Evaluation of heat transfer coefficients by cfd and response surface techniques

Heat Transfer Coefficients are extremely important for design and control of thermal processes involving the convection mechanism. Experimental evaluation of the film coefficients is not simple because such parameters depend on the system geometry, flow regime and physicochemical properties of the fluid. Thus, an interesting alternative for estimating the convective heat transfer coefficient is to apply CFD techniques to solve the transport equations numerically. Therefore, this study aimed to apply the CFD techniques to evaluate the Nusselt Number in a spherical geometry under different flow conditions, compare the values obtained with those from the literature and correlate them according to the Reynolds and Prandtl Numbers through the Response Surface Methodology. The CFD techniques combined with the Response Surface Methodology were feasible and showed satisfactory results to predict the convective Heat Transfer Coefficients.