MIXED-CONVECTIVE COOLING OF AN ISOTHERMAL HOT SURFACE BY CONFINED SLOT JET IMPINGEMENT

Abstract

The flow and heat transfer characteristics in the cooling of a heated surface by impinging slot jets have been investigated numerically. Computations are done for vertically downward-directed two-dimensional slot jets impinging on a hot isothermal surface at the bottom and confined by a parallel adiabatic surface on top. Some computations are also performed where the jet is vertically upward, with an impingement plate at the top. The principal objective of this study is to investigate the associated heat transfer process in the mixed-convective regime. The computed flow patterns and isotherms for various domain aspect ratios (4–10) and for a range of jet exit Reynolds numbers (100–500) and Richardson numbers (0–10) are analyzed to understand the mixed-convection heat transfer phenomena. The local and average Nusselt numbers and skin friction coefficients at the hot surface for various conditions are presented. It is observed that for a given domain aspect ratio and Richardson number, the average Nusselt number at the hot surface increases with increasing jet exit Reynolds number. On the other hand, for a given aspect ratio and Reynolds number, the average Nusselt number does not change significantly with Richardson number, indicating that the buoyancy effects are not very significant in the overall heat transfer process for the range of jet Reynolds number considered in this study. Also, for the same problem configuration, the average Nusselt number does not change significantly when the jet is moving upward or downward.