Author(s)

R. I. Bourisli

Abstract

The enhancement of heat transfer from heat-dissipating devices is investigated. The laminar convection-conduction heat transfer from five heat-generating block in a channel at different Reynolds numbers is numerically simulated using the finite volume method. Newly proposed tri-vane structures with constant angular velocities are placed near the upper downstream corners of the blocks. The vanes in the structures drive significant portions of the core channel flow into the dead zones between the blocks. An optimum angular velocity for the structure is shown to exist, giving a reduction in maximum temperature of 16.3% at Re = 1000. The location of the optimum angular velocity was shown to bifurcate because of the influence of the natural frequency of the structure. It is concluded that this effect can have a positive effect on the overall heat transfer from the blocks. Keywords: Heat transfer enhancement, corrugated channel, heated blocks, rotating vanes, optimum angular velocity. 1 Introduction The problem of enhancing heat transfer in channels with geometrical inhomogeneities is of great interest to engineers from both the theoretical and practical points of view. Flow in a channel with heat-dissipating elements, for example, is found in many engineering devices such as compact heat exchangers, oxygenators, dialyzers, nuclear reactor cores, and cooling systems of electronic equipment. In most of these applications the design requires that the maximum temperature of the heat-dissipating components be maintained below a certain temperature in order increase device efficiency and reliability and avoid failure [1].

Keywords

Heat transfer enhancement, corrugated channel, heated blocks, rotating vanes, optimum angular velocity