Date of Award
2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Engineering Science
Program
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Supervisor
Dr. Tim Newson
Second Advisor
Dr. Anthony Straatman,
Abstract
Heat transfer from an isothermal pipe buried in porous media and superimposed by a fluid layer has been investigated numerically using the commercial software FLUENT (6.3.26). Due to natural and induced heterogeneity, soils have variations in their hydraulic and volumetric properties; these must be considered for accurate design purposes. Two types of porous media have been investigated, sand and clay. For sand media, the study investigates the effects of different flow and geometric conditions on the heat transfer process. The flow parameters are represented by the Rayleigh number, the permeability ratio of the backfill to the seabed and the permeability anisotropy of the backfill, while the geometric parameters are represented by the trench size and shape and the position of the pipe in the trench. For clay media, two states of the backfill were investigated; these are slurried and lumpy clays. The study also shows the impact of the different trenching conditions on insulation of the pipe as opposed to expensive coating. Lowest heat losses were achieved for a sand backfill of a permeability 100 times the permeability of the seabed and permeability anisotropy of (Kth/Ktv=50). Clay slurry backfill gave the lowest heat transfer results as the main mode of heat transfer in this case was conduction. In contrast, the high permeability and intergranular porosity of clay lumps, allowed for pure convection heat transfer. It was also noticed that clay lumps of sizes 5 and 10 cm allowed for more heat losses than for a pipe with no backfill at all.
Recommended Citation
Elserafy, Yara M., "NUMERICAL MODELLING OF HEAT TRANSFER FROM AN ISOTHERMAL CYLINDER BURIED IN HETEROGENEOUS POROUS MEDIA" (2011). Digitized Theses. 3448.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3448