An Experimental Study of Momentum and Thermal Transport in Flow Through Smooth- and Rough-Wall Microchannels

Local Nusselt number (Nu) for smooth-wall laminar flow in the range 200 ≤ Re ≤ Recr agree well with macroscale predictions in both the thermally-developing and -developed regimes With increasing roughness, while an enhancement in local Nu is noted in the thermally-developing regime, no measurable influence is observed upon attainment of a thermally-developed state. These observations are supported by temperature profiles which suggest that the thermal boundary layer may be regenerated locally by roughness in the thermal entrance region of the flow. In the transitional regime, mean temperature profiles for the smooth- and rough-wall cases show deviation from fully-developed laminar behavior for Re > Recr. Finally, estimates of bulk Nu indicate enhancement in convective heat transfer over the smooth-wall case with increasing surface roughness in the laminar, transitional and turbulent regimes, though the smooth-wall data are in excellent agreement with macroscale predictions for laminar and turbulent flow. While a shift in the transitional pathway of the thermal transport behavior toward lower Re appears partially attributable for this enhancement with increasing roughness, it appears that turbulent convection also contributes significantly once transition is initiated.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Natrajan, Vinay Kumar

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christensen, Kenneth T.

• Engineering, Mechanical

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3392236

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87759