Heat Transfer Due to an Impinging Jet in a Confined Space

A numerical investigation using unsteady three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with the k-omega SST (shear stress transport) turbulent model was conducted to determine the flow and thermal characteristics of an unsubmerged axisym-metric oil jet in air, impinging normally on to a heated flat disk with finite radius, bounded by cylindrical walls kept at constant temperature. A 10 mm thick disk subjected to a high uniform heat flux was located at impingement distances ranging from 40 to 80 mm from the nozzle exit, for nozzle exit diameters of d - 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 mm. The volume of fluid (VOF) method with a high-resolution interface-capturing (HRIC) scheme was implemented in STAR-CCM+. A new methodology was developed to predict the stagnation zone and local heat transfer coefficients. Contrary to previous research, it is shown that the radial extent of the stagnation zone is not fixed but depends on the gradient of radial velocity along the disk. The normalized local Nusselt number profile along the disk radius is found to be weakly dependent on Reynolds number for a given nozzle size. It is also shown that the local Nusselt number is not uniform in the stagnation region as reported by experimental studies but depends on the distribution of the near-wall radial velocity gradient. Using the computational results, new correlations to predict the dimensionless radial velocity gradient and Nusselt number have been developed. The present correlations are dimensionally balanced, eliminating a deficiency in earlier correlations noted in the literature.