Turbulent Periodic Flow and Heat Transfer in A Square Channel with Different Ribs

Abstract

A numerical investigation has been carried out to examine turbulent flow and heat transfer characteristics in a three-dimensional ribbed square channels. Fluent 6.3 CFD code has been used. The governing equations are discretized by the second order upwind differencing scheme, decoupling with the SIMPLE (semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations) algorithm and are solved using a finite volume approach. The fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are presented for the Reynolds numbers based on the channel hydraulic diameter ranging from 104 to 4´104. The effects of rib shape and orientation on heat transfer and pressure drop in the channel are investigated for six different rib configurations. Rib arrays of 45o inclined and 45o V-shaped are mounted in inline and staggered arrangements on the lower and upper walls of the channel. In addition, the performance of these ribs is also compared with the 90o transverse ribs.