Vortex generator induced heat transfer augmentation past a rib in a heated duct air flow

The potential for increasing the heat transfer per unit pressure drop in a ribbed duct by positioning vortex generators at key locations in the flow is experimentally studied. Emphasis is placed on a rib positioned at the inlet to a rectangular test section with uniform heating at its bottom wall. For a circular rod positioned either immediately above or just downstream of the rib, local and average Nusselt number results are obtained. The effects of the dimensionless rod-rib spacing, the dimensionless rod diameter, and the Reynolds number on Nusselt numbers are studied.