Calculation of Fully Developed Flow and Heat Transfer in Streamwise-Periodic Dimpled Channels

An analysis is presented for fluid flow and heat transfer in a parallel plate channel with periodically spaced dimples. The flow is assumed to be constant property, two dimensional and laminar, with uniform wall temperature thermal boundary condition in the periodic fully developed region. A control-volume finite-difference method based on generalized curvilinear coordinates with the capability to handle periodic boundary conditions has been developed in order to solve the problem. Computations have been carried out for a variety of geometric parameter, Reynolds number, and Prandtl number combinations. Local results presented for the periodic fully developed velocity and temperature fields provide a good physical understanding of the fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena. The average heat transfer and pressure drop results are presented for all the cases studied. Decrease in the channel width and the dimple spacing are both accompanied by increase in the heat transfer and pressure drop.