Numerical investigation on mixed convection in a non-Newtonian fluid inside a vertical duct

This paper reports a numerical study of the thermal and fluid-dynamic behaviour of lammar mixed convection in a non-Newtonian fluid inside a vertical duct enclosed within two vertical plates that are plane and parallel, having linearly varying wall temperatures. The other inlet conditions consist of a parabolic distribution of the velocity field and a constant fluid temperature. The problem is assumed to be steady and two-dimensional. The formulation of a mathematical model in dimensionless co-ordinates and the discretisation of the governing equations by means of the finite difference method, have made it possible to create a numerical code developed in Matlab environment. The study was focused on the simultaneous presence and on the mutual interaction of natural and forced convection, starting from the effects of the re-circulation on the heat transfer. The quantitative results of the analysis, which are strongly affected by the variation of the Grashof number and of the exponent of the power law, are given in terms of graphic visualisations of the fluid velocity profiles and, when the governing parameters vary, of the various geometries charactetising the heat transfer. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.