CFD Analysis of Combined Thermal Radiation and Conjugate Heat Transfer in a 3D FFS

Mathematical investigation of conjugate heat transfer in a 3-d rectangular duct having a vertical forward-facing step with a participating medium is carried out using OpenFOAM. The stepped interface splits the rectangular domain into two regions (viz., solid and fluid). The fluid considered is carbon-dioxide, which is a participating medium. The ability of the code has been verified by validating conjugate heat transfer and radiative heat transfer. The fluid flows at a Reynolds number 250 through a rectangular domain with a contraction ratio of 0.5. The case study mainly focused on the effect of optical thickness and linear scattering albedo on thermal characteristics of the flow. The changes in average Nusselt number with optical thickness and linear scattering albedo are analyzed. Also, the sense of including radiation effects into a thermal analysis are discussed.