Study of Baffles Arrangement Influence on the Natural Convection into a Heated Square Channel.

The present experimental paper is officiated to study the heat characteristics and performance of air flow through a square cross-sectional heated channel under natural heat convection conditions. The influence of baffles arrangement and perforated baffles on the rate of heat transfer through a channel are studied. Four cases of a heated channels are studied, one is a plain channel and other three channels with a baffle namely, three inline baffles, three staggered baffles and three staggered perforated baffles arrangements. The outer tested channels surfaces are electrically heated with a constant surface heat flux condition. All tested channels are fabricated by cold forming with constant dimensions using aluminum plate has thickness of 1.0 mm. The heat performance is assessed for all tested channels. The results of present paper are approved than the available data in the previous paper and a good convergence are noticed. Obtained experimental results appear that a three staggered perforated baffles arrangement is a best selection as it improves heat transfer rate in expression of Nusselt number, it higher about 22% to 27% than that the plain channel for same conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]