Three-dimensional effects on convective heat transfer from a window/plane blind system

Most studies of convective heat transfer in window-blind systems assume that the flow is two-dimensional. However, in some cases, three-dimensional flow effects can become very important. The present study was undertaken to numerically determine how significant such effects can be for the particular case of a window covered by a plane blind. Only convective heat transfer has been considered. An approximate model of a window covered by a closed plane blind and exposed to a large surrounding room in which the mean temperature is assumed to be known and lower than the window temperature has been considered. The solution has been obtained by numerically solving the three-dimensional governing equations written in dimensionless form. The effect of the blind width expressed relative to the window height on the window heat transfer rate has in particular been examined.