The Influence of Rotating Element on Flow and Heat Transfer in the Two-Dimensional Confined Channel

Computational study has been carried out to analyze flow and thermal characteristics due to rotating elements. The problem considered in the present study consists of two-dimensional domain with planar rotating elements. Three different rotating elements are chosen, i.e., solid cylinder (SC), two straight blades (SB), and the third type (CB) is combination of the first two types comprising two blades projecting from a small cylinder. The rotating elements are subjected to various rotational speeds in counterclockwise direction. The rotational speed is non-dimensionalized with respect to flow velocity. The flow Reynolds numbers considered in the present study are ReD = 100, 300 and 600. The governing equations are solved using the flow solver, ANSYS Fluent. Present results are validated using the available literature results. Rotating elements enhance heat transfer from top confining wall. The heat transfer enhancement due to SB type of rotating elements is found to be maximum.