The forced convection flow over a flat plate with finite length with a constant convective boundary condition

The flow of a fluid past a flat plate of finite length and infinite width (two-dimensional flow) is considered. The plate is heated by convection from a fluid with constant temperature Tf with a constant heat transfer coefficient hf. In all previous works, the problem was considered using boundary layer theory whereas, in the present work, the solution is based on the full Navier-Stokes equations. The problem is investigated numerically with a finite volume method using the commercial code ANSYS FLUENT. The governing parameters are the Reynolds number, the new heat transfer parameter, and the Prandtl number. In addition, the influence of these three parameters on the temperature field is investigated. It is found that high Reynolds and high Prandtl numbers the wall temperature increases along the plate. They reach a maximum near the trailing edge then decrease. The same occurs as the heat transfer parameter increases. When the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers are low, the plate temperature tends to become symmetric, with a maximum at the middle of the plate. The temperature profiles become thicker as the Reynolds number and the Prandtl number is reduced while the temperature profiles become thicker as the heat transfer parameter increases.