Impact of Electro-Convection (EC) on Heat Transfer in Liquid-Filled Containers

A. Pokryvailo [1],
[1] Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corporation, Hauppauge, NY, USA
Published in 2015

Electric field can bring liquid in motion and thus influence heat transfer. Electro-convection (EC) can be caused by electric forces acting on a liquid, even in absence of space charge.

Here, we studied heat transfer in a metal vessel filled by oil, with a submersed high voltage electrode serving as source of heat. Physics involved are Electrostatics and Laminar Flow with Heat Transfer.

High electric field generates intense flow and makes temperature distribution inside oil more uniform, but adds losses, which may result in a larger overheat. With a large body under voltage, the temperature rise is higher with EC than without, but with a smaller body it is lower.

Model experiments in absence of field show fair agreement with calculated temperatures.