Numerical Modeling of Conjugate Heat Transfer on Complex Geometries With Diagonal Cartesian Method, Part II: Applications

Part I of this study discusses the diagonal Cartesian method for temperature analysis. The application of this method to the analysis of flow and conjugate heat transfer in a compact heat exchanger is given in Part II. In addition to a regular (i.e., Cartesian-oriented) fin arrangement, two complex fin arrangements are modeled using the diagonal Cartesian method. The pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of the different configurations are compared. It is found that enhanced heat transfer and reduced pressure drop can be obtained with the modified fin arrangements for this compact heat exchanger.

Numerical Modeling of Conjugate Heat Transfer on Complex Geometries With Diagonal Cartesian Method, Part I: Methods

In this study, a diagonal Cartesian method for thermal analysis is developed for simulation of conjugate heat transfer over complex boundaries. This method uses diagonal line segments in addition to Cartesian line segments to approximate complex boundaries in Cartesian coordinates. The velocity fields are also modeled using the diagonal Cartesian method. The transport equations are discretized with the finite analytic (FA) method. The current work is validated by simulating a rotated lid-driven cavity flow with conjugate heat transfer, and accurate results are obtained.