Numerical study of forced convection laminar flow of a nanouid in a parallel-channel with discrete heat sources

In this study, the laminar forced convection heat transfer of water-coper nanofluid is numerically investigated within a parallel plate channel. Fixed temperature heat sources with the specified sizes and distances are embedded on the walls of the channel. The entry and exit sections of the channel as well as the sections between the heat sources are thermally insulated. The fluid flow with uniform velocity and temperature enters the channel. The channel length is considered large enough, so the flow in the channel output is assumed fully developed. The aim of this research is the numerical investigation of the effects of the Reynolds number, the solid volume fraction and the number of the heat sources on the flow field and heat transfer rate. For this purpose, the governing equations are discretized by finite difference method based on the control volume formulation and are solved using the SIMPLE algorithm. In order to validate the computer program, the results of this study have been compared with the results of the previous numerical studies. This comparison has confirmed the accuracy of the performance of the computer program. The results show that the rate of heat transfer increases by increasing the solid volume fraction and Reynolds number. The results also show that, heat transfer rate increases when the heat sourse is divided into smaller sections and these sections are distributed on the channel wall.