Critical conductivity ratio for conjugate heat transfer in eccentric annuli

Conjugate laminar forced convection heat transfer in the entry region of eccentric annuli is numerically investigated. Heat transfer parameters are presented for a fluid of Pr = 0.7 flowing in an annulus of radius ratio 0.5 for four values of dimensionless eccentricity ranging from 0.1 to 0.7. Solid-fluid conductivity ratio (KR) is varied to cover the range for practical cases with commonly encountered inner and outer tube thickness. Boundary conditions applied are isothermal heating of the inner surface of the core tube, while the outer surface of the external tube is maintained at the inlet fluid temperature. Limits for KR above which the conjugation can be neglected are obtained.