Mixed Convection Heat Transfer to Power Law Fluids in Arbitrary Cross-Sectional Ducts

An analytical investigation of three-dimensional mixed convection flow and heat transfer to power-law fluids in horizontal arbitrary cross-sectional ducts is undertaken. The continuity equation and parabolic forms of the energy and momentum equations in rectangular coordinates are transformed into new orthogonal coordinates with the boundaries of the duct coinciding with the coordinate surfaces. The transformed equations are solved by the finite difference technique. The fluid enters the duct with constant velocity and temperature profiles with the wall of the duct subjected to constant temperature. Local heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop for several values of Gr/Re and power-law index n are computed for the triangular, square, trapezoidal, pentagonal, and circular ducts. The buoyancy force is found to increase both the Nusselt number and the pressure drop.