Theoretical analysis of convective transport over a slender body of revolution

Abstract

The study of thermal transport in the laminar boundary layer had been a great area of research since long ago because of its practical necessity in different fields of engineering such as aerodynamics, electronics cooling, designing of turbine blades, etc. The primary goal of the research has always been to look into geometries or shapes that have higher heat transfer rates but a less viscous drag. This is also a topic of fundamental interest to the aerospace industry. For this purpose, a cone-shaped body of revolution has been considered. Such geometries are chosen due to their wider acceptance in modern aerodynamics, with their enhanced heat transfer rates and lower aerodynamic drag. In this connection, axisymmetric bodies of revolution having different body contours and involving surface transverse curvature are usually considered. The selection of such a curved body and the imposed particular type of momentum and thermal boundary conditions make the problem of non-similar nature. Such kinds of problems are normally dealt with by an implicit finite difference scheme due to the accuracy of the solution. The current problem has also been solved with the same numerical scheme. It is concluded that a more streamlined body of revolution has a less spread of velocity and temperature within the boundary layer with a large heat transfer rate and wall skin-friction. On the other hand, the parabolic body of revolution has a large distribution of velocity and temperature but less heat transfer rate and wall skin-friction. Moreover, the assisting role of surface transverse curvature on temperature distribution and wall skin-friction has also been observed in this study.