Turbulent forced convection flow adjacent to inclined forward step in a duct

• Published in: International journal of thermal sciences 2009-07, Vol.48 (7), p.1319-1326
• Main Authors: Gandjalikhan Nassab, S.A., Moosavi, R., Hosseini Sarvari, S.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Computational methods in fluid dynamics; Convection and heat transfer; Exact sciences and technology; Flows in ducts, channels, nozzles, and conduits; Fluid dynamics; Forward facing step; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Physics; Schwarz–Christoffel transformation; Turbulent flows, convection, and heat transfer; Turbulent forced convection
• ISSN: 1290-0729; 1778-4166
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2008.10.003

To calculate complex turbulent flows with heat transfer, we have developed a numerical procedure to solve the governing equations based on the orthogonal grids generation by the Schwarz–Christoffel transformation. In the present work, the turbulent fluid flow over a single forward facing step is studied to examine the effects of step length and its inclination angle on flow and heat transfer distributions. The continuity, Navier–Stokes and energy equations are solved numerically and the k – ε model is employed for computation of turbulence fluctuations. Because of the complex flow geometry, the governing equations are transformed in the computational domain and the discretized forms of these equations are obtained with finite volume method and solved by the SIMPLE Algorithm. The present results reveal that the coefficient of heat transfer and also the hydrodynamic behavior of the flow are strongly dependent to step length and inclination angle.