Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer by Forced Convection on Mars Rover

Numerical simulation have been undertaken to investigate the forced convention heat transfer of carbon dioxide flow over the Mars rover under the Martian conditions. The study is carried out based on a simplified Mars rover model which is a cuboid with longer and wider top surface and it is performed under the conditions of temperature 160 K and 290 K, Reynolds numbers of 6.64x10(3) to 7.01x10(4) and the pressure of 1000 Pa. Different directions of inflow are investigated in order to better reveal the complicated flow fields around the Mars rover. Results show that the heat transfer rate mainly depends on the inflow direction and there is a special angle that the heat transfer rate can reach its maximum. Another point of the conclusion is that the heat transfer coefficient is influenced by the separation and reattachment of turbulent flow. Additionally, the evolution of vortices cause the heat transfer coefficient increasing slightly. Based on the numerical simulation data, a correlation of the force convection heat transfer of carbon dioxide flowing over the Mars rover is developed. Compared with the empirical correlation from literature, the present correlation is more applicable under the Martian conditions.