Investigation of Thermal Efficiency Tubes with Porous Baffles

Abstract

Use of baffles in channels is a common technique for enhancing heat transfer in single-phase flows. The
present study aimed to achieve a comprehensive simulation of a pipe with interior porous baffles to
investigate the effects of different parameters such as baffle size, baffle porosity, and fluid properties on
pressure drop, heat transfer enhancement, flow field, and temperature field. A horizontal, rectangular
channel was considered, on the upper and lower walls of which staggered porous baffles were installed.
Various heights and porosity levels were assumed for the baffles. The heights were in the range of 1/3
to 2/3 , where is the hydraulic diameter, and baffle porosities were 10, 20 and 40 PPI. In addition, the
Reynolds number of the flow ranged from 20000 to 50000. The commercial software package ANSYS
FLUENT 15 was used to solve the governing equations. The effects of different parameters including
baffle heights, the Reynolds number, and porosity were investigated on flow field, temperature and
pressure drop in terms of streamline diagrams, velocity vectors, and temperature as well as pressure
contour lines.