Parametric studies and correlations for combined conduction-mixed convection–radiation from a non-identically and discretely heated vertical plate

Abstract

The present paper reports the parametric studies and correlations for the problem of combined conduction-mixed convection–radiation from a non-identically and discretely heated vertical plate. Three discrete heat sources of non-identical heights but with identical volumetric rate of heat generation are assumed to be flush-mounted in a thin vertical plate. The longest and the shortest heaters are provided at the leading and trailing edges of the plate, while the remaining heater is located centrally. The governing fluid flow and heat transfer equations are considered in their full strength without the boundary layer approximations and are solved using the finite volume method. A computer code is written to solve the problem and various parametric studies have been performed. The relative roles of free convection, forced convection and radiation in various fluid flow and heat transfer results have been elucidated. In conclusion, based on a large set of data generated from the code, correlations for maximum non-dimensional plate temperature, average non-dimensional plate temperature and mean friction coefficient have been evolved.