Numerical Analysis of Forced Convection in the Entrance Region of an Eccentric Curved Annulus

Abstract

In this article, forced convection in the entrance region of an eccentric curved annulus is studied numerically using a second order finite difference method based on the projection algorithm to discretize the governing equations. To do so, the continuity, full Navier-Stokes, and energy equations are written in the bipolar-toroidal coordinate system, which enables to employ a uniform grid for discretization. Four different thermal boundary conditions are considered to study the effects of different nondimensional governing parameters such as curvature ratio, eccentricity, Dean number, and Prandtl number on the temperature field, heat transfer rate, and thermal entrance length in detail. The numerical results obtained indicate that, in some cases, the eccentricity intensifies the heat transfer rate in an eccentric curved pipe compared to the corresponding concentric curved.