Study into thermal stresses due to turbulent flow in pipes

Flow through pipes with heat transfer finds wide applications in industry. The thermal stresses, which develop in the pipe limit the heat transfer rate in pipe flow. In the present study, a turbulent flow in thick pipe with external heating is considered. The flow and temperature fields in a pipe and in the fluid are predicted using a numerical scheme; which employs a control volume approach. A k-ε model is introduced to account for the turbulence. The thermal stresses developed in the pipe due to heat transfer are predicted. The simulations are repeated for different pipe materials and fluids. It is found that the temperature gradient in the pipe changes rapidly in the vicinity of the solid-fluid interface. This change is not affected considerably by the Reynolds number. The effective stress developed at mid-plane of the pipe is independent of the Reynolds number; however, the pipe material affects the effective stress considerably.