Computational study of the behavior of a water heater with a type C resistance
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Abstract
The main purpose of this work is to computationally study the fluidic and thermal behavior of water in a water heater with a type C resistance. For this, a multiphysics numerical simulation based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was developed, where the Finite Element Method (FEM) is used, and the k-ε turbulent flow model and the equations of thermal energy conservation and Fourier’s law of heat transfer were coupled. As a result of the simulations carried out, the velocity and vorticity profiles of the flow, the pressure drop at the inlet and outlet of the heater, as well as the maximum temperatures reached at the outlet of the heater for different combinations of heat power and flow rates were obtained. Finally, the combinations of power and flow rates that prevent a user of the heater from suffering skin injuries due to the outlet water temperature were determined.
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