Numerical study of turbulent flow with heat removal from a flat plate using the finite volume‐based method of lines

Abstract

A hybrid computational method has been developed for the calculation of momentum and heat transfer in turbulent boundary layer flows along flat plates. The proposed method, the finite volume‐based method of lines, replaces a partial differential equation and two independent variables by a system of ordinary differential equations of first order and one independent variable. Using the simplest assumptions for modeling the turbulent diffusivity of momentum and heat, the system of differential equations may be readily integrated with a fourth‐order Runge‐Kutta algorithm. To validate the numerical predictions, comparisons with experimental data for air have been done in terms of axial velocities, temperatures, skin friction coefficients and Stanton numbers. For the wide range of Reynolds numbers tested, the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of turbulent air flows are predicted correctly.