Survey of experimental channels employed on investigation of a non-isothermal laminar flow and design requirements for a new experiment

Abstract

In this article, a literature survey of the experimental channels used for investigation of a non-isothermal flow is presented. Particular interest is focused on the flow stability with a heated wall by a uniform heat flux. The aim of this work is to prepare a comprehensive overview of the technical design and experimental settings used in previous studies. Collected information shall help to design and manufacture new horizontal channel with a rectangular cross-section with a width of around 200 mm and a height of 20 mm. The channel will be equipped with a constant heat flux section on a bottom wall for investigation of the vortex structures and the flow instabilities using modern optical methods. The channel will operate with liquid (most probably water) in the range of low Reynolds numbers. Parallel laminar flow with Poiseuille velocity profile at the inlet of a heated section and a uniform heat flux predefine the essential requirements on the channel design.