Visualization of heat transfer for impinging swirl flow

The objective of the experimental study was to visualize the temperature distribution and evaluate heat transfer rate on the impingement surface kept at a constant wall temperature boundary condition for the swirling (SIJ), multi-channel (MCIJ) and conventional impinging jet (CIJ) using liquid crystal technique. The swirling jet assembly consisted of a housing tube and a solid swirl generator insert which had four narrow slots machined on its surface. The swirl angle, theta, was set as 0 degrees, 22.5 degrees, 41 degrees, 50 degrees to change the direction and strength of the swirl in the air flow exiting the housing tube. The local Nusselt numbers of the MCIJ (theta = 0 degrees) were generally much higher than those of CIJ and SlJs. As the swirl angle increased, the radial uniformity of the heat transfer was seen compared to MCIJ and SIJ; the best results were for theta = 50 degrees and the jet-to-surface distance of H/D = 14. The location of the distance of the maximum heat transfer for the swirl angles of theta = 41 degrees and 50 degrees was shifted away from the stagnation point in a radial distance of nearly r/D = 2.5. Increasing Reynolds number for same swirler angle increased the heat transfer rate on the entire surface, and increased saddle shape heat transfer distribution on the surface, but had no significant effect on the position of the individual impingement regions, but increased saddle shape heat transfer distribution on the surface. The lower Reynolds number (Re = 10000) and the highest HID = 14 gave much more uniform local and average heat transfer distribution on the surface, but decreased their values on the entire surface. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.