Two-Dimensional Study of Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in a Natural Convection Loop

Abstract

A study has been made of the heat transfer and fluid flow in a natural convection loop. Previous studies of these systems have utilized a one-dimensional approach which requires a priori specifications of the friction and the heat-transfer coefficients. The present work carries out a two-dimensional analysis for the first time. The results yield the friction and the heat-transfer coefficients and give their variation along the loop with the Graetz number as a parameter. Comparison is also made with experimental data for the heat flux and good agreement is obtained.