Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer Enhancement in the Presence of an Electric Field at Low Reynolds Numbers

One way for optimization of the rational use of energy in thermal systems is to increase their rate of heat transfer. In this study, the effects of an electric field on the fluid flow and temperature field as an active method of enhancement is numerically investigated. The hydrodynamics and heat transfer behaviors of laminar duct flow with specific boundary conditions in the presence of an EHD actuator was taken into consideration. The partial difference equations of flow field and electric field namely continuity, momentum and energy equations for fluid flow and electric current and Poisson’s equations for electric field was numerically solved with finite volume method. At first, the electric equations were solved and then their results were imported to the fluid field for improvement of the body forces. The aim of this study is an application of the EHD actuator on local heat transfer enhancement by using wire-plate electrodes in laminar duct flow. The obtained results show for the flows with R