Conjugate heat transfer analysis of turbulent forced convection of moving plate in a channel flow

Abstract

The effect of wall thickness and heat conduction in the wall on turbulent forced convection flow characteristics in a vertical channel has been numerically studied. The effect of heated plate velocity related to fluid velocity in a vertical channel including heat conduction in the plate has been investigated numerically. The flow field is modeled as two dimensional unsteady state incompressible turbulent forced convection flow in a channel. Energy equation in the solid region is considered as two dimensional unsteady state heat conduction. Turbulence is modeled with a low Reynolds number k−ϵ model of Launder–Sharma. Conjugate heat transfer solver has been developed using high accuracy compact finite difference schemes. The effects of Reynolds number, wall thickness and thermal conductivity of the solid on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are reported. Results show that the interface temperature decreases and average convective heat transfer coefficient increases with increase in Reynolds number. The temperature decreases in the solid and fluid regions with increase in thickness of the solid region. The wall thickness and heat conduction in the wall significantly alter the convective heat transfer characteristics in channel flows. The heated plate velocity shows a significant effect on heat transfer characteristics in the solid and fluid regions. The average convective heat transfer coefficient increases with increase in speed of the moving plate. The present results are matching well with the experimental results available in the literature.