초록
In this study, we consider heat transfer enhancement in laminar channel flow by means of an infinite streamwise array of equispaced identical circular cylinders. This flow configuration can be regarded as a model representing a micro channel or an internal heat exchanger with cylindrical vortex generators. A numerical parametric study has been carried out by varying Reynolds number based on the bulk mean velocity and the cylinder diameter, and the gap between the cylinders and the channel wall. An immersed boundary method was employed to facilitate to implement the cylinders on a Cartesian grid system. No-slip condition is employed at all solid boundaries including the cylinders, and the flow is assumed to be periodic in the streamwise direction. Also, the Prandtl number is fixed as 0.7. For thermal boundary conditions on the solid surfaces, it is assumed that heat flux is constant on the channel walls, while the cylinder surfaces remain adiabatic. The presence of the circular cylinders arranged periodically in the streamwise direction causes a significant topological change of the flow, leading to heat transfer enhancement on the channel walls. The Nusselt number averaged on the channel wall is presented for the wide ranges of Reynolds number and the gap. A significant heat transfer enhancement is noticed when the gap is larger than 0.8, while the opposite is the case for smaller gaps. More quantitative results as well as qualitative physical explanations are presented to justify the effectiveness of varying the gap to enhance heat transfer from the channel walls.