Flow through a protruding bluff body–heat and irreversibility analysis

Abstract Flow over a protruding bluff body finds wide application in many engineering fields. The modeling of the conjugate heating process due to bluff body gives insight into the physical process involved and minimizes the experimental cost. In the present study, the transient conjugate heat transfer analysis of the bluff body subjected to low Reynolds number flow is considered. The governing flow and energy equations are solved numerically using a control volume approach. The heat transfer characteristics are examined through the normalized Stanton number. The entropy generation due to fluid friction and heat transfer in the fluid system is computed and ratio of rate of heat transfer to irreversibility generated is obtained. It is found that the heat transfer in the region of top and bottom edges of the bluff body is enhanced due to the convection effect. The heat transfer to irreversibility ratio decreases sharply as the heating progresses.