The Effect of Porosity on the Temperature Spectrum Area and Heat Transfer in Chamber with Porous Media under the Saturated Vapour Flow

Abstract

This study aims to determine the porosity effect on the temperature spectrum area and heat transfer in chamber containing porous media. Porous media is modelled in a chamber and fluidized tangentially. The porosity value of porous media is varied by 10%, 20%, 30%, 38%, and 40%. Fluid flowed and at the same time used as a heat source is saturated vapour with a temperature of 323 K with an entry speed into the chamber of 2.5 m/s. The ambient temperature outside the chamber is kept constant at 298 K, while the chamber bottom plate temperature, which is also the heat-sink is kept constant at 283 K. The porous media material is aluminium. This research was carried out using ANSYS Workbench 14.5, which solve the equation for mass, momentum, and energy conservation. The results of the study show that porosity affects the temperature spectrum area in the vapour channel and inside the porous media layer. The smaller porous media porosity, further expanding the high-temperature spectrum in the vapour channel, but constricting the low-temperature spectrum in both the vapour channel and porous media layer. Together with convection heat, porosity plays an important role in forming three patterns of temperature distribution along the vapour channel. In the heat transfer in the porous media layer, even though the conduction effect is stronger than convection, but the effect of temperature difference between porous media surfaces is greater than the effect of porosity.