Forced convective heat transfer in porous medium of wire screen meshes

Abstract

The hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of a porous medium consisting of 20 wire screen meshes are examined theoretically and experimentally. The hydrodynamic experiments are conducted for the range of Reynolds number based on mean velocity and wire diameter from 1.5 to 12. The Ergun's constants and thermal dispersion coefficients are calculated in this range. Nusselt number variation is determined in both thermally developing and fully developed flows by the help of forced convection heat transfer experiments conducted for the uniform heat flux boundary condition. Correlation functions of Nusselt number in the range of fully developed and thermally developing, and of thermal entrance length are obtained from experimental data. Solutions of momentum and energy equations simulating the experimental model are obtained numerically with variable porosity and the anticipated thermal dispersion coefficients. The thermal dispersion coefficients well-adjusted to the experimental data are determined by numerical solution of the energy equation.