Characteristics of Fully Developed Flow and Heat Transfer in Channels With Varying Wall Geometry

Abstract

Present study focuses on numerical investigation of fully developed flow and heat transfer through three channels having sine-shaped, triangle-shaped, and arc-shaped wall profiles. All computations are performed at Reynolds number of 600. Finite volume method on collocated grid is used to solve the time-dependent Navier–Stokes and energy equations in primitive variable form. For all the geometries considered in the study, the ratios Hmin/Hmax and L/a are kept fixed to 0.4 and 8.0, respectively. The thermal performances of all the three wall configurations are assessed using integral parameters as well as instantaneous, time-averaged and fluctuating flow fields. The geometry with the sinusoidal-shaped wall profile is found to produce the best thermal properties as compared to the triangle-shaped and the arc-shaped profiles though the obtained heat transfer is the highest for the arc-shaped geometry.