Flow characteristics and heat transfer enhancement of sinusoidal corrugated channels

In this study, flow characteristics and heat transfer enhancement in various sinusoidal corrugated channels were investigated. The channel height and phase shift effects on the flow structures and thermal performances were examined for Reynolds numbers in the range of 2500≤Re≤7500. The geometrical configurations of this study cover three different channel heights (Hmin/Hmax=0.36, 0.54, 0.72) and phase shift angles (φ=0°, 90°, 180°). Firstly, flow characteristics in corrugated channels were investigated both experimentally and numerically. Experiments were conducted using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique to compare with the results obtained from the numerical simulations. Afterwards, the hydrodynamic structures and thermal performance of the sinusoidal corrugated channels were studied. Velocity distribution, turbulence intensity, local and averaged Nusselt numbers, Nu and friction factor, f were calculated for various configurations. Finally, thermal performance factor (TPF) were also calculated to determine the optimum channel configuration and operating condition.