Experimental Investigation of Forced Convective Heat Transfer in Circular Pipe with Wire Mesh Porous Media

Abstract

This experimentation aims to study Nusselt number (Nu) and Friction factor (f) deriving from the forced flow of fluid inside a circular pipe under a uniform heat flux condition. Porous media used in this study is made of stainless-steel wire mesh 304 which has the number of pores per inch (PPI) of 8. Reynolds number (Re) ranges from 3000 - 15000. Distance between two plates of wire mesh (p), ranges from 10-50 mm. The results of the experiment indicate that the Nu figure tends to be higher when there is a rise in Re and a decrease in length of p, resulting in an increase in mass of material. The increasing mass of material enables it to store a large quantity of energy from hot air causing heat to be transferred toward the pipe wall in a higher rate. The value f tends to decline when the Re and p grow up. This phenomenon rather conforms to the general principles of nature, namely that a barrier against the flow will lead to a higher friction factor (f). The Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC), recorded across the whole Reynolds number range, reaches a maximum where the p is 40 mm since the ratio of Nu to f is the most appropriate figure.