Simulation Of Flow And Heat Transfer In Channels With Airfoil Obstacles

Abstract

This study numerically investigates heat and fluid flow in a channel with airfoil-shaped obstacles at low Reynolds numbers. Understanding fluid dynamics in channels with varying obstacle geometries is crucial for applications in aerospace, energy, and thermal systems. The study employs the FLUENT software to simulate two-dimensional, laminar, and steady-state flows using the SIMPLE algorithm for solving the Navier-Stokes and energy equations. The effects of Reynolds number, obstacle arrangement, length, diameter, and Prandtl number on the flow and heat transfer were analyzed through velocity and temperature contours, the average Nusselt number, and drag coefficient. The results reveal that increasing the Reynolds number and obstacle diameter, reducing the obstacle length, and boosting the Prandtl number significantly enhance the average Nusselt number. Additionally, a triangular obstacle arrangement outperforms a rectangular arrangement in optimizing heat transfer performance. These findings highlight the influence of geometric and flow parameters in designing efficient thermal management systems.