A Validated Procedure for the Prediction of Fully-Developed Nusselt Numbers and Friction Factors in Pipes with 3-Dimensional Roughness

A computer program based on the discrete element method has been developed and validated to compute friction factors and Nusselt numbers for thermally fully-developed turbulent flow in pipes with 3-dimensional roughness elements. Validation is achieved by comparing the computational results with accepted experimental data cited in the heat transfer literature. The predictions are in general in very good agreement with the experimental data and tend to confirm the predictive validity of the approach.