Heat Transfer and CFD

The DIME working group's research in the field of fluid distribution within channels focuses on analyzing the phase distribution performance of distributors operating with air-water mixtures. Experimental campaigns are conducted by varying the geometric configuration of the distributor and the operating conditions, as well as the surface velocities of the phases. The effects of geometric parameters are analyzed and new phase homogenization systems are also tested (channel protrusions with constant and variable depth; innovative flow direction reversal system), with the aim of defining an optimal geometry based on operating conditions.

The development of experimental techniques in the thermal field is of primary importance for acquiring information on particularly complex thermal systems and for validating the results provided by numerical codes. The expertise acquired by DIME in this area includes tools for detecting thermal fields in transparent fluids (schlieren technique) and on solid surfaces (liquid crystal and infrared thermography).
The optical schlieren technique allows the thermal field to be reconstructed in a transparent fluid by measuring the angular deflections experienced by a light beam passing through a non-isothermal region.

Infrared or liquid crystal thermographic techniques allow detailed measurements of the surface temperature of a solid body.

Finally, computational thermofluid dynamics finds application where the flow field is significantly influenced by heat exchange.
One specific field is the evaluation of smoke movement in the event of a fire. In this case, it aims to provide significant information for assessing the safety of people, primarily, and of structures.

Laboratories

  • Thermophysical Properties (PTLab)
  • Applied Thermofluid Dynamics (TFALab)
  • Two-Phase Fluids
  • Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration

Publications

  • Marchitto, F. Devia, M. Fossa, G. Guglielmini, C. Schenone, Experiments on two-phase flow distribution inside parallel channels of compact heat exchangers, Int. J. Multiphase Flow, Vol. 34, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 128-144.
  • G.Tanda “Natural convection heat transfer in vertical channels  with  and without  transverse  square  ribs”, Int. Journal of Heat and  Mass  Transfer,  Vol.40,  No.9, pp.2173-2185, June 1997.
  • F. Devia, G.Tanda “Investigation of natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal isothermal plate by schlieren tomography”, Int. Journal  of Heat and Technology, Vol.18, No.1, pp.41-46, 2000.
  • G.Tanda, M.Fossa, and M.Misale “Heat transfer measurements in water using a schlieren technique”, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.71, pp.451-458, 2014.
  • F. Devia, A. Marchitto, M. Fossa, G. Guglielmini. CFD Simulations Devoted to the Study of Fitting Effects on the Phase Distribution in Parallel Vertical Channels, International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering. ISSN (Online) 1542-6580, ISSN (Print) 2194-5748, 2015.
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