Studies on flow through and around a porous permeable sphere: II.

Heat Transfer
A. K. Jain and S. Basu1
Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
New Delhi 110016, India
ABSTRACT
Heat transfer from a porous-permeable sphere due to flowing of fluid through and around
it is studied for a wide range of Reynolds number (0.02 to 2000) and Pradtl number (0.7
to 7) using standard CFD software. CFD simulated results for impermeable sphere
predicts the Whitaker correlation quite well. The Simulation is then extended for heat
transfer from an isothermal porous-permeable sphere. The results are presented in terms
of four dimensionless parameters - particle Reynolds number (Re) based on the free
stream velocity and diameter of the porous sphere, permeability ratio, Pradtl number (Pr)
and Nusselt number (Nu). The results show that the heat transfer rate from porous
permeable sphere increases with the increase in permeability. At low Re, the Nu for a
permeable sphere is higher than that for solid sphere when the Pr is low, whereas, for
high Pr, permeability has only a weak effect on the Nu. At high Re, the Nu for permeable
sphere is much higher than that for solid sphere irrespective Pr values. The correlation
obtained from the CFD simulation data for heat transfer from porous permeable sphere is
useful in predicting Nu for porous permeable sphere for a wide range of Re from 0.02 to
2000 and Pr from 0.7 to 7 at different permeability ratios.
Keywords: Porous permeable sphere, Heat transfer, Permeability Ratio
INTRODUCTION
Heat transfer from an object due to flowing of surrounding fluid is a topic of industrial
importance. The object concerned may be relatively simple, such as a cylinder or sphere,
or it may be more complex, such as a tube bundle made up of a set of cylindrical tubes
with a stream of gas or liquid flowing between them. In the present investigation,
spherical aggregates forming porous permeable sphere is considered because of
1

Corresponding author; e-mail: sbasu@chemical.iitd.ac.in; Fax +011 91 26581120

simplicity in analyzing symmetric flow condition, availability of data and for the purpose
of comparing results for solid sphere. The results may be applicable to many processes
that involve spray of bubbles or droplets (Bird et al., 2002). Also, it may be useful in
understanding the geothermal energy transportation under varied geological structures
(Vasudeviah and Balamurugan, 1998).
Acrivos and Taylor (1962) studied the problem of forced convection from an isothermal
sphere for small and large Peclet number (Pe). Their analysis is valid when Reynolds
number (Re) and Pe ( = Re. Pr) is less than one, with no restriction on the Prandtl number
(Pr). Different empirical heat transfer correlations were given by different investigators
for single impermeable sphere along with experimental data e.g., Ranz and Marshall
(1952), Whitaker (1972), Achenbach (1978) and Romkes et al. (2003). The different
empirical correlations are given below.
Ranz and Marshall (1952)

Nu = 2.0 + 0.66 Re

Pr

3.5 < Re < 7.6 x 104

for

(1)

Whitaker (1972)
2
2
1
Nu = 2.0 + 0.4Re 2 + 0.06Re 3 Pr 3

(2)

for 3.5 < Re < 7.6 x 104 and 0.7 < Pr < 380
Achenbach (1978)
1

Nu = 2.0 + + 3 * 10 4 Re1.6
4

for 102 < Re < 2 x 105

(3)

It is well known fact that the Nusselt number (Nu) is equal to 2 for a sphere immersed in
an infinite medium as the steady state conduction solution prevails (Whitaker, 1972).
Johnson and Smet (1984) examined the heat transfer from a permeable sphere in uniform
flow and at low Re. They considered the case when conduction is dominant heat transfer
mechanism in the exterior fluid, i.e. small Pe, and the case when convection was
dominant, i.e. large Pe. They found from their study that at small Peclet numbers the heat
transfer rate from a permeable sphere differ at leading-order from that found for an
impermeable sphere, whereas, for large Peclet numbers permeability has only a weak or

second-order effect on the heat transfer rate. But their theoretical work was only limited
to Stokes flow. They did not study the system for high Reynolds number.
In the present work heat transfer study on flow through and around a porous permeable
sphere for a wide range of Re (0.02 to 2000) and Pr (0.7 to 7) is studied using standard
CFD software. The main objective is to study the effect of permeability and to examine
how the heat transfer process is influenced by fluid flow not only around but also through
the porous permeable sphere. A generalized correlation is suggested based on all
simulation results obtained for a wide range of Reynolds number, Prandtl number and
permeability ratio.

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS SIMULATION

Porous permeable sphere is assumed to consist of small spherical particles (grains) with
some specific void fraction. Mass and energy conservation expressions and the NavierStokes equations are used for the outer region of porous permeable sphere. Whereas, in
the inner region, mass and energy conservation and Darcys law of Brinkmans extension
are applied in order to solve the temperature, pressure and velocity fields. Thus, the flow
regions through and around a porous permeable sphere are divided into two parts,
namely, internal flow and external flow. The flow regions and the coordinate systems for
flow through and around a porous permeable sphere are shown in figure 1 of Jain et al.
(submitted).
External flow:
Equation of continuity, Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes (RANS) given in Jain et al.
(submitted) were used along with the energy equation. The energy equation is given
below.
Equation of energy

( E ) + (v (E + P )) = eff T j H j J j + ( eff v ) + Sh

(1)

Where E is total energy, is the density, P is the pressure, T is the temperature, H is the
enthalpy, eff is the effective shear stress, Jj is the diffusion flux of species j and eff is the

effective thermal conductivity. eff = + Cp t / Prt, where Prt is the turbulent Prandtl
number, Cp is the specific heat of fluid and is the thermal conductivity of the flowing
fluid. The first three terms on the right-hand side of eq. (9), represent energy transfer due
to conduction, species diffusion, and viscous dissipation, respectively. Sh includes the
heat of chemical reaction, and any other volumetric heat sources have been defined. In
the present study Sh is zero.
Internal flow:
(i) Momentum equations for porous media:
Porous media are modeled by the addition of a momentum source term to the Reynoldsaverage Navier-Stokes equation. The source term is composed of two parts, a viscous
loss term and an inertial loss term. For simple homogeneous porous media, the source
term, the Kozeny equation for relating relating permeability and porosity, the inertial
resistance factor, Darcys equation and intertial loss term given in Jain et al. (submitted)
were used for the modeling of internal flow region. It should be noted that isothermal
condition is assumed inside of the porous permeable sphere.

Meshing of the system and setting of tolerance limit was done following same procedure
as described in Jain et al (submitted). Laminar model was used for low Reynolds number
and k- model is used at high Reynolds number. Inside the porous permeable sphere
laminar model is used.
Calculation of heat transfer coefficient (h) and Nusselt number (Nu):
The temperature of the surface of the particle, constitutes the porous permeable sphere,
was set to a surface temperature, Ts, whereas the fluid at the boundary of the domain
(inlet condition) was set to a lower bulk temperature, T. As a result of the temperature
difference between the particle surface and the fluid, heat is transferred from the particle
to the fluid. The particle-to-fluid heat transfer rate, q, for flow around sphere of diameter
d, and heat transfer coefficient, h, is expressed as, q = h

d2 (Ts-T) and Nusselt number

is expressed as, Nu = h d / .

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Solid sphere:

At first, simulations are carried out for solid sphere for different Reynolds number
ranging from 0.02 to 2000 and different Prandtl number varying from 0.7 to 7. The
simulation results are plotted in the form of Whitaker correlation (Whitaker, 1972) and
compared with the experimental data. In figure 1, the symbols show experimental data
whereas dashed line indicates the Whitaker correlation (eq. 1). It is well known fact that
the correlations available in the literature (Holman, 1986) slightly under predict the
experimental value for Nu at low Re. It is seen in figure 1 that the experimental data are
well predicted by the CFD simulations, as shown by solid line at low Re. The simulated
Nu values for high Reynolds number are also in good agreement with the experimental
data available in literature.

Porous permeable sphere:

In figure 2, Nu, is plotted against Re Pr2/3 at different permeability ratio, K/d2 for flowing
of air through and around the porous permeable sphere. The solid line indicates the Nu
for impermeable sphere whereas different dashed lines indicate Nu for permeable sphere
of different K/d2 values. Nu for solid sphere approaches to the asymptotic value of 2 with
the decrease in Re. Nu increases with the increase in Re for all K/d2 values. The increase
in heat transfer coefficient with the increase in Re is due to the increase in velocity field
inside the porous permeable sphere, which in turn increased the heat transfer rate. The
increase in Nu with K/d2 values for porous permeable sphere is significant for high
Reynolds number. The heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase in K/d2 value
because of the lower resistance to flow offered by highly permeable sphere. At low
Reynolds number, value of Nu for permeable sphere approaches to that for solid sphere.
Present simulation result on Nu for porous permeable sphere is verified with the
analytical solution given by Johnson and Smet (1984) at low Re (Table 1). They
concluded that the Nu for porous permeable sphere is higher than that for solid sphere at
low Pe ( = Re. Pr) of 0.015. On the other hand, Nu has weak dependence on permeability
at a slightly higher Pe (say, 0.14) and hence heat transfer rate from permeable and solid

sphere is almost the same. It is seen in table 1 that the Nu for porous permeable sphere
differs by 15 % from that for impermeable sphere at low Re and Pr. However, Nu for
porous permeable sphere differs only by 0.09 % from that for impermeable sphere at low
Re and high Pr. Further, at high Re, permeability has strong effect on Nu irrespective of
the Prandtl number. Thus, Nu for porous permeable sphere is higher than that for solid
sphere at high Reynolds number. The Nu increases with the increase in Pr for both
permeable and impermeable sphere at high Re, whereas no significant increase in Nu is
with the increase in Pr at low Re.
Based on simulated results a correlation for heat transfer from porous permeable sphere is
generated using non-linear regression analyses. The regression coefficient of 0.91 was
obtained. The correlation for heat transfer from porous permeable sphere is given by,

(Nu 2) = 3.7 Re

Pr

( )

1 + K 2
d

13.1

(15)

valid for, 0.02 < Re < 2000, 0.7 < Pr < 7 and 10-5 < K/d2 < 10-2
When predicting the Whitaker correlation (for solid sphere) using above equation (eq.
15), an average error of 15 % was obtained at low Re with zero permeability value (K/d2
= 0). This correlation can be extended for mass transfer from porous permeable sphere
since the phenomena of mass transfer is analogous to heat transfer. In eq. (15), Nu and Pr
have to be replaced by Sherwood number and Schimdt number. This would work fine for
no change in size of porous permeable sphere due to mass transfer.

CONCLUSION

Heat transfer study on flow through and around a porous permeable sphere is investigated
with the help of standard CFD software for wide ranges of Reynolds number and Prandtl
number. Experimental data and Whitaker correlation (1972) for heat transfer from solid
sphere are excellently predicted by present CFD simulation. The CFD simulation then
extended for heat transfer from isothermal porous permeable sphere by considering mass,
momentum and energy equations outside of the porous permeable sphere and Darcys
law with Brinkmans extension inside the porous permeable sphere. Present simulated
results show that the heat transfer rate increases with the increase in permeability. At low

Re, the Nu for a permeable sphere is higher than that for solid sphere when the Pr is low,
whereas, for high Pr, permeability has only a weak effect on the Nu. At high Re, the Nu
for permeable sphere is much higher than that for solid sphere irrespective Pr values. The
correlation obtained from the CFD simulation data for heat transfer from porous
permeable sphere is useful in predicting Nu for porous permeable sphere for a wide range
of Re from 0.02 to 2000 and Pr from 0.7 to 7 at different permeability ratios.

Notation

Cp

specific heat of fluid, J kg-1 K-1

diameter of sphere, m

total energy, N m

heat transfer coefficient, Wm-2 K-1

enthalpy, N m

Jj

diffusion flux of species j, mole m-2 s-1

permeability, m2

K/d2

permeability ratio, dimensionless

Nu

Nusselt number (= h D / ), dimensionless

pressure, N/m2

Pe

Peclet number (= Re. Pr), dimensionless

Pr

Prandtl number (= Cp / ), dimensionless

Prt

turbulent Prandtl number, dimensionless

heat transfer rate, Watt

Re

Reynolds number (= d v / ), dimensionless

Sh

heat source term in eq. 1

time, s

temperature, K

Ts

sphere temperature, K

bulk temperature, K

vi

velocity component in xi direction

vj

velocity component in xj direction

vl

velocity component in xl direction

approaching velocity, m/s

Greek letters

thermal conductivity, W m-1 K

eff

effective thermal conductivity, W m-1 K

viscosity of fluid, Pa s

turbulent viscosity of fluid, Pa s

density of fluid, kg/m3

eff

Effective shear stress, N m-2

References

Achenbach, E., in: Proceeding of the 6th international heat transfer conference on heat
transfer from sphere up to Re = 6 x 106, Vol. 5, Hemisphere 1978 Washington DC.

Acrivos, A., and T. D. Taylor, Heat and mass transfer from single sphere in stokes flow,
J. Phys. Fluids, (1962) 5(4), 387-394.

Bird R. B., Stewart E. W., Lightfoot N. E., Transport Phenomena, John Wiley and
Sons 2002, India.

FLUENT Users Guide, Fluent Inc., 1998.

Hinze, J. O., Turbulence, McGraw-Hill, 1975 New york.

Holman, J. P., Heat transfer, McGraw-Hill, 1986 New York.

Jain, A. K., C. Sirker, and S. Basu, Studies on flow through and around a porous
permeable sphere: I. Hydrodynamics (Submitted)

Johnson, R. E., and R. P. Smet, On the heat transfer from a permeable sphere in stokes
flow, Chem. Eng. Sci., (1984) 22 (7) 947-958.

McCabe L. W., and C. J. Smith, Unit operation of chemical engineering, 3rd edition,

10

McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Ltd, 1980, Japan.

Ranz, W. E., and W. R. Marshall, Evaporation from drops, Chem. Eng. Prog., (1952) 48,
141-146.

Romkes, S. J. P., F. M. Dautzenberg, and C. M. van den Bleek, and H. P. A. Calis, CFD
modeling and experimental validation of particle-to-fluid mass and heat transfer in a
packed bed at very low channel to particle diameter ratio, Chem. Eng. J., (2003) 96, 3-13.

Vasudeviah, M., and K. Balamurugan, Heat transfer from a porous sphere in a slow
viscous flow, Int. J. Non-linear Mechanics, (1998) 33(1), 111-124.

Whitaker S., Forced convection heat transfer correlations for flow in pipes, past flat
plates, single cylinders, single spheres, and for flow in packed beds and tube bundles,
AIChE J. (1972) 18 (2), 361-370.

11

Figure captions

Fig. 1. Comparison of simulated results with Whitaker (1972) correlation and

experimental results for heat transfer from impermeable sphere
Fig. 2. Forced-convection heat transfer from a porous permeable sphere

Table caption

Table 1: Nusselt number values for flow through and around sphere at different Reynolds
number

12

100

(Nu-2)/Pr0.4

10

Whitaker correlation
(Nu-2)/Pr0.4=0.4Re0.5+0.06Re2/3
Experimental
Present simulation

0.1

0.01
0.01

0.1

10

100

1000

10000

Re

Fig. 1. Comparison of simulated results with Whitaker (1972) correlation

and experimental results for heat transfer from a impermeale sphere

13

1000
k/d2 = 1e-2
k/d2 = 1e-3
k/d2 = 1e-4
k/d2 = 1.82e-5
solid sphere

Nu

100

10

1
0.001

0.01

0.1

10

Re Pr

100

1000

10000

2/3

Fig. 2. Forced-convection heat transfer from a porous permeable sphere

14

Table 1: Nusselt number values for flow through and around sphere at different Reynolds
number
Reynolds
Peclet
number
Number
(Pe=Re. Pr) (Re)

Prandtl
number
(Pr)

Nu for permeable Nu
for
sphere
impermeable
(K/d2 = 1e-2)
sphere
(K/d2 = 0)

Variation
between Nu for
permeable and
impermeable
sphere

0.0149

0.02

0.7442

2.5371

2.2062

14.99 %

0.1398

0.02

6.9909

2.2428

2.2408

0.09 %

1488

2000

0.7442

265.7559

26.4973

902.95 %

13980

2000

6.9909

2410.7440

69.6281

3361.32 %

15