Numerical Study on Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer of Mixed Convection to a Stagnation Region From an Upward-Facing Horizontal Plate

Mixed convection heat transfer from an upward-facing horizontal semi-infinite plate to a stagnation region is studied by means of direct numerical simulation. All the cases studied are simulated under constant heat flux condition on the plate. Assuming that the working fluid is air at room temperature and pressure, the Prandtl number is kept at 0.71. The Reynolds and the modified Grashof numbers are in the ranges of 10²−10³ and 10⁷−10⁸, respectively. Longitudinal vortical structure, which was discovered in the recent experimental study, is successfully simulated. The typical structure appears as a pair of counter-rotating vortices being elongated over the plate. The relationship between this structure and the heat transfer rate is clarified. Characteristics of the vortices are investigated in detail.