Laminar Flow Analysis over a Flat Plate by Computational Fluid Dynamics

In this paper theoretical estimations of boundary layer thickness and heat transfer coefficient is examined using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for laminar air flow. The feasibility and accuracy of using CFD to calculate convective heat transfer coefficients is examined. A grid sensitivity analysis is performed for the CFD solutions, and it is used to determine the convective heat transfer coefficients. The coefficients are validated using analytical solution. In addition the local Nusselt number are obtained, which can be used in estimation of flow and heat transfer performance over a flat plate. The results tell us that for the laminar forced convection simulations the convective heat transfer coefficients differed from analytical values by 5%. The result also tells us that the boundary-layer thickness for laminar flow decreases with distance from the leading edge of the flat plate and increases with Reynolds number. The effect of Reynolds number, Prandtl number on flow is also investigated. These estimations can quickly give us the conclusion of dependences between the variables of interest.