Numerical investigation of transport phenomena properties on transient heat transfer in a vertical pipe flow

Transient convection heat transfer is of fundamental interest in many industrial and environmental situations, as well as in electronic devices and security of energy systems. Transient fluid flow problems are among the more difficult to analyze and yet are very often encountered in modern day technology. The main objective of this research project is to carry out a theoretical and numerical analysis of transient convective heat transfer in vertical flows, when the thermal field is due to different kinds of variation, in time and space of some boundary conditions, such as wall temperature or wall heat flux. This is achieved by the development of a mathematical model and its resolution by suitable numerical methods, as well as performing various sensitivity analyses. These objectives are achieved through a theoretical investigation of the effects of wall and fluid axial conduction, physical properties and heat capacity of the pipe wall on the transient downward mixed convection in a circular duct experiencing a sudden change in the applied heat flux on the outside surface of a central zone.