The present work investigates the effects of buoyancy and density ratio on the thermal performance of a rotating two-pass square channel. The U-bend configuration with smooth walls is selected for this study. The channel has a square cross-section with a hydraulic diameter of 5.08 cm (2 inches). The lengths of the first and second passes are 514 mm and 460 mm, respectively. The turbulent flow enters the channel with Reynolds numbers of up to 34,000. The rotational speed varies from 0 to 600 rpm with the rotational numbers up to 0.75. For this study, two approaches are considered for tracking the buoyancy effect on heat transfer. In the first case, the density ratio is set constant, and the rotational speed is varied. In the second case, the density ratio is changed in the stationary case, and the effect of density ratio is discussed. The range of Buoyancy number along the channel is 0–6. The objective is to investigate the impact of Buoyancy forces on a broader range of rotation number (0–0.75) and Buoyancy number scales (0–6), and their combined effects on heat transfer coefficient for a channel with aspect ratio of 1:1. Several computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation are carried out for this study, and some of the results are validated against experimental data.
An immersed boundary method with
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‐adaptive wall function for smooth wall shear
