Effect of wavelength of sinusoidal wavy wall surface on drag and heat transfer at turbulent thermal boundary layer flow

Abstract

Direct numerical simulations of thermal turbulent boundary layer flows over a wavy wall surface are performed to investigate the effect of a wavelength on drag coefficients and heat transfer performance. The Reynolds number based on an inlet boundary layer thickness is set to be 2820 and the Prandtl number is set to be Pr = 0.71 and 2.0. The wavy wall surface is homogeneous in the spanwise direction and the wave amplitude is fixed at 2a+ = 20. The six wavelength cases of λ/2a = 7.5 ～ 45 are examined. As the wavelength decreases, the skin-friction drag decreases and the pressure drag and heat transfer increase. The total drag peaks at λ/2a = 12.5 and the flow separation occurs at λ/2a < 15. In the separation region, the backward flow transfers the heat and results in a negative correlation coefficient between the velocity and temperature of R (u′tT′ ) at the bottom of the wavy wall. Spindle-shaped spots of the Nusselt number are also observed on the upslope of the wavy wall.

Keywords

• direct numerical simulation
• turbulent boundary layer flow
• heat transfer enhancement
• wavy wall surface
• wavelength