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Numerical analysis of heat transfer and flow characteristics of ice slurry in flat-sided oval pipe.

Author(s) : FAN Y., ZHANG X. R.

Type of article: IJR article

Summary

Ice slurry is an increasingly popular phase change secondary refrigerant for cold thermal energy storage medium for district cooling and other refrigeration applications due to its high latent heat capacity and good pumpability. To date, most thermo–hydraulic studies have focused on circular tubes, while the behaviour of ice slurry in flatsided oval pipe (FSOP) commonly used in compact heat exchangers remains largely unexplored. This paper numerically studies the flow and melting of ice slurry in a horizontal FSOP under uniform wall heat flux using a three-dimensional Eulerian-Eulerian approach with k–ε turbulence model. The effects of the aspect ratio (L/H), inlet velocity, and particle diameter on the velocity field, ice concentration, and wall temperature are examined. The results show that increasing L/H flattens the velocity profile and reduces wall shear. This weakens convective heat transfer, but lowers the friction factor and pressure drop. Buoyancy causes ice to accumulate near the upper wall, and together with near wall velocity gradients, this produces a U-shaped circumferential wall temperature distribution. Larger particles enhance near-wall disturbance and local heat transfer at high velocities, but increase the outlet ice fraction due to slower melting. Finally, correlations are proposed for the local Nusselt number and the flow resistance coefficient, with prediction errors of - 7 % to +8 % and ±5 %, respectively.

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Pages: 12 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Numerical analysis of heat transfer and flow characteristics of ice slurry in flat-sided oval pipe.
  • Record ID : 30034908
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 186
  • Publication date: 2026/06
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2026.106898

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