Heat transfer characteristics of liquid-solid suspension flow in a horizontal pipe

Particles in liquid-solid suspension flow might enhance or suppress the rate of heat transfer and turbulence depending on their size and concentration. The heat transfer characteristics of liquid-solid suspension in turbulent flow are not well understood due to the complexibility of interaction between solid particles and turbulence of the carrier fluid. In this study, the heat transfer coefficients of liquid-solid mixtures are investigated using a double pipe heat exchanger with suspension flows in the inner pipe. Experiments are carried out using spherical fly ash particles with mass median diameter ranging from 4 to 78 mu m. The volume concentration of solids in the slurry ranged from 0 to 50% and Reynolds number ranged from 4,000 to 11,000. The heat transfer coefficient of liquid-solid suspension to water flow is found to increase with decreasing particle diameter. The heat transfer coefficient increases with particle volume concentration exhibiting the highest heat transfer enhancement at the 3% solid volume concentration and then gradually decreases. A correlation for heat transfer to liquid-solid flows in a horizontal pipe is presented.