Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Numerical Characterization Of The Hydrodynamics And Thermal Behavior Of Air Flow In A "Flex-Duct" Air Distribution System, Samad Gharehdaghi, Samir Moujaes

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

The aim of this research paper is to compute the hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of the air flow inside a flexible duct used for residential/small commercial buildings. Various new information which manufacturers do not provide usually are produced numerically among which heat transfer coefficient, needed for estimating heat loss, is a principal one. Circulation zones in depressions are found to exist. It is shown that these regions act as an insulator and decrease the heat loss along the duct. The results show that fully developed conditions exist much earlier with regard to the inlet for both hydrodynamic and thermal …