Publication Date

1994

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Kostic, Milivoje

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

LCSH

Fluid dynamics; Laminar flow; Heat--Transmission

Abstract

The objective of this study was to calibrate and demonstrate the functionality of a fluid flow loop designed and built by the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northern Illinois University for the purpose of investigating the fluid flow and heat transfer of different fluids in a square duct. In particular, the system will be used to further investigate the recently discovered phenomena of laminar flow heat transfer augmentation in certain viscoelastic fluids. An efficient operating procedure for the system needs to be developed and documented before this research can be completed. The test section of the flow loop is a square duct 422 hydraulic diameters (25 feet) long. There are seventeen pressure taps along the duct for collecting pressure drop and friction factor measurements. One hundred and eighteen thermocouples on the top and bottom of the duct are used for temperature and heat transfer measurements. The upper and lower walls of the test section are made of stainless steel. Electrical current is passed through them for heating, resulting in a uniform heat flux along the square duct. The system was calibrated and demonstrated to work using water trials for which the expected results are well established and documented in the literature. A procedure was developed to efficiently gather test data. Preliminary trials were run on a viscoelastic Praestol-2273 aqueous solution. After the system was tested, upgrades were made to improve the durability of the system as well as the quality of the results. Future researchers will be able to use the documented procedure to investigate the phenomena of enhanced laminar flow heat transfer and help in the modeling of fluid flow and heat transfer.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [73]-74)

Extent

xii, 85 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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