NUMERICAL PREDICTION FOR LAMINAR FORCED-CONVECTION IN PARALLEL-PLATE CHANNELS WITH TRANSVERSE FIN ARRAYS

A numerical study is performed on the laminar forced convection in parallel-plate channels with two series of transverse fins. Velocity and temperature distributions of the periodically fully-developed flow are carried out through a stream function-vorticity transformation with a finite difference scheme. Based on the obtained solutions of flow field, the effect of Reynolds number and other geometric parameters on the heat transfer coefficient and the friction factor can be further evaluated. Results show that the relative position of the fin arrays is an influential factor on the flow field, especially for the higher-fin cases. In general, the in-line arrangement behaves ineffectively due to the remarkable flow recirculation covering the wall surfaces.