Analysis of the heat transfer in the entrance region of optimised corrugated wall channel

Abstract

In this work the analysis of the heat transfer in the entrance region of a channel composed by a corrugated profile and a flat wall is presented. The laminar and incompressible flow of a Newtonian fluid is assumed inside the channel, and an uniform heat flux is imposed on the external surface of the corrugated wall. The governing equations are solved with the help of a finite-element method, and the results are compared with the heat transfer coefficient in the entrance region of a flat channel. In order to investigate the sensitivity of the convective heat transfer coefficient to the Reynolds number under laminar conditions, the analysis have been performed for different values of the flow rate. The effect on the flowfield of the of the corrugated profile amplitude is also discussed.