INTERNAL HEAT-TRANSFER AUGMENTATION IN A CHANNEL USING AN ALTERNATE SET OF POROUS CAVITY-BLOCK OBSTACLES

A numerical investigation for forced convection in a constant-temperat ure parallel plate channel with porous cavity and block alternately em placed on the bottom plate is presented in this work. The Brinkman-For chheimer-extended Darcy model, which accounts for the effects of imper meable boundary and inertia, is used to characterize the flow field in side the porous region. Solutions of the coupled governing equations a re carried out through the stream function-vorticity analysis. The cha racteristics of fluid flow and forced convection heat transfer have be en obtained by the examinations of various governing parameters, such as the Reynolds number, Darcy number, inertial parameter, Prandtl numb er, and two geometric parameters. Several interesting phenomena such a s the heat transfer augmentation in the channel were presented and dis cussed. The results of this investigation indicate that the size of re circulation caused by porous block will have a profound effect on the flow and heat transfer characteristics inside the interblock porous ca vity.