Numerical and experimental analysis of heat transfer enhancement in a grooved channel with curved flow deflectors

The heat transfer enhancement in a horizontal channel formed by parallel plates with periodic insertions of block heaters and curved flow deflectors is assessed in the present work. The main function of the deflectors is to divert a portion of the flow into the space between blocks in order to increase the fluid motion in this area and to remove the trapped fluid. The objective is to identify through a multifactor analysis from numerical simulations the effect of the different geometric parameters (deflector radius, deflector position and channel height) on the thermal and hydraulic behavior in order to propose different configurations offering whether the minimum pressure drop, the maximum Nusselt number, or a balance between them. The numerical results used for the multifactor analysis are validated with an experimental setup, demonstrating the strong effect of the different geometric factors on the cooling performance instead of the sole deflector size. Three different geometric configurations are suggested for specific enhancements according to the application. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.