Problem Specification
This tutorial shows you how to simulate forced convection in a pipe using ANSYS FLUENT 12. The simulation corresponds to the forced convection experiment in MAE 4272 at Cornell University. The diagram shows a pipe with a heated section in the middle where constant heat flux is added at the wall. The ambient air is flowing into the pipe from the left with a uniform velocity. We'll use FLUENT to solve the relevant boundary-value problem and obtain the velocity, temperature, pressure and density distribution in the pipe. Inputs necessary for the simulation, such as the velocity at the pipe inlet and heat flux added at the wall, are obtained from one particular experimental run. Results from the simulation will be compared with corresponding experimental values. Background information is provided [*in this presentation*|^ht2_sim_slides_f10.pdf]from MAE 4292 at Cornell University.
Note to Cornell students enrolled in MAE 4272: There is an issue with FLUENT 12 in the 318 Phillips computer lab. Color contours are not displayed correctly. This is possibly a video card issue i.e. the results are right but the display is wrong due to incompatibility with the video card. Please avoid the Phillips lab for running FLUENT. Use FLUENT in the ACCEL lab in the Engineering Lib instead.
Simulation Inputs Obtained from Experiment
Pipe Geometry:
Circular cross-section
Pipe radius = 2.94e-2 m
Pipe length = 6.096 m
Material Properties:
Coeff. of viscosity = 1.787e-5 kg/(m s)
Cp = 1005 J/(kg K)
Thermal conductivity = 0.0266 W/(m K)
Molecular weight = 28.97 g/mole
Inlet:
• u = 25.05 m/s
• v = 0 m/s
• T = 298.15 K
• k = 0.09 m2/s2; epsilon = 16 m2/s3 (These are not measured and are rough guess values)
Outlet:
• Pressure = 97225.9 Pa
Wall:
• Heating between x = 1.83 m and x = 4.27 m
• Wall heat flux = 3473.9 W/m2
• Wall roughness: 0 (assume smooth)
• Wall thickness: 0 (assume negligible)
Ambient conditions:
• Ambient pressure = 98338.2 Pa
Experimental Data for Comparison with Simulation Results
Links are provided later to download these .csv files and make comparisons with corresponding simulation results.
[*Go to Step 1: Pre-Analysis & Start-Up*]
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