TY - JOUR
T1 - Numerical Simulations of the Flow Dynamics in a Tube with Inclined Fins Using Open-Source Software
AU - Real-Ramirez, Cesar Augusto
AU - Carvajal-Mariscal, Ignacio
AU - Gonzalez-Trejo, Jesus
AU - Gabbasov, Ruslan
AU - Miranda-Tello, Jose Raul
AU - Klapp, Jaime
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Finned tubes increase the convective heat transfer in heat exchangers, reducing the total energy consumption of integrated industrial processes. Due to its stability and robustness, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) commercial software is generally utilized for analyzing complex systems; however, its licensing is expensive. Nowadays, open-source software is a viable substitute for proprietary software. This work presents a CFD analysis of the hydrodynamics of a finned tube using the OpenFOAM and SALOME Meca platforms. The results are compared with experimental data and CFD using the commercial software Fluent, both previously reported in the open literature. This work studies the fluid flow pattern around a tube with six 45-degree-angled fins, and the working fluid, air, is considered as an incompressible fluid. Special attention is paid to calculating the pressure coefficient distribution for the internal and external surfaces of the inclined fins. Open-source platforms allow researchers to visualize how the airflow interacts with the cylinder and the fin surfaces to form a fluid structure, formerly known as a horseshoe vortex system. The findings of the analysis of flow dynamics in the channel between inclined fins and in the wake help explain the results obtained in experimental tests and are relevant for the configuration of a bank of tubes with inclined fins.
AB - Finned tubes increase the convective heat transfer in heat exchangers, reducing the total energy consumption of integrated industrial processes. Due to its stability and robustness, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) commercial software is generally utilized for analyzing complex systems; however, its licensing is expensive. Nowadays, open-source software is a viable substitute for proprietary software. This work presents a CFD analysis of the hydrodynamics of a finned tube using the OpenFOAM and SALOME Meca platforms. The results are compared with experimental data and CFD using the commercial software Fluent, both previously reported in the open literature. This work studies the fluid flow pattern around a tube with six 45-degree-angled fins, and the working fluid, air, is considered as an incompressible fluid. Special attention is paid to calculating the pressure coefficient distribution for the internal and external surfaces of the inclined fins. Open-source platforms allow researchers to visualize how the airflow interacts with the cylinder and the fin surfaces to form a fluid structure, formerly known as a horseshoe vortex system. The findings of the analysis of flow dynamics in the channel between inclined fins and in the wake help explain the results obtained in experimental tests and are relevant for the configuration of a bank of tubes with inclined fins.
KW - experimental data
KW - finned tube
KW - flow dynamics
KW - numerical simulations
KW - pressure coefficient
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137371573&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/fluids7080282
DO - 10.3390/fluids7080282
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85137371573
SN - 2311-5521
VL - 7
JO - Fluids
JF - Fluids
IS - 8
M1 - 282
ER -