Numerical Simulation for Mixed Convective Airflow through a Vertical Finned Channel

A numerical simulation for mixed convective airflow through a vertical finned channel was carried out by means of a MATLAB® code. Steady state and two dimensional conditions are considered for solving the problem. The discretization technique used was finite volume and the SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Pressure Linked Equations) algorithm was used to link the pressure and velocity fields inside the computational domain. The simulation was carried out for Re = 50, 100 and 150. The heat transfer problem was solved for a temperature difference between the hot wall and the fluid temperature at the entrance of 50K and 70K. These combinations resulted on Richardson of 0.46, 1.04 and 4.16 corresponding to forced, mixed and natural convection, respectively. As a result, the fluid flow structures, the flow velocity and temperature fields as well as the recirculation zones adjacent to the fines are shown. Local Nusselt number and bulk temperature through the channel are presented. The Nusselt number and the recirculation zones increase when the Reynolds number is augmented