International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt

An experimental study of pressure loss and heat transfer in the pin

fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths
Yu Rao a,⇑, Chaoyi Wan a, Yamin Xu b
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, PR China
b
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of dimple depth on the pressure loss and
Received 2 May 2012 heat transfer characteristics in a pin fin-dimple channel, where dimples are located on the endwall trans-
Received in revised form 27 June 2012 versely between the pin fins. The pin fin-dimple channels considered consist of ten rows of pin fin-dimple
Accepted 27 June 2012
combined structure. The pin fin transverse spacing-to-diameter ratio S/D = 2.5, the streamwise spacing-
Available online 21 July 2012
to-diameter ratio X/D = 2.5, the pin fin height-to-diameter ratio H/D = 1.0. The dimples have a print diam-
eter the same with the pin fins, but have three different dimple depth-to-diameter ratios, i.e. d/D = 0.1, 0.2
Keywords:
and 0.3. The experimental results, mainly the average Nusselt number and friction factor, for the pin fin-
Pin fin
Dimple
dimple channels with various dimple depths have been obtained and compared with each other for the
Gas turbine cooling Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500. The study showed that, compared to the baseline pin fin chan-
Pressure loss nel, the pin fin-dimple channels have further improved convective heat transfer performance by up to
Heat transfer enhancement 19.0%, and the pin fin-dimple channel with deeper dimples shows relatively higher Nusselt number val-
ues. The study still showed dimple depth-dependent pressure loss behaviors for the pin fin-dimple chan-
nels compared to the pin fin channel, and the pin fin-dimple channel with shallower dimples shows
relatively lower friction factors by up to 17.6% over the studied Reynolds number range. Furthermore,
three-dimensional conjugate computations have been carried out for similar experimental conditions,
and the computations showed the detailed characteristics in the distribution of the velocity and turbu-
lence level in the flow, which revealed the underlying mechanisms for the associated dimple depth-
dependent pressure loss and heat transfer characteristics in the pin fin-dimple channels.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Pin fin arrays are a commonly used cooling structure in the trail-
ing edge of gas turbine blades [1–2]. The pin fins increase not only
the internal wetted (cooled) surface area, but also the structure
integrity and stiffness. On the other hand, when the fluid flows
across the pin fin arrays, the pin fins create accelerated flow be-
tween pins, separated highly disturbed wake regions behind each
pin, horseshoe vortices from interaction with the endwall, and the
unsteady vortical shedding induced from the pin. These mecha-
nisms serve to produce a higher turbulence level in the flow and sig-
nificantly enhance the convective heat transfer performance.
Previously, numerous investigations have been done focusing on
the effects of geometrical parameters on the flow friction and heat
transfer in the pin fin channel. Van Fossen [3], Metzger et al. [4–6]
and Chyu et al. [7–8] revealed that the pin height-to-diameter ratio,
array orientation (in-line or staggered) and fin cross-sectional
shape, etc. are crucial parameters in determining the heat transfer
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 21 34205986.
E-mail address: yurao@sjtu.edu.cn (Y. Rao).
and friction factor. Lau et al. [9], and McMillin and Lau [10] showed
that the bleed ejection from a pin fin channel can cause a decrease in
the heat transfer in the straight flow direction as a result of the
reducing mass flow rate along the channel. More recently, Won
et al. [11] and Ames et al. [12] studied the local Nusselt number
and turbulent flow structure characteristics in a pin fin channel,
and their study revealed that the wakes, shear layers and horseshoe
vortices, which form near the pin fins, increase mixing and turbu-
lent transport in the pin fin channel, which is responsible for the
heat transfer enhancement. Lyall et al. [13] studied the effects of
the transverse spacing on the local heat transfer from a row of pin
fins, and indicated that a smaller transverse spacing of pin fins re-
sults in higher endwall heat transfer due to strong interaction be-
tween the wakes.
It is noted that, even though the pin fin channel has a signifi-
cantly improved heat transfer performance, however it pays a pen-
alty of considerably increased pressure loss in the channel.
Metzger et al. [4–6] and Chyu et al. [7–8] indicated that the pin
fin array with the streamwise and transverse spacings of 2.5 can
achieve a heat transfer enhancement of 2–4 times, and an increase
in the friction factor by 20–30 times in the Reynolds number range

0017-9310/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2012.06.081
6724 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
Nomenclature
Ac cross section area of the channel, m2
Aheat flat heating area of the test plate, m2
D pin fin or dimple diameter, m
Dh channel hydraulic diameter = 4Ac/P, m
f friction factor
f0 friction factor of the smooth rectangular channel
h heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 K
H pin fin or channel height, m
k fluid thermal conductivity, W/mK
L length of the pin fin/pin fin-dimple channels, m
Nu Nusselt number
Nu0 Nusselt number of the smooth rectangular channel
P channel perimeter, m
DP pressure drop, Pa
Q_ heating power, W
Re Reynolds number
of 10,000–100,000. Ligrani et al [14] made a comprehensive com-
parison in the heat transfer and flow friction with the pin fin chan-
nels, and their studies showed that the pin fin array can enhance
the heat transfer coefficient by 2–4 times, however increases the
flow friction by 15–40 times.
Dimples on the channel surface are effective approaches for
heat transfer enhancement but with minor pressure loss. Terekhov
et al. [15], Chyu et al. [16], Moon et al. [17], Mahmood et al. [18],
Mahmood and Ligrani [19], Ligrani et al. [20] and Burgess and Lig-
rani [21] showed that, compared with the smooth channel, the
dimpled channel surface can improve the Nusselt number by a fac-
tor of 1.8–2.8, with an increase in the friction factor by 1.3–2.9
times. Terekhov et al. [15] stated that the heat transfer enhance-
ment of the dimples is mainly due to auto oscillations generated
by the dimple under turbulent flow regime, which depends on
the depth and radius of the dimple. Mahmood et al [19] and Ligrani
et al. [20] stated that actions of the vortical flow shed from the
dimples, including a large upwash region and packets of fluid ema-
nating from the central region of each dimple, as well as vortex
pairs shedding from dimple diagonals, augment the local heat
transfer downstream the dimples. Even though dimples can effi-
ciently enhance the convective heat transfer, one should still keep
in mind that only the dimples set in the wall of gas turbine compo-
nents (turbine blade or combustion chamber) could weaken the
structure integrity and stiffness.
Of interest in the present study is the use of pin fin-dimple
combined arrays in a channel, which can improve the cooling
performance of the channel when compared to the channel with
only pin fin arrays [22]. Since typical dimple depth can be less than
1 mm in the actual cooling application in the gas turbine
components (combustion chamber or turbine blade) [23], and
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental system.
S transverse spacing between pin fins, m
Tin inlet fluid temperature, K
DTlm log mean temperature difference, K
Tout outlet fluid temperature, K
Tw mean wall temperature, K
u bulk mean channel velocity over the channel cross sec-
tion, m/s
X streamwise spacing between pin fins, m
Greek symbols
d dimple depth, m
q density, kg/m3
l dynamic viscosity, Pa  s
neighbouring to the dimples there are pin fins spanning across
the height of the channel, the pin fin-dimple cooling channel could
maintain reasonable structure integrity and stiffness.
In the present paper, an experimental study has been conducted
on the effects of dimple depth on the pressure loss and heat trans-
fer characteristics in the pin fin-dimple channels, where dimples
are located transversely between the pin fins. The experimental
study in the present paper is unique from the previous publication
[22] where the pin fin-dimple channel with only one dimple depth
was investigated. Additionally, through three-dimensional and
steady-state conjugate computations, details of the flow structure
in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths have
also been provided in the present paper, which revealed the under-
lying mechanisms for the associated dimple depth-dependent
pressure loss and heat transfer characteristics in the pin fin-dimple
channels.
2. Experimental setup
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental system
for the pressure loss and heat transfer measurements for the chan-
nels with pin fin-dimple combined arrays. This experimental setup
consists of a variable-speed blower, a settling chamber, a nozzle
flowmeter, a differential pressure transducer, a LabView data
acquisition system and a test section. The air is drawn into the
wind tunnel by the blower, and the air mass flow rate is measured
by the nozzle flowmeter. After that, the air enters a contraction
section, which leads to a rectangular cross section, 124  10 mm
test channel. The test channel has a length of 645 mm, which is
made of 15 mm-thick Plexiglas. The clear Plexiglas channel wall
can provide a good thermal insulation and a good optical access
 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
to the flow in the channel. The boundary layer in the flow entering
the test channel is tripped by the rough junction interface between
the test channel and the contraction section and by the roughened
surface at the entrance of the test channel. The test channel is fol-
lowed by a diffuser, which exits to the settling chamber. The pres-
ent experimental configuration has low inlet turbulence intensity
and approximately a uniform inlet velocity field, which is typical
of most pin fin channel heat transfer studies.
The test plate with pin fin-dimple arrays mounted on the sur-
face is inserted into the test channel from below, and a 15 mm-
thick, Plexiglas-made support plate is used to support the test plate
from the bottom by being tightly bolted with the test channel.
Above the test plate is a 15 mm-thick cover plate, which is also
made of Plexiglas. Careful fabrication can ensure that the cover
plate is flush with the top wall of the test channel, and the test
plate is flush with the bottom wall of the test channel. Upstream
the pin fin-dimple test plate, there is a 240-mm-long entrance sec-
tion of the test channel, which is about 13 hydraulic diameters.
Immediately upstream and downstream the test plate, there are
pressure taps installed in the top wall of the test channel to mea-
sure the pressure drop across the pin fin channel. On the other
hand, the mixed-mean temperatures of the air entering and
leaving the test section are measured respectively by using three
calibrated Type-K thermocouples spread across the cross section
with an immersion depth of about half of the channel height. Espe-
cially, to measure the mixed-mean temperature of the flow leaving
the test plate, the thermocouples are mounted approximately
100 mm downstream of the exit of the test plate in order to let
the outflow become mixed. Energy balance validations show devi-
ations of less than 3% for the experiments over the whole Reynolds
number range. Therefore the exact experimental inlet and outlet
temperatures can be obtained. To reduce the heat loss from the test
plate to the environment, the test section was wrapped with a
layer of foam insulation.
Fig. 2 shows the geometrical configurations of the pin fin chan-
nel and the pin fin-dimple channels used in the experiments. For
the pin fin channel and the pin fin-dimple channels, there is a
ten-row staggered array of pin fins. The pin fin diameter
D = 10 mm, the transverse spacing-to-diameter ratio S/D = 2.5,
Fig. 2. Geometrical configurations of the pin fin channel and the pin fin-dimple channel.
6725
the streamwise spacing-to-diameter ratio X/D = 2.5, and the pin
fin height-to-diameter ratio H/D = 1.0. The hydraulic diameter is
determined based on the duct upstream of the passage containing
the pin fins and dimples, and the hydraulic diameter-to-pin fin
diameter ratio Dh/D = 1.85. The dimples also have a print diameter
of D = 10 mm, but have three different dimple depths, i.e. d/D = 0.1,
0.2 and 0.3. The pin fin channel considered here actually has a dim-
ple depth of d/D = 0. For the pin fin-dimple channel, the dimples
are arranged in-between the pin fins of the same row.
The arrangement of the pin fin array with X/D = 2.5 and
S/D = 2.5 in the test channels is considered to be one of the optimal
array arrangement for turbine airfoil cooling. Heat transfer studies
in pin fin arrays with such geometrical configurations have also
been shown in the research work of Metzger et al. [4–6] and Chyu
et al. [7–8]. The dimples are located transversely between the pin
fins, which is expected to enlarge the flow area at the minimum
cross section and to potentially reduce the pressure loss in the
channel. On the other hand, the maximum average velocity exists
there at the minimum cross section, so that the dimple can pro-
duce strong vortex flow near the wall, which benefit enhancing
the heat transfer in the downstream area.
The pin fin-dimple/pin fin arrays are manufactured on one
stainless steel plate with a thickness of 5.0 mm. To measure the
streamwise wall temperature of the pin fin-dimple/pin fin plate,
nine calibrated Type-K thermocouples with an outer diameter of
0.5 mm have been located just 0.5 mm below the top surface of
plate. In order to minimize the contact thermal resistance, high-
conductive thermal paste was used at the tips of the thermocou-
ples when they were inserted into the thermocouple holes in the
test plate. To provide a uniform heating to the test plate, a cus-
tom-made etched foil heater (encapsulated between two thin lay-
ers of Kapton) was tightly attached to the bottom surface of the
stainless plate. The foil heater was connected with a DC power sup-
ply with a precise and controllable power output, and the total
heating power can be accurately measured.
To reduce the effect of the manufacturing tolerance on the
experimental results to the minimum level, the experiments were
carried out in such a way: first only pin fin arrays are manufac-
tured on the stainless steel plate, which was then used for the
6726 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
pin fin channel experiments. After the pin fin channel experiments,
the pin fin plate was reused and the dimples with the dimple depth
of d/D = 0.1 were then manufactured into the endwall of the pin fin
plate, and then the test plate was used for the pin fin-dimple chan-
nel experiments with d/D = 0.1. Following such a procedure, the
pressure loss and heat transfer in pin fin-dimple channels with var-
ious dimple depths have been measured.
3. Data reduction and error analysis
3.1. Data reduction
The area averaged convective heat transfer coefficient of the
test channels is defined by:
Q_ net
h¼
Aheat DT lm
Here Q_ net is the net heating power, which is equal to the total elec-
trical heating power deducting the minor heat loss due to heat con-
duction and radiation, which amounts to 2.8–11.0% of the total
heating powers depending on the Reynolds number. Aheat is the flat
heating area of the test plate. DTlm is the log mean temperature dif-
ference between the heating wall and the cooling flow.
The log mean temperature difference between the heating wall
and the cooling flow, DTlm, is calculated based on the equation
below:
ðT w  T in Þ  ðT w  T out Þ
DT lm ¼  
ln TTwwT
T in
out
In this equation, Tw is the average temperature of the top surface of
the heating wall, which is provided by the nine thermocouples after
correction for the temperature drop through the 0.5 mm-thick
stainless steel. The measurement of the average temperature of
the endwall surface by the thermocouples in the experiments was
reasonably well validated by previous fully three-dimensional
numerical simulations based on the test channel (without using
periodic boundary conditions) [22], which showed that in the com-
putation cases the maximum difference between the average
Fig. 3. Schematic of boundary conditions in the computation.
temperature value of the thermocouple locations and the average
endwall temperature is less than 0.3 °C.
The averaged Nusselt number is defined by:
hDh
Nu ¼ ð3Þ
k
where k is the thermal conductivity of the fluid.
The friction factor is defined as follows:
2DPDh
f ¼ ð4Þ
qu2 L
Here DP is the pressure drop of the airflow across the test channel, u
is the mean channel velocity over the channel cross section, and L is
the length of the channel.
3.2. Error analysis
ð1Þ
The experimental uncertainties have been determined by a
standard error analysis. According to the measurement instru-
ments, the maximum measurement errors of the flow rate are
±2.5%, the length as well as the pressure drop are 1.0% and ±2.5%
respectively; and the measurement errors in temperature and
the net heating power Qnet are ±0.3 °C and ±3.0% respectively,
and the air properties are ±1.0%. According to the standard error
analysis method suggested by Kline and McClintock [24], the mea-
surement errors of Re, f and Nu are respectively about ±3.4%, ±5.2%
and ±6.4%.
ð2Þ 4. Computational model
In order to obtain more physical understandings about the
pressure loss and heat transfer characteristics in the pin fin-dimple
channels with various dimple depths, additional three-dimen-
sional and steady-state conjugate numerical computations were
done.
In order to reduce the computational efforts, the channel geom-
etry was reduced and only a periodic pin fin-dimple channel seg-
ment was investigated assuming periodic conditions in the
channel flow. Fig. 3 shows a schematic of the geometrical configu-
rations of the periodic pin fin-dimple channel segment, which are
 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
identical to those in the experimental work. The periodic pin
fin-dimple channel segment contains a representative staggered
array of pin fin-dimple hybrid structure, and the dimples have
three different dimple depths, i.e. d/D = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3. The pin fins
and dimples are mounted on a base plate with a thickness of 5 mm.
The material for the pin fins and the base plate is also set as stain-
less steel.
Fig. 3 also shows a schematic of the boundary conditions for the
conjugate computations for the flow and heat transfer in the pin
fin-dimple channels, and the boundary conditions are identical to
those in the experimental work. The computation models include
the heat transfer in the solid wall and in the fluid. The channels
are heated uniformly from the bottom of the test plate, whereas
the top wall of the channel is insulated. The channel, pin fin and
dimpled surfaces are treated as no-slip boundaries. At the inlet
and outlet of the channel, a pair of periodic boundary conditions
were employed streamwisely for the velocities, pressure and tem-
perature [25]. Between the inlet and outlet of the channel, the peri-
odic boundary conditions yield the conditions u(x + L, y, z) = u(x, y, z)
for the velocity, and the velocity condition do not specify any in-
flow velocity and, as a consequence, the pressure gradient must
be iteratively adjusted until the desired value of the mass flow rate
is obtained on any generic cross section. The streamwise periodic-
ity between inlet and outlet boundaries reflects the energy balance
Q_
Tðx þ L; y; zÞ  Tðx; y; zÞ ¼ mcp
_ ¼ T bulk;out ðx þ LÞ  T bulk;in ðxÞ for the
temperature, in which Q_ is the heating power uniformly entering
the computational cell, and m _ is the mass flow rate and cp is the
heat capacity. Transversely on both sides of the periodic channel
segment, symmetry conditions are employed.
The computations for the flow and heat transfer in the pin fin-
dimple channels were performed using the commercial solver
FLUENT 6.3. The computations were done by using a two-layer
realizable k  e turbulence model [25]. For all computations, the
y+ values for the first layer height are approximately 1 for all Rey-
nolds numbers investigated. The realizable k  e turbulence model
is believed to have improved predictive capability for complex tur-
bulent flows with flow swirling and separation compared to the
standard k  e model, and was also used to simulate the flow and
heat transfer in the channel with pin fins [26] or dimples [27].
Throughout the study the fluid is considered to be incompressible
and hence the flow field and the energy equation were uncoupled.
To reduce the numerical errors, a second order volume discretiza-
tion scheme was used, and the SIMPLEC algorithm was used for
pressure-velocity coupling in the computations. All predicted
quantities were steady-state. The minimum convergence criterion
for the continuity equation, velocity and turbulence quantities are
104 and 107 for the energy equation.
For all computation cases, an unstructured hybrid mesh was
generated using the commercial preprocessing software GAMBIT,
and the near-wall flow region was meshed with denser grids by
Fig. 4. The mesh in the flow region in the pin fin-dimple channel with the dimple
depth of d=D = 0.2.
6727
using a boundary layer as is shown in Fig. 4. A careful grid indepen-
dence check has been done for the computations by considering
several grid systems with nodes ranging from 0.61 million to
1.18 million. For to denser grids, the computations converged to
appropriate values. With the changes in the computed fluid outlet
temperature, average Nusselt number and friction factor less than
0.5%, the grid system with around 0.98 million nodes was chosen
for all the computations.
5. Results and discussion
5.1. Friction factor
Based on the experimental system shown in Fig. 1, the pressure
loss characteristics for the airflow in the pin fin-dimple channels
with various dimple depths have been measured respectively
within the Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500. In addition,
in order to validate the pressure loss measurement system in the
experiments, the friction factors of a smooth rectangular channel
were measured at the same Reynolds numbers as employed in
the pin fin-dimple channels. The smooth rectangular channel is
formed by using a smooth stainless steel plate replacing the pin
fin-dimple test plate. Other than the test surface, all geometric
characteristics of the channel are the same as when the pin fin-
dimple test plates are installed. The friction factors of the pin fin
channel, pin fin-dimple channels and the smooth channel are pre-
sented in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 shows that, for the studied Reynolds number range from
8200 to 50,500, the experimental results of the friction factors of
the smooth channel agree reasonably well with the empirical Bla-
sius correlation. The Blasius correlation for the fully developed tur-
bulent flow in circular ducts is given by
f0 ¼ 0:316Re0:25 ð5Þ
Therefore the pressure loss measurements based on the test facility
are reliable.
Fig. 5 plots the comparison of the experimental values of the
friction factors of the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple
depths over the Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500. It can be
seen that in the Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500, depend-
ing on the dimple depths the pin fin-dimple channels show differ-
ent flow friction characteristics. Over the studied Reynolds number
range, the pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.3 shows the highest
friction factors, which are slightly higher than the pin fin channel
by about 5.3%. However the pin fin-dimple channels with shal-
lower dimples (d/D = 0.1  0.2) show relatively lower pressure loss
than the pin fin channel. The friction factors of the pin fin-dimple
channels with the dimple depth of d/D = 0.1 and 0.2 are about
17.6% and 14.0% respectively lower than those of the pin fin chan-
nel. The pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.1 shows the lowest
friction factors. It is also noted that the friction factors of the pin
fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.2 in the present experiment are
slightly higher than the pin fin-dimple channel with the same dim-
ple depth reported in Ref. [22] by about 4.0%, which is believed to
be mostly due to the manufacturing tolerance in both test pieces
and measurement errors in both experiments.
In Fig. 5, friction factor results from the three-dimensional
conjugate computation are also presented. It is found that for the
pin fin channel and the pin fin-dimple channels with d/
D = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 the average deviations between the experimen-
tal and numerical friction factor values are 6.0%, 10.1%, 12.1% and
13.3% respectively, which indicates reasonably good agreement be-
tween the experimental data and the numerical prediction for the
pressure loss in the pin fin-dimple channels. The deviation in the
numerical computation for the friction factors in the pin fin-dimple
6728 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733

Fig. 5. Comparisons of friction factors versus Reynolds number in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths.

channels is mainly due to the limitations of the turbulence model
for simulating the flow in the channel with complex geometrical
features of dimples and pin fins on the wall. The numerical results
showed the same trend as the experiments obtained, and the fric-
tion factors of the pin fin-dimple channels with d/D = 0.1 and 0.2
are lower than the pin fin channel, and the friction factors of the
pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.3 are higher than the pin fin
channel within the studied Reynolds number range.
5.1.1. Discussions on the pressure loss characteristics
From the above description, it is interesting to know that the
pressure loss in the pin fin channel can be reduced by adding shal-
low dimples ðd=D ¼ 0:1  0:2Þ transversely in-between pin fins.
However when the dimple depth is relative bigger (d/D = 0.3), the
pressure loss in the pin fin-dimple channel can be appreciably in-
creased compared to the pin fin channel.
To further give an interpretation on the mechanisms on the ef-
fects of dimple depths on the pressure loss characteristics in the
pin fin-dimple channels, more details about the flow structure
from the computations are provided as follows.
Figs. 6 and 7 show comparisons of the distribution of the
streamwise velocity and the streamlines in a near-wall plane with
a distance of 0.5 mm away from the endwall at Re = 50,500. It can
be seen that, a high-velocity jet flow is formed transversely be-
tween the pin fins, and a wake is formed behind each pin fin due
to low-velocity flow recirculation. As the dimple depth increases,
the flow velocity of the jet decreases distinctively due to the en-
larged flow area at the minimum cross section transversely be-
tween pin fins, therefore the pressure loss of the flow can be
reduced due to the decreased blockage of the flow. On the other
hand, due to the decreased flow velocity at the minimum cross sec-
tion in the pin fin-dimple channel, the flow separation from the pin
wall occurs at a further downstream location, which leads to a
smaller wake behind each pin fin in the pin fin-dimple channels
compared to the pin fin channel. As Figs. 6 and 7 show that, the
pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.3 has smallest wake area
behind each pin fin. The reduced wake area can further improve
the flow conditions while flowing through the downstream row
of pin fins, which therefore helps reduce the pressure loss in the
channel flow.
Figs. 8 and 9 show comparisons of the turbulent kinetic energy
(TKE) normalized by the bulk mean velocity squared, and the
streamlines in the longitudinal central plane in the pin fin-dimple
channels with various dimple depths at Re = 50,500. From Fig. 8, it

Fig. 6. Comparisons of the streamwise velocity in a plane with a distance of 0.5 mm away from the endwall in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths at
Re = 50,500.
 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733 6729

Fig. 7. Comparisons of the streamlines in a plane with a distance of 0.5 mm away from the endwall in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths at Re = 50,500.

can be found that the highest turbulent mixing level appears in the
mainstream flow above the upstream rim of the dimple, since the
upstream flow merges here (as is shown in Fig. 7). As the dimple
depth increases, the turbulence level in the mainstream flow re-
gion is distinctively reduced, and whereas the turbulence level in
the near-wall flow region downstream the dimple is distinctively
increased. In the upstream half of the dimple the turbulent mixing
is reduced due to flow separation and recirculation; however in the
downstream half of the dimple the turbulent mixing is signifi-
cantly increased due to flow attachment and impingement, espe-
cially at the rear rim of the dimple, which can therefore increase
the pressure loss in the pin fin-dimple channels.
Therefore considering the dimple depth-dependent pressure
loss phenomenon in the pin fin-dimple channels, which can be
attributed to the following facts: (1) since the dimples increase
the flow area at the minimum cross section between the pin fins,

Fig. 8. Comparisons of the turbulent kinetic energy distribution in the longitudinal central plane in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths at Re = 50,500.
6730 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
Fig. 9. Comparisons of the streamlines in the longitudinal central plane in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths at Re = 50,500.
the velocity of the flow is thereby distinctively reduced as is shown
in Fig. 6, and the turbulent mixing level in the mainstream flow re-
gion is also reduced as is shown in Fig. 8, which contribute to
reducing the pressure loss in the flow in the pin fin-dimple chan-
nels; (2) however, as the dimple depth becomes bigger, the wall
becomes more roughened, and there is flow separation in the up-
stream half of the dimple and strong flow impingement near the
rear rim of the dimple [18–20], which actually leads to additional
pressure loss in the flow. Therefore for the pin fin-dimple channel
with shallower dimples ðd=D ¼ 0:1  0:2Þ, the wall is not much
roughened, and the pressure loss can be appreciably reduced. As
the dimple depth increases, the wall becomes more roughened,
and the additional pressure loss can be increased in the pin fin-
dimple channel. For the pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.3,
the increase in the additional pressure loss can surpass the reduc-
tion in the pressure loss due to the reduced flow blockage at the
minimum cross section in the channel, and therefore the pin fin-
dimple channel with the deepest dimples shows the highest fric-
tion factor values.
5.2. Heat transfer
Based on the experimental system shown in Fig. 1, the heat
transfer characteristics for the airflow in the pin fin-dimple chan-
nels with various dimple depths have been measured respectively
within the Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500. In addition, in
order to validate the heat transfer measurement system in the
experiments, the average Nusselt numbers of the smooth rectan-
gular channel were also measured at the same Reynolds numbers
as employed in the pin fin-dimple channels. The average Nusselt
numbers of the pin fin-dimple channels and the smooth channel
are presented in Fig. 10.
Fig. 10 shows that, for the studied Reynolds number range from
8200 to 50,500, the experimental results of the average Nusselt
numbers of the smooth channel agree reasonably well with the
empirical Kays and Crawford’s correlation for the circular duct flow
[28]. The Kays and Crawford’s correlation for the circular duct fully
developed turbulent flow is given by
Nu0 ¼ 0:022Re0:8 Pr0:5 ð6Þ
Therefore, the heat transfer measurements based on the test facility
are reliable.
Fig. 10 plots comparisons of the experimental results of the
average Nusselt numbers of the pin fin-dimple channels with var-
ious dimple depths over the Reynolds number range of 8200–
50,500. As is expected, within the studied Reynolds number range
the Nusselt numbers of the pin fin-dimple channels increase with
the Reynolds number. Over the studied Reynolds number range,
the pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.1 shows slightly higher
Nu values than the pin fin channel; whereas the pin fin-dimple
channels with deeper dimple depths of d/D = 0.2 and 0.3 show dis-
tinctively higher Nu values than the pin fin channel. For the pin fin-
dimple channels with d/D = 0.2 and 0.3, the Nusselt number is
 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
Fig. 10. Comparisons of averaged Nusselt numbers in the pin fin-dimple channels
with various dimple depths.
about 8.0% and 19.0–14.0% respectively higher than the pin fin
channel within the Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500.
In Fig. 10, average Nusselt number results from the three-
dimensional conjugate computation are also presented. It is found
that, over the studied Reynolds number range reasonably good
agreements between the experimental and numerical Nu values
have been achieved for the pin fin channel and the pin fin-dimple
channels with d/D = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 with average deviations of
6.6%, 6.7%, 5.9% and 8.9% respectively. At Re = 50,500, the experi-
mental Nusselt number values of the pin fin-dimple channels with
d/D = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 are about 0.6%, 7.8% and 14.0% respectively
higher than that of the pin fin channel, and the numerical Nusselt
number values of those pin fin-dimple channels are about 1.1%,
8.0% and 11.4% higher than that of the pin fin channel. Therefore
the numerical computation provides reasonably good accuracy in
predicting the heat transfer enhancement capability of the pin
fin-dimple channels compared to the pin fin channel, which is
essential to the validation of the computation model since heat
transfer prediction is the most important consideration in the cool-
ing design of gas turbine components.
It is also noted that for the pin fin-dimple channel with the
deepest dimple depth of d/D = 0.3, over the studied Reynolds
number range of 8200–50,500 the numerical computation shows
Fig. 11. Comparisons of turbulent kinetic energy distribution in a plane with a distance of 0.5 mm away from the endwall in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple
depths at Re = 50,500.
6731
12.5–11.4% higher Nusselt number values than the pin fin channel,
which appreciably underpredicts the heat transfer enhancement
for the pin fin-dimple channel with the deepest dimple depth.
The underprediction of the heat transfer is mainly because the
numerical computation is steady, and thus does not capture the
unsteady phenomena which augment turbulent mixing and trans-
port in the channel.
5.2.1. Discussions on the heat transfer characteristics
From the above descriptions, it can be seen that the added dim-
ples in the pin fin arrays can further distinctively enhance the heat
transfer in the pin fin channel. Please note that the added dimples
only increase the total heat transfer area in the pin fin channel
slightly by about 0.34%, 1.2% and 2.8% for the dimple depths of
d/D = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 respectively. The main reason for the heat
transfer enhancement should be that the dimples in the pin fin ar-
rays further increase the turbulent mixing intensity in the flow
near the wall as is shown in Fig. 8, especially for the cases of deeper
dimples with d/D = 0.2 and 0.3, which distinctively enhances the
turbulent heat transfer from the wall.
In order to present more details on the effects of dimple depths
on the convective heat transfer characteristics in the pin fin-dimple
channels, more details from the computations are provided as fol-
lows. The turbulence level in the flow near the wall is a dominant
parameter influencing the convective heat transfer, and Fig. 11
shows the comparisons of the TKE distribution in the near-wall
flow region in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple
depths at the Reynolds number 50,500. From Fig. 11, it can be seen
that: (1) due to the presence of the dimple the near-wall turbulent
mixing intensity downstream the dimple can be apparently in-
creased due to the vortex flow shedding from the dimple [18–
20], which is beneficial to the heat transfer enhancement; (2) as
the dimple depth increases the turbulence level downstream the
dimple can be enhanced more distinctively, and therefore the
TKE there in the pin fin-dimple channel shows higher values than
in the pin fin channel. It is also noted that, the turbulence level in
the wake in the pin fin-dimple channels is appreciably lower than
that in the pin fin channel, which is believed to be mainly due to
the reduced disturbance from the shear force induced between
the high velocity in the mainstream flow and the low velocity in
the wake in the pin fin-dimple channels. In the pin fin-dimple
channel with d/D = 0.3, since the dimple enhance the turbulent
mixing level in the downstream flow region much significantly,
the turbulent mixing level in the neighbouring wakes is corre-
spondingly increased compared to the channel with d/D = 0.2.
6732 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733

Fig. 12. Comparisons of the local Nusselt numbers on the endwall in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths at Re = 50,500.

Fig. 12 shows the comparisons of the local Nusselt number dis-
tribution on the endwall of the pin fin-dimple channels with vari-
ous dimple depths at Re = 50,500. The local Nusselt number is
based on the local heat flux and local temperature on the endwall
and the local bulk mean temperature of the airflow. It can be seen
that, since the vortex flow shedding from the dimples in the pin
fin-dimple channels significantly increase the turbulence level in
the flow near the downstream wall, the convective heat transfer
is therefore distinctively enhanced, especially near the rear rim
of the dimple. The pin fin-dimple channel with the dimple depth
of d/D = 0.3 obtain the highest heat transfer enhancement since
the dimple produces the strongest turbulent mixing level in the
flow near the wall.
5.3. The thermal performance
To properly evaluate the thermal performance of the heat
exchanger, the heat transfer performance of the pin fin channel
can only be assessed after including the penalty effects related to
friction losses. Gee and Webb [29] suggested the overall thermal
performance parameter (Nu/Nu0)/(f/f0)1/3 to evaluate the thermal
performance of different heat transfer enhancement elements.
The overall thermal performance parameter (Nu/Nu0)/(f/f0)1/3 rep-
resents the quantity of heat transfer per unit pumping power.
Fig. 13 plots the comparison of the overall thermal performance
parameters of the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple
depths versus the Reynolds number. The overall thermal perfor-
mance parameters are based on the experimental data of the Nus-
selt numbers and friction factors of those channels. According to
the plot, within the studied Reynolds number range of 8200–
50,500, the overall thermal performance parameters of the pin
fin channel and the pin fin-dimple channels all decrease with the
Reynolds number.
As the Reynolds number increases from 8200 to 50,500, the pin
fin-dimple channel with the dimple depth of d/D = 0.3 shows the
highest overall thermal performance, which is slightly higher than
the pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.2 and is 14.9–12.7% higher
than the pin fin channel. The pin fin-dimple channel with d/D = 0.1
also shows higher overall thermal performance than the pin fin
channel by 8.7–5.6%. The main reason of the pin fin-dimple chan-
nel with d/D = 0.3 having highest overall thermal performance val-
ues is the significantly enhanced heat transfer, whereas for the pin

Fig. 13. Comparisons of the overall thermal performance parameters in the pin fin-dimple channels with various dimple depths.
 Y. Rao et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 6723–6733
fin-dimple channel with shallower dimple depths of d/D = 0.2 and
0.1 the main reason should be a combination of the enhanced heat
transfer and the reduced pressure loss compared to the pin fin
channel.
6. Conclusions
In the paper, a comparative experimental study was conducted
on the pressure loss and heat transfer characteristics in the pin fin-
dimple channels with various dimple depths. Experimental results
of the friction factor, average Nusselt number and the thermal per-
formance parameters of the pin fin-dimple channels with various
dimple depths have been obtained and compared with each other
for the Reynolds number range of 8200–50,500. The comparisons
showed that, compared to the pin fin channel, the pin fin-dimple
channels with all three studied dimple depths have further im-
proved convective heat transfer performance by up to 19.0%, and
the pin fin-dimple channel with deeper dimples shows relatively
higher Nusselt number values. The comparisons still showed a
dimple depth-dependent pressure loss behaviors for the pin fin-
dimple channels compared to the pin fin channel, and the pin
fin-dimple channel with shallower dimples shows relatively lower
friction factors by up to 17.6% over the studied Reynolds number
range. Furthermore, three-dimensional and steady state conjugate
computations have been done to obtain more details about the
flow and heat transfer characteristics in the pin fin-dimple chan-
nels with various dimple depths. The computations show reason-
ably good agreement with the experimental results in the friction
factor and average Nusselt number predictions for the pin fin-dim-
ple channels. The computation showed that the dimples signifi-
cantly increase the near-wall turbulent mixing level by
producing strong vortex flows, and therefore enhance the convec-
tive heat transfer in the channel. On the other hand, the dimples
enlarge the flow area at the minimum cross section transversely
between the pin fins, which helps reduce the flow blockage and
pressure loss especially in the pin fin-dimple channels with shal-
low dimples. However in the pin fin-dimple channel with deep
dimples, the wall becomes much more roughened, which can cause
noticeable additional pressure loss in the flow.
Acknowledgment
The research work was funded by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Funding No.: 51176111 50806045).
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