Transient mixed convection in a channel with two facing discretely heated semicircular cavities: Buoyancy, inclination angle, and channel aspect ratio effects

ABSTRACT

Space-averaged surface temperature distributions and overall Nusselt number measurements have been carried out to study the transient mixed convection heat transfer in a channel with two facing and symmetrically heated semicircular cavities. Effects of buoyancy, channel orientation, and channel aspect ratio on thermal behavior have been investigated from Re 500 to 1,500. Depending on the parametric set, steady, oscillatory, and irregular thermal regimes have been identified. The natural frequencies and time scales of the oscillatory regimes have been obtained using spectral analysis. Results show that with increase in channel aspect ratio, the heat transfer performance reduces for all inclination angles.

KEYWORDS:

• arc-shape cavity
• circular groove
• oscillatory flows
• concave-wall boundary layer
• three-dimensional heat transfer

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [167474]. CT acknowledges sabbatical support from DGAPA/UNAM and CONACyT.