Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics over Double Backward-Facing Step with Obstacles

Many engineering device, including nuclear reactors, heat exchangers, and electronic circuit boards, exhibit flow separation and reattachment. To reduce thermal stress impacts, the components of these devices, which resemble stepped channel designs and are susceptible to high heat flux, must be properly cooled. The present work numerically investigates the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics through a double backward-facing step with elliptic obstacles located after each step. For this purpose, equations governing fluid flow and heat transfer are solved in a Cartesian framework using an in-house code based on streamline upwind/Petrov-Galerkin finite element method. The effect of various parameters (axis ratios (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1), vertical location of obstacles (0.38, 0.577, 0.769), Reynolds number (300, 500, 800, 1000)) on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in the channel with and without obstacles are compared and quantified. The recirculation region length of the double backward-facing stepped channel with obstacles decreases after the first and second steps when compared with no obstacles. The local Nusselt number distribution along the corner regions of the stepped wall is enhanced due to obstacles. The axis ratio of obstacles has less influence on the convective heat transfer enhancement than the vertical location of the obstacles.