DNS of turbulent channel flow with conjugate heat transfer at Prandtl number 0.01

Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of the fully developed velocity and temperature fields in a turbulent channel flow coupled with the unsteady conduction in the heated walls was carried out. Simulations were performed with passive scalar approximation at Prandtl number 0.01, which roughly corresponds to the Prandtl number of liquid sodium. DNSs were performed at friction Reynolds numbers 180,395 and 590. The obtained statistical quantities like mean temperatures, profiles of the root-mean-square (RMS) temperature fluctuations for various thermal properties of wall and fluid, and various wall thicknesses were obtained from a pseudo-spectral channel-flow code. Even for the highest implemented Reynolds number the temperature profile in the fluid does not exhibit log-law region and the near-wall RMS temperature fluctuations show Reynolds number dependence. Conjugate heat transfer simulations of liquid sodium-steel system point to a relatively intensive penetration of turbulent temperature fluctuations into the heated wall. Database containing the results is available in a digital form. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.