Turbulent flow and heat transfer enhancement of mixed convection over heated blocks in a channel

Purpose - To investigate the heat transfer enhancement performed by installing a rectangular plate turbulator for internal flow modification induced by vortex shedding. Design/methodology/approach - The large eddy simulation (LES) and SIMPLE-C method coupled with preconditioned conjugate gradient methods have been applied to the turbulent flow field and heat transfer enhancement of mixed convection in a block-heated channel. Findings - Provides information about heat transfer performance indicating that heat transfer performance can be affected by various width-to-height ratio of turbulator and Grasehof numbers with a constant Reynolds number. The results show that the installation of turbulator in cross-flow above an upstream block can effectively enhance the heat transfer performance by suitable width-to-height ratio of turbulator and Grasehof numbers. Research limitations/implications - It is limited to two-dimensional mean flow for the turbulent vortex-shedding flow past a long square cylinder. Practical implications - A very useful source of information and favorable advice for people developing heat transfer enhancement for electronic devices. Originality/value - The results of this study may be of interest to engineers attempting to develop thermal control of electronic devices and to researchers interested in the turbulent flow-modification aspects of heat transfer enhancement of mixed convection in a vertical channel.