Effects of width-to-depth ratio on heat transfer coefficient for gap

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to perform the stimulation in order to examine the effects on the heat transfer coefficient and the flowfield properties at the vicinity of the gap due to variations in the width-to-depth ratio.

Design/methodology/approach

The governing equations were discreted by using the finite volume method, and based on pressure-velocity coupled algorithm, the heat transfer coefficients outside and inside the gaps, defined by the width-to-depth ratio of 1, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4, were obtained by the Fluent software.

Findings

The number of vortex inside the gap depends on the width-to-depth ratio, and the maximum value of the heat transfer coefficient emerges on the downstream surface.

Originality/value

The study gives a feasible method to simulate the flowfield and the heat transfer inside the gap, which will help the design of the thermal protection system for reentry vehicles.

Citation

Huang, H. and Huang, G. (2015), "Effects of width-to-depth ratio on heat transfer coefficient for gap", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 803-809. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-05-2014-0143