Natural Convective Heat Transfer in a Laminar Flow over an Immersed Curved Surface

Abstract

Numerical solutions of unsteady laminar free flow of a viscous fluid past an immersed curved surface were presented in this research study. The two-dimensional fluid flow in consideration was unsteady and incompressible. Flows of this nature are commonly encountered in engineering studies such as Aerodynamics and Hydrodynamics. In our study, the continuity, the momentum and thermal energy equations were non-dimensionalized and the solutions of the dimensionless governing equations approximated using finite-difference method. The velocity and temperature fields were studied by varying various parameters in the equations governing the fluid flow. The results obtained were presented graphically for comprehensive and easier interpretation. From the results, it was found out that the dissipation of heat within the boundary layer increases with increase in the length of the curvature i.e. when the length of the curvature was increased, a consequence increase in the amount of heat dissipated within the boundary layer was noted.  Also at large Reynolds number, minimal amount of heat dissipated within the boundary layer was recorded. These findings would assist Engineers in making appropriate designs and estimate improvements in equipment that require minimal resistance to the fluid in motion.