Constrained large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow and heat transfer in a stationary ribbed duct

Abstract

Purpose

The knowledge about the heat transfer and flow field in the ribbed internal passage is particularly important in industrial and engineering applications. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the performance of the constrained large-eddy simulation (CLES) method in predicting the fully developed turbulent flow and heat transfer in a stationary periodic square duct with two-side ribbed walls.

Design/methodology/approach

The rib height-to-duct hydraulic diameter ratio is 0.1 and the rib pitch-to-height ratio is 9. The bulk Reynolds number is set to 30,000, and the bulk Mach number of the flow is chosen as 0.1 in order to keep the flow almost incompressible. The CLES calculated results are thoroughly assessed in comparison with the detached-eddy simulation (DES) and traditional large-eddy simulation (LES) methods in the light of the experimentally measured data.

Findings

It is manifested that the CLES approach can predict both aerodynamic and thermodynamic quantities more accurately than the DES and traditional LES methods.

Originality/value

This is the first time for the CLES method to be applied to simulation of heat and fluid flow in this widely used geometry.

Citation

Jiang, Z., Xiao, Z., Shi, Y. and Chen, S. (2016), "Constrained large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow and heat transfer in a stationary ribbed duct", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 26 No. 3/4, pp. 1069-1091. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-09-2015-0396