EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON EFFECTS OF A SINGLE POROUS-TYPE ROUGHNESS ELEMENT IN A PARALLEL-PLATE DUCT

Experiments were carried out to examine the effects of a single porous-type roughness element on the insulated wall opposite the smooth heated plate on the heat transfer: The local heat transfer and drag coefficients depend on the porous diameter and the porosity. The local heat transfer coefficient takes a peak, PI, under the porous element in laminar flow. On the other hand, in turbulent flow, it takes two peaks, P1 and P2, under and after the element, respectively. The position of peak P2 varies with the height of the element and the Reynolds number. The drag coefficient of the porous element is lower than that of the solid element. According to thermal performance at constant pumping power, this kind of element should be used in laminar flow. In addition, it is estimated that the porous element should be utilized in the composite effects (the turbulence increase and the thermal radiation shielding effect) of heat transfer in order to apply the element effectively.