Effects of a Thick Plate on the Excess Temperature of Iso-Heat Flux Heat Sources Cooled by Laminar Forced Convection Flow: Conjugate Analysis

A conjugate analysis via the finite volume approach is performed to study the effects of a thick plate on the excess (peak) temperature of an iso-heat flux heat source cooled by laminar forced convection flow. A thick plate of temperature-dependent thermal conductivity is placed between the heat sources and the cooling fluid. A cooling fluid flows over the thick plate and removes the heat by laminar forced convection. On account of the two-dimensional heat redistribution in the finite thick plate with one face subjected to iso-heat flux and the other face exposed to forced flow, the interface ceases to be an iso-heat flux and, consequently, reduces the excess temperature of the heat sources. In the numerical analysis, the thickness of the plate is relaxed one by one to search for the optimal thickness that minimizes the excess temperature. It is shown that the reduction in the excess temperature due to the insertion of the thick plate with optimal thickness depends upon the Reynolds number of the fluid flow and the fluid-to-solid thermal conductivity ratio.