Chapter 5

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Microchannel
Dept of Mechanical Engg., U.V.C.E., Bangalore

Chapter 5
RESULTS, AND ANALYSIS
Since the micro channel tested here each contains some portion of their length
that is in the hydro dynamically developing region, a correlation for hydro
dynamically developing flow is included. All of the correlations available assume
both fully laminar flow and a uniform inlet condition. Some correlations assume that
the channel in question is relatively short in comparison with the hydrodynamic
length. If the assumption is made that the flow entering the tubes is uniform and the
flow in the channels is completely laminar, the effects of the hydro dynamically
developing region may be overestimated for the experimental cases. Both the
assumptions of a uniform inlet and of fully laminar flow in the channels are
questionable for the cases seen in the experiments.

Reynolds Number:
It is the ratio of inertial forces to the viscous forces. It is used to identify
different flow regimes such as Laminar or Turbulent
Re
h vD
=


For flow through noncircular tubes, the Reynolds number as well as the
Nusselt number and the friction factor are based on the hydraulic diameter D
h
defined
as
4 c
h
A
D
P
=

The Reynolds Number for different flow is
e
e
2300 - laminar flow
2300 10000 - transitional flow
Re > 10,000 - turbulent flow
R
R
s
s s
Hydrodynamic entry length L
h

The region from the tube inlet to the point at which the boundary layer merges
at the centerline is called the hydrodynamic entrance region, and the length of this
region is called the hydrodynamic entry length L
h
. Flow in the entrance region is
called hydrodynamically developing flow since this is the region where the velocity
profile develops. The region beyond the entrance region in which the velocity profile
is fully developed and remains unchanged is called the hydrodynamically fully
developed region. Hydrodynamic Entry Length for laminar flow is given by
e 0.05 R hd h L D =

And Thermal Entry Length
e 0.05 R Pr th h L D =



0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
L
d
h

(
m
)

Re
Fig 5.1 The Graph of Hydrodynamic Entry Length verses Reynolds Number



Table 5.1 Corresponding Values of Re and L
dh
for the fig 5.1

Sl
No
Re L
dh
(m)

Sl
No
Re L
dh
(m)

Sl
No
Re L
dh
(m)
1 28.56 0.00214

24 109.34 0.00820

47 216.43 0.01623
2 28.92 0.00217

25 110.09 0.00826

48 217.18 0.01629
3 29.40 0.00220

26 110.84 0.00831

49 217.92 0.01634
4 30.01 0.00225

27 111.47 0.00836

50 218.67 0.01640
5 30.86 0.00231

28 112.61 0.00845

51 219.67 0.01648
6 31.79 0.00238

29 113.88 0.00854

52 220.93 0.01657
7 32.86 0.00246

30 115.15 0.00864

53 221.93 0.01665
8 33.77 0.00253

31 116.30 0.00872

54 223.19 0.01674
9 35.21 0.00264

32 117.46 0.00881

55 223.95 0.01680
10 57.83 0.00434

33 118.23 0.00887

56 225.47 0.01691
11 58.47 0.00439

34 162.13 0.01216

57 226.74 0.01701
12 59.05 0.00443

35 162.69 0.01220

58 279.62 0.02097
13 59.70 0.00448

36 163.44 0.01226

59 280.25 0.02102
14 60.35 0.00453

37 164.38 0.01233

60 280.89 0.02107
15 61.39 0.00460

38 165.13 0.01238

61 281.84 0.02114
16 62.51 0.00469

39 166.26 0.01247

62 282.47 0.02119
17 63.31 0.00475

40 167.40 0.01255

63 283.42 0.02126
18 64.44 0.00483

41 168.15 0.01261

64 284.37 0.02133
19 65.58 0.00492

42 169.29 0.01270

65 285.33 0.02140
20 66.93 0.00502

43 171.01 0.01283

66 286.92 0.02152
21 68.70 0.00515

44 172.54 0.01294

67 288.52 0.02164
22 108.09 0.00811

45 173.49 0.01301

68 290.12 0.02176
23 108.71 0.00815

46 215.93 0.01619

69 291.72 0.02188



The fig shows the variation of hydrodynamic entry length for the full
experiment range of Reynolds number. Hydrodynamic entry length is not crosses the
full length of the channel. So the flow is considered hydrodynamically fully
developed.
The values of L
dh
are not going beyond the total length of Micro channel.
Hence the flow is fully developed and the formulae for further can be assumed from
fully developed conditions. The maximum hydrodynamic length is approximately
22mm which is less than 50mm (Micro channel Length). Reynolds Number is less
than 300, the flow is assumed laminar.

Friction factor:
Measuring the local pressure along the flow is difficult in microchannels. So
we have measured the pressure drop across the inlet and outlet manifolds. The
resulting pressure drop measurement represents the combined effect of the losses in
the bends, entrance and exit losses, developing region effects, and the core frictional
losses.
2
2
P
f
L v
D
A
=
| |
| |
| |
\ .
\ .



Table 5.2 Corresponding Values of Reynolds Number verses Friction Factor for the fig 5.2

Re f
31.49 2.72
62.35 1.44
112.68 0.79
167.16 0.56
220.67 0.45
The friction in microchannel is varying with respect to Reynolds Number. If
the Reynolds number reduces the friction factor is increases. If the Reynolds Number
increases friction factor is decreasing. For low Reynolds the number the friction
factor is very high.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
f

Re
Fig 5.2 The Graph of Reynolds Number verses Friction Factor



Table 5.2 Corresponding Values of Reynolds Number verses Friction Factor for the fig 5.2
Velocity (m/s) P
drop
(Pascal)
0.02 12.55
0.03 26.58
0.07 58.09
0.10 93.32
0.13 131.63
0.17 172.59

Water pressure drop with flow velocity is shown in fig. Due to the friction in
the flow path the total pressure dropping. The slop of the curve is increasing gradually
with the increase in the velocity of the flow. Pressure losses are more with increase in
the velocity of the flow.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

D
r
o
p

(
P
a
s
c
a
l
)

Velocity (m/s)

Fig 5.3 The Graph of Velocity verses Pressure Drop



HEAT TRANSFER:
Heat is defined as energy transferred by virtue of temperature difference or
gradient. Being a vector quantity, it flows with a negative temperature gradient. In the
subject of heat transfer, it is the rate of heat transfer that becomes the prime focus.
The transfer process indicates the tendency of a system to proceed towards
equilibrium.
Heat transfer by Conduction:
Conduction is the transfer of heat between 2 bodies or 2 parts of the same
body through molecules. This type of heat transfer is governed by Fourier`s Law
which states that Rate of heat transfer is linearly proportional to the temperature
gradient. For 1-D heat conduction
x
dT
q k
dx
=

Power Supplied to the Heater
Heat supplied to the Microchannel is obtained by multiplying voltage and
current supplied to the heater
Supplied X Q V I =


Table 5.4 Corresponding Values of Voltage verses Current for the fig 5.4
Flow rate 0.001L/s

Flow rate 0.003L/s

Flow rate 0.005L/s
Sl.
No
Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Amps)

Sl.
No
Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Amps)

Sl.
No
Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Amps)
1 8.24 2.00

1 8.20 2.00

1 8.28 2.00
2 9.16 2.25

2 9.26 2.25

2 9.34 2.25
3 10.26 2.50

3 10.32 2.50

3 10.38 2.50
4 11.34 2.75

4 11.45 2.75

4 11.20 2.75
5 12.47 3.00

5 12.58 3.00

5 12.60 3.00
6 13.60 3.25

6 13.65 3.25

6 13.68 3.25
7 14.85 3.50

7 14.85 3.50

7 14.80 3.50
8 16.09 3.75

8 16.04 3.75

8 16.00 3.75
9 17.35 4.00

9 17.22 4.00

9 17.19 4.00
10 18.48 4.25

10 18.40 4.25

10 18.35 4.25
11 19.70 4.50

11 19.60 4.50

11 19.51 4.50
12 20.80 4.75

12 20.80 4.75

12 20.80 4.75

Flow rate 0.002L/s

Flow rate 0.004L/s

Flow rate 0.0005L/sec
Sl.
No
Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Amps)

Sl.
No
Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Amps)

Sl.
No
Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Amps)
1
8.16 2.00
1
8.20 2.00

Sl.
NO. Vltage urrent
2 9.16 2.25

2 9.26 2.25

1 8.61 2.13
3 10.26 2.50

3 10.32 2.50

2 9.24 2.25
4 11.34 2.75

4 11.45 2.75

3 10.25 2.50
5 12.45 3.00

5 12.58 3.00

4 11.46 2.75
6 13.60 3.25

6 13.65 3.25

5 12.60 3.00
7 14.78 3.50

7 14.85 3.50

6 13.70 3.25
8 15.98 3.75

8 16.04 3.75

7 14.86 3.50
9 17.18 4.00

9 17.22 4.00

8 16.05 3.75
10 18.36 4.25

10 18.40 4.25

9 17.30 4.00
11 19.60 4.50

11 19.60 4.50

12 20.60 4.75

12 20.80 4.75

1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
0 5 10 15 20 25
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
m
p
s
)

Voltage (Volts)
0.005ml/s
0.001ml/s
0.002ml/s
0.003ml/s
0.004ml/s
0.005ml/s
Fig 5.4 The Graph of Voltage verses Current



The heat applied to the working fluid in the channels is given by
( ) water p out in Q mc T T =
The mass flow rate, m, was measured from the volume of water collected from
the outlet of the channels over a specified period of time. The inlet temperature (T
in
)
and outlet temperature (T
out
) were taken from the thermocouples inserted into the
pressure tap tubes. (It is noted again that the experimental condition was that of a
constant Heat flux for the micro channels)

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
H
e
a
t

C
a
r
r
i
e
d

a
w
a
y

b
y

W
a
t
e
r

(

W
a
t
t
s
)

Heat_Supplied to Microchannel
(Watts)
0.0005ml/s
0.001ml/s
0.002ml/s
0.003ml/s
0.004ml/s
0.005ml/s
Fig 5.5 The Graph of Heat Supplied to Microchannel verses Heat Carried Away by Water



Table 5.5 Corresponding Values of Heat Supplied to Microchannel (Watts) verses
Heat Carried Away by Water (Water) for the Fig 5.5
Flow Rate 0.001L/s

Flow Rate 0.003L/s

Flow Rate 0.005L/s
Sl.
No.
Input
Power
Q_water

Sl.
No.
Input
Power
Q_water

Sl.
No.
Input
Power
Q_water
1 16.48 13.75

1 16.40 16.26

1 16.56 14.58
2 20.61 17.91

2 20.84 20.01

2 21.02 18.75
3 25.65 21.65

3 25.80 25.01

3 25.95 22.92
4 31.19 26.65

4 31.49 31.26

4 30.80 29.17
5 37.41 30.81

5 37.74 36.26

5 37.80 33.33
6 44.20 37.46

6 44.36 43.76

6 44.46 39.58
7 51.98 44.52

7 51.98 51.25

7 51.80 45.83
8 60.34 49.51

8 60.15 56.25

8 60.00 52.07
9 69.40 58.23

9 68.88 63.75

9 68.76 62.48
10 78.54 65.28

10 78.20 74.99

10 77.99 72.89
11 88.65 73.57

11 88.20 84.98

11 87.80 83.30
12 98.80 84.34

12 98.80 91.22

12 98.80 93.71

Flow Rate 0.002L/s

Flow Rate 0.004L/s

Flow Rate 0.0005L/s
Sl.
No.
Input
Power
Q_water

Sl.
No.
Input
Power
Q_water

Sl.
No.
Input
Power
Q_water
1 16.32 15.84

1 16.40 13.34

1 18.34 17.08
2 20.61 20.01

2 20.84 16.67

2 20.79 19.37
3 25.65 24.17

3 25.80 21.67

3 25.63 22.49
4 31.19 29.17

4 31.49 26.68

4 31.52 26.44
5 37.35 34.17

5 37.74 31.68

5 37.80 31.00
6 44.20 38.34

6 44.36 38.34

6 44.53 36.81
7 51.73 45.83

7 51.98 46.68

7 52.01 43.45
8 59.93 54.16

8 60.15 53.34

8 60.19 49.04
9 68.72 62.48

9 68.88 61.67

9 69.20 57.73
10 78.03 69.97

10 78.20 66.67

11 88.20 77.46

11 88.20 76.66

12 97.85 82.45

12 98.80 84.99


The fig 5.5 shows the graph of heat Supplied to the microchannel v/s heat
carried by water. The variation for the entire flow rate is almost linear. The heat
removal rate is same for all the flow rates. Hence the heat convection rate is same in
lower flow rate and also in higher flow rate.

Surface Area available for the convection inside the micro channel is
2
X X 10[2( ) 2( )] 0.004 s A H L W L m = + =

5.3 Convection
When heat transfer takes place between a solid surface and a fluid system in
motion, the process is known as Convection. When a temperature difference produces
a density difference that results in mass movement, the process is called Free or
Natural Convection. When the mass motion of the fluid is carried by an external
device like pump, blower or fan, the process is called Forced Convection. In
convective heat transfer, Heat flux is given by:
( ) s s f Q A h T T =
The conservation of energy equation for the steady flow of a fluid in a tube can be
expressed as

( ) water a p out in Q m C T T =

Nusselt Number
The Nusselt number is a dimensionless number that measures the
enhancement of heat transfer from a surface that occurs in a real situation compared
to the heat transferred if just conduction occurred
h hD
Nu
k
=



Fig 5.6 The Graph of Reynolds Number verses Nusselt Number

0.5
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.7
1.9
2.1
2.3
2.5
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
N
u
_
E
X
P

Re



Table 5.6 Corresponding Values of Nusselt Number verses Reynolds Number for the
Fig 5.6

Flow Rate 0.001L/s

Flow Rate 0.003L/s

Flow Rate 0.005L/s
Sl.No Nu Re

Sl.No Nu Re

Sl.No Nu Re
1 1.060 57.831

1 2.156 162.134

1 2.273 279.624
2 1.101 58.473

2 2.241 162.694

2 2.310 280.255
3 1.100 59.052

3 2.148 163.443

3 2.210 280.887
4 1.090 59.699

4 2.247 164.380

4 2.343 281.836
5 1.084 60.349

5 2.073 165.132

5 2.213 282.470
6 1.094 61.394

6 2.157 166.262

6 2.278 283.421
7 1.096 62.512

7 2.097 167.396

7 2.240 284.374
8 1.052 63.306

8 2.038 168.153

8 2.155 285.328
9 1.062 64.438

9 1.972 169.292

9 2.251 286.920
10 1.049 65.577

10 2.020 171.006

10 2.287 288.517
11 1.066 66.927

11 1.986 172.535

11 2.302 290.117
12 1.055 68.698

12 1.902 173.494

12 2.304 291.721

Flow Rate 0.002L/s

Flow Rate 0.004L/s

Flow Rate 0.0005L/s
Sl.No Nu Re

Sl.No Nu Re

Sl.No Nu Re
1 1.876 108.089

1 2.301 215.930

1 0.894 28.565
2 1.779 108.712

2 2.231 216.428

2 0.899 28.916
3 1.819 109.337

3 2.283 217.175

3 0.832 29.397
4 1.708 110.088

4 2.260 217.924

4 0.840 30.012
5 1.650 110.842

5 2.301 218.674

5 0.820 30.861
6 1.553 111.471

6 2.168 219.675

6 0.815 31.786
7 1.580 112.608

7 2.240 220.929

7 0.794 32.856
8 1.597 113.877

8 2.179 221.935

8 0.795 33.769
9 1.578 115.151

9 2.162 223.194

9 0.774 35.208
10 1.555 116.303

10 2.085 223.951

11 1.518 117.460

11 2.118 225.469

12 1.430 118.234

12 2.061 226.737


Using the definition of the average Nusselt number from Equation for the
microchannels of the tested MHE, the Nusselt number was calculated for each case
and is shown in Figure 5.6
Laminar flow heat transfer in microchannels has been studied by a number of
researchers. Agreement with the classical laminar flow theory is expected to hold, but
the reported data show significant scatter due to difficulties encountered in making
accurate local heat flux and temperature measurements.
The laminar flow heat transfer in the fully developed region is expected to be
constant, but the data taken from literature show a generally linear increase in Nusselt
number with flow Reynolds number as seen in Fig.
However, there are many factors at play in the current situation which give rise to low
average Nusselt number results. A very important factor in the current analysis is the
presence of a thermally developing flow field. As stated in Eq the thermal entrance
length is approximately equal to the hydrodynamic entrance length multiplied by the
Prandtl number. Since the working fluid in the experiments was water in a
temperature range of approximately 295K to 325K, the Prandtl number for the
experiments was approximately Pr = 6. This means that the thermal entrance lengths
of the microchannels tested were approximately 6 times longer than the
hydrodynamic entrance lengths.
The effects of the entrance lengths on the Nusselt number can be seen in
Figure, where the distribution of Nusselt number with various Reynolds numbers.


Notice that each case starts at a large Nusselt number but converges to
approximately the fully developed value at the exit of the tube. The higher Reynolds
number cases show a higher Nusselt number in the Microchannel. Taking the of these
curve easily shows that the average Nusselt number gets larger as Re increases
because of the longer entrance length that comes from a higher Re. Above fig shows
the Nusselt number v/s Reynolds number for different flow rates. As the Reynolds
Number increases the Nusselt Number also increases. The convective heat transfer
coefficient also increases as Nusselt Number increases.

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
h
_
E
X
P

Re
Fig 5.5 The Graph of Reynolds Number verses Convective Heat Transfer
Coefficient


Table 5.5 Corresponding Values of Reynolds Number verses Convective Heat Transfer
Coefficient

for the Fig 5.6

The fig shows the variation of Convective heat transfer coefficient (h) v//s
Reynolds Number. With increase in the Reynolds number the convective heat
transfer coefficient also increases. The heat transfer capability increases with
increase in the Reynolds number. But the Pressure losses are more, so the pump
requires more power to compensate the pressure losses.

Fig 5.7 The Graph of Outlet Temperature Measured by Experimental Method verses Outlet
Temperature from CFD analysis

295
300
305
310
315
320
325
295 300 305 310 315 320 325 330
T
_
o
u
t
_
C
F
D

(
K
)

T_out_EXP (K)
0.0005ml/
s
0.001ml/s
0.002ml/s
0.003ml/s
Re
H
(W/m
2
K)
31.49 340.07
62.35 440.92
112.68 662.87
167.16 844.01
220.67 888.48
284.62 918.02


Table 5.7 Corresponding Values of Outlet Temperature Measured by Experimental Method
verses Outlet Temperature from CFD analysis

for the Fig 5.7
Flow Rate 0.001L/s

Flow Rate 0.003L/s

Flow Rate 0.005L/s
Sl.
Mo.
T_out
(CFD) (K)
T_out
(EXP) (K)

Sl.
Mo.
T_out
(CFD) (K)
T_out
(EXP) (K)

Sl.
Mo.
T_out
(CFD) (K)
T_out
(EXP) (K)
1 301.7 301.1

1 297.1 297.1

1 298.4 298.3
2 302.7 302.1

2 297.5 297.4

2 298.6 298.5
3 303.9 303.0

3 297.9 297.8

3 298.9 298.7
4 305.1 304.1

4 298.4 298.3

4 299.1 299.0
5 306.6 305.1

5 298.9 298.7

5 299.4 299.2
6 308.2 306.7

6 299.4 299.3

6 299.8 299.5
7 310.1 308.4

7 300.0 299.9

7 300.1 299.8
8 312.1 309.6

8 300.7 300.3

8 300.5 300.1
9 314.1 311.5

9 301.4 300.9

9 301.0 300.6
10 316.3 313.2

10 302.2 301.8

10 301.4 301.1
11 318.7 315.2

11 303.0 302.6

11 301.9 301.6
12 321.1 317.8

12 303.8 303.1

12 302.4 302.1

Flow Rate 0.002L/s

Flow Rate 0.004L/s

Flow Rate 0.0005L/s
Sl.
Mo.
T_out
(CFD) (K)
T_out
(EXP) (K)

Sl.
Mo.
T_out
(CFD) (K)
T_out
(EXP) (K)

Sl.
Mo.
T_out
(CFD) (K)
T_out
(EXP) (K)
1 297.5 297.4

1 297.0 296.8

1 303.4 303.0
2 298.0 297.9

2 297.3 297.0

2 304.6 304.1
3 298.6 298.4

3 297.6 297.3

3 306.8 305.6
4 299.3 299.0

4 297.9 297.6

4 309.6 307.5
5 300.0 299.6

5 298.3 297.9

5 312.6 309.9
6 300.9 300.1

6 298.7 298.3

6 315.9 312.7
7 301.8 301.0

7 299.2 298.8

7 319.2 315.9
8 302.8 302.0

8 299.7 299.2

8 323.1 318.6
9 303.8 303.0

9 300.2 299.7

9 327.3 322.8
10 305.0 303.9

10 300.8 300.0

11 306.2 304.8

11 301.4 300.6

12 307.4 305.4

12 302.0 301.1

The final outlet temperature is measured during experiment and also final
outlet temperature is obtained during CFD simulation. Both the result are well
converges with each other. For all the flow rates the results are matching. The graph
trend is almost 45 angle.


Prandtl Number:

It is the ratio of momentum diffusivity (viscosity) and thermal diffusivity.
r P
v
o
=

Fig 5.8 The Graph of Reynolds Number verses Peandtl Number
4.5
4.7
4.9
5.1
5.3
5.5
5.7
5.9
6.1
6.3
6.5
0 100 200 300
P
r

Re
0.0005ml/s
0.001ml/s
0.002ml/s
0.003ml/s
0.004ml/s
0.005ml/s


Table 5.8 Corresponding Values of Reynolds Number verses Prandtl Number for the Fig 5.8
Flow Rate 0.001L/s

Flow Rate 0.003L/s

Flow Rate 0.005L/s
Sl. No Re Pr

Sl. No Re Pr

Sl. No Re Pr
1 57.83 5.90

1 162.13 6.37

1 279.62 6.14
2 58.47 5.84

2 162.69 6.35

2 280.25 6.12
3 59.05 5.77

3 163.44 6.32

3 280.89 6.11
4 59.70 5.74

4 164.38 6.28

4 281.84 6.08
5 60.35 5.63

5 165.13 6.25

5 282.47 6.06
6 61.39 5.52

6 166.26 6.20

6 283.42 6.04
7 62.51 5.40

7 167.40 6.15

7 284.37 6.02
8 63.31 5.33

8 168.15 6.12

8 285.33 6.00
9 64.44 5.22

9 169.29 6.07

9 286.92 5.96
10 65.58 5.12

10 171.01 6.01

10 288.52 5.93
11 66.93 5.00

11 172.54 5.95

11 290.12 5.88
12 68.70 4.85

12 173.49 5.90

12 291.72 5.85

Flow Rate 0.002L/s

Flow Rate 0.004L/s

Flow Rate 0.0005L/s
Sl. No Re Pr

Sl. No Re Pr

Sl. No Re Pr
1 108.09 6.37

1 215.93 6.39

1 28.56 5.99
2 108.71 6.34

2 216.43 6.37

2 28.92 5.90
3 109.34 6.30

3 217.18 6.34

3 29.40 5.80
4 110.09 6.25

4 217.92 6.32

4 30.01 5.67
5 110.84 6.20

5 218.67 6.30

5 30.86 5.48
6 111.47 6.16

6 219.67 6.26

6 31.79 5.30
7 112.61 6.09

7 220.93 6.23

7 32.86 5.13
8 113.88 6.02

8 221.93 6.19

8 33.77 4.95
9 115.15 5.94

9 223.19 6.15

9 35.21 4.72
10 116.30 5.87

10 223.95 6.13

11 117.46 5.80

11 225.47 6.08

12 118.23 5.76

12 226.74 6.04

The Prandtl Number is calculated using above equation. The graph shows the
Prandtl and Reynolds number variation for different flow rates Fig shows the
variation of Reynolds Number with respect to the Prandtl Number. Reynolds number
increases with the Prandtl number.



Convective heat transfer co-efficient (h)
The convective heat transfer coefficient is calculated from the experimental
results. Convective heat transfer coefficient is also obtained from the CFD analysis.
Fig shows the average convective heat transfer coefficient comparison from both
analysis.

Fig 5.9 The Graph of Heat Transfer Coefficient of CFD method Heat Transfer Coefficient of
Experimental method

300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
A
v
g
_
h
_
E
X
P

(
W
/
m
2
K
)

Avg_h_CFD (W/m
2
K)



Table 5.9 Corresponding Values of Heat Transfer Coefficient of CFD method Heat Transfer
Coefficient of Experimental method for the Fig 5.9

The results are almost converges with each other. But for higher convective
heat transfer, the experimental value of h is less than the h value of CFD. That means
the slope of the curve is decreases in high range. The experiment values are not
exactly agreed with the CFD values in some points. The reason is that the
instrumentation is not able to measure the exact values of temperature and flow
parameters.

Sl. No. h_EXP(W/m
2
K) h_CFD(W/m
2
K)
1 340.07 350.22
2 440.92 455.11
3 662.87 643.65
4 844.01 673.22
5 888.48 723.34
6 918.02 816.96


Fig 5.10 The Contours of Velocity Magnitude of Fluid inside Microchannel
Fig 5.10a The contour of velocity at flow rate
of 0.0005 L/s
Fig 5.10b The contour of velocity at flow rate
of 0.001 L/s
Fig 5.10c The contour of velocity at flow rate
of 0.002 L/s
Fig 5.10d The contour of velocity at flow rate
of 0.003 L/s
Fig 5.10e The contour of velocity at flow rate
of 0.004 L/s
Fig 5.10f The contour of velocity at flow rate
of 0.005 L/s
The fig shows the contours of velocity distribution. From this we can conclude
that the velocity in all channels of Microchannel is uniform. So the assumed equations
for calculation are matches for present case study.


Fig 5.11 The Contours of Pressure Distribution of Fluid inside Microchannel
Fig 5.11a The contour of Pressure
Distribution at flow rate of 0.0005 L/s
Fig 5.11b The contour of Pressure
Fig 5.11c The contour of Pressure
Fig 5.11d The contour of Pressure
Fig 5.11e The contour of Pressure
Fig 5.11f The contour of Pressure
The fig 5.11 shows the contours of Pressure Distribution of fluid inside the
Microchannel.


Fig 5.12 The Velocity Vector of Fluid inside Microchannel
Fig 5.12a The Velocity Vector at flow rate of
0.0005 L/s
Fig 5.12b The Velocity Vector at flow rate of
0.001 L/s
Fig 5.12c The Velocity Vector at flow rate of
0.002 L/s
Fig 5.12d The Velocity Vector at flow rate of
0.003 L/s
Fig 5.12e The Velocity Vector at flow rate of
0.004 L/s
Fig 5.12f The Velocity Vector at flow rate of
0.005 L/s
The fig 5.11 shows the Velocity Vector of fluid inside the Microchannel. We
can observe that the fluid flow is very smooth in lesser flow rate. Recirculation is
clearly visible in the Inlet Manifold at 0.005L/s flow rate.


Fig 5.13 The Contours of Total Temperature of Microchannel at 0.001L/sec flow rate
Fig 5.13a The Contours Of Total Temperature of
Microchannel at heat input of 16.48W
Fig 5.13b The Contours Of Total Temperature of
Fig 5.13c The Contours Of Total Temperature of
Fig 5.13d The Contours Of Total Temperature of



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Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Microchannel

Dept of Mechanical Engg., U.V.C.E., Bangalore

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