The Transfer of Heat by Self-Induced Flow in a Rotating Tube

Abstract

This paper provides a review of recently published research on self-induced flow and heat transfer in a rotating tube, together with additional theoretical work on heat transfer to the cylindrical wall of the tube. Earlier work has shown that self-induced flow can occur when a tube, with one end open and the other sealed, is rotated about its axis: Fluid flows along the axis toward the sealed end and returns in an annular layer on the cylindrical wall. The flow and heat transfer on the end wall are similar to those associated with the so-called free disk, and measured velocity distributions in the tube and Nusselt numbers for the end wall are in good agreement with those computed from numerical solutions of the Navier–Stokes and energy equations. The Reynolds analogy is used in this paper to provide a correlation for the computed Nusselt numbers for the cylindical wall, and design correlations are provided to enable the results to be applied to anti-icing systems for the nose bullets of aero-engines.