Lattice Boltzmann computations of incompressible laminar flow and heat transfer in a constricted channel

A multi-population thermal lattice Boltzmann method (TLBM) is applied to simulate incompressible steady flow and heat transfer in a two-dimensional constricted channel. The method is validated for velocity and temperature profiles by comparing with a finite element method based commercial solver. The results indicate that, at various Reynolds numbers, the average flow resistance increases and the heat transfer rate decreases in a constricted channel in comparison to a straight channel. The effect of the constriction ratio is also investigated. The results show that the presented numerical model is a promising tool in analyzing simultaneous solution of fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena in complex geometries. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.