=0.433 have Nu=30 and Nu=10 respectively. Among the fluids studied, fluid with Pr=7 gave the highest heat transfer of Nu=340, with fluids of Pr=4 and Pr=0.74 having Nu=270 and Nu=60 respectively at Ro=0.1. Increase in Ro enhance heat transfer in trailing edge than the leading edge. The study concluded that rotation enhanced heat transfer for orthogonal modes of rotation.  It is recommended that cooling channel designers should adopt pipe of e=0.916 for maximum heat transfer.

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Published

2026-03-31