Resistor-Network Formulation of Multitemperature Forced-Convection Problems

Abstract

Many convection heat transfer problems involve more than two isothermal heat sources/sinks. A network of multiple convective resistors connecting temperature nodes representing the isothermal sources (walls, inlet flows, etc.) can be used to represent this class of problem. However, the convective resistances that characterize this network cannot generally be evaluated using energy balances resulting from a single solution to the energy equation. A technique based on solutions of the energy equation with perturbed boundary conditions is developed to overcome this difficulty. The resulting technique is verified by comparison with energy-balance results previously obtained for a special symmetric case. The technique is also applied to a superposition solution for hydrodynamically developed laminar flow in an annulus and to numerical solutions of simultaneously developing flow in an asymmetrically heated annulus under both laminar and turbulent flow conditions. This work is part of an ongoing research project on the resistor-network modeling and characterization of multitemperature convection problems.