NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER AND PRESSURE DROP IN WAVY DUCTS

Abstract

Flow field and heat transfer in corrugated ducts have been investigated from the numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations in the laminar to transitional range of Reynolds numbers (600 - 2000). First, the geometric parameters for the best ratio of heat transfer to pressure drop have been determined for two-dimensional channels. Then for these parameters, flow structure and heat transfer have been investigated for three-dimensional (3-D) channels consisting of corrugated plates. The angles 45^o and 90^o between the corrugations and the main stream direction have been considered. A performance evaluation criterion identifies the 3-D corrugated plate at 45^o with the best ratio between heat transfer and pressure drop.