This study presents results about thermal stresses in externally heated pipes that are subjected to different flow types: laminar flow, turbulent flow, and pulsating flow. The effect o f flow Reynolds number on thermal stresses in the pipe is studied. To investigate the influence o f fluid and solid properties on the resulting thermal stresses in pipes, two solids namely; steel and cooper and three fluids namely; water, coolanol-25, and mercury are used in the study. Pipes with different diameters, length to diameter ratios, and thickness to diameter ratios are covered in the study to examine the effects on thermal stresses. Different parameters for pressure difference and oscillating frequency are used in the case of pulsating flow to find their influence on the resulting thermal stresses in the pipe. The amount o f heat flux at the outer wall of the pipe is also included in the study.
In order to account for the turbulence, the k-s model is introduced in the analysis. The numerical scheme employing control volume approach is introduced to discretize the governing equations of flow and heat transfer. The grid independent tests are carried out to ensure grid independent solutions. To validate the present predictions, data presented in the open literature are accommodated.