THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

Omolayo M. Ikumapayi

,

Noureddine Kaid

,

Samia Larguech

,

Younes Menni

,

Mustafa Bayram

,

Abiodun Bayode

,

Tin Tin Ting

,

Salih Özer

,

Erdinç Vural

ANALYSIS OF VELOCITY FIELDS AND HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS OVER INCLINED INVERTED L-SHAPED BAFFLES IN A 3-D CHANNEL

ABSTRACT
Efficient thermal management in internal flow systems is critical for enhancing heat exchanger performance. This study investigates how variations in baffle inclination and flow rate affect flow behavior and heat transfer within a 3-D channel equipped with inverted L-shaped baffles. The flow is modeled under steady, laminar conditions with water as the working fluid. Results show that increasing flow velocity and adjusting baffle orientation generate complex 3-D flow structures, including vortex formation and secondary flows, which enhance fluid mixing and disrupt thermal boundary-layers. These effects lead to significant improvements in heat transfer, with the highest average heat transfer coefficient observed at the combination of greatest flow velocity and optimized baffle configuration, achieving up to 80% enhancement compared to less favorable set-ups. The findings demonstrate the synergistic influence of flow dynamics and baffle geometry in maximizing convective heat transfer, providing valuable insights for the design of more efficient thermal management systems.
KEYWORDS
baffle inclination angle, momentum transport, numerical simulation, convective heat transfer, secondary flow structures
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-03-15
PAPER REVISED: 2025-06-14
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-07-28
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-09-26
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI2504201I
CITATION EXPORT: view in browser or download as text file
THERMAL SCIENCE YEAR 2025, VOLUME 29, ISSUE Issue 4, PAGES [3201 - 3209]
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Analysis of velocity fields and heat transfer coefficients over inclined inverted L-shaped baffles in a 3-D channel

2025 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International licence