Numerical Simulation of Forced Convection Flow through a Flattened Pipe Using Porous Material in the Central and Boundary Arrangement

In this work, three-dimensional turbulent forced convection flow through a flattened pipe, partially and completely filled with a porous material, was investigated numerically. Here, the effects of permeability and thickness of the porous layer on the rate of heat transfer and pressure drop were investigated. For this purpose, porous material was inserted in two geometrical arrangements: central and boundary. Also, the pipe had constant-temperature condition. The results for central arrangement show that the rate of heat transfer first increases and then decreases with increasing the thickness of the porous layer, while the pressure drop is monotonically increasing. While for the porous medium boundary arrangement, the rate of heat transfer first decreases and then increases with increasing the thickness of the porous layer. Also the maximum of Nusselt number is occurred for the fully porous pipe configuration.