Thermohydraulic Performance and Entropy Generation of Baffled Channel: Numerical Analysis and Optimization

Abstract

This study numerically investigates the effects of the geometrical and operational parameters of an air channel, with an inclined baffle mounted opposite the heating plate, on its thermohydraulic performance and entropy generation. The Reynolds number ($Re$ ) was examined in the range from 1000 to 20,000 and the baffle angle $\alpha$ from 0 to 60°, and the clearance ratio $C/H$ was studied in the range from 0.6 to 1.4. The response surface method was applied to determine the optimal design and operating parameters needed to maximize thermohydraulic performance and minimize the entropy generated. The results show that the parameter of thermohydraulic performance ($\eta$ ) of the channel increased with a decreasing Reynolds number and increasing values of the baffle angle and clearance ratio. By contrast, the entropy generation number $N_s$ decreased with an increase in the Reynolds number and the baffle angle and a decrease in the clearance ratio. The results of multi-objective optimization yielded optimum values of $Re=14,500$ , $C/H=0.6$ , and $\alpha =59\mathrm{deg}$ , corresponding to $\eta =0.7374$ and $N_s=3.683$ .