A Coupled FDM/Bem Solution for the Conjugate Heat Transfer Problem

The conjugate heat transfer problem with Poiseuille-Couette flow within a thick-waited parallel-plate channel is solved using a coupled finite-difference method / boundary-element method (FDM/BEM) iteration scheme. The convective heat transfer in the fluid is solved using the FDM, and the conduction heat transfer in the solid is solved using the BEM. The two solutions are coupled to solve the conjugate problem iteratively by enforcing continuity of temperature and heat flux at the fluid-solid interfaces. Numerical results are in good agreement with available experimental data. A parametric study was performed to determine the influence of conductivity ratio of solid to fluid, dimensionless solid wall thickness, channel aspect ratio, and the ratio of free surface velocity to mean fluid velocity on the interfacial temperature and Nusselt number distributions