Heat transfer improvement and drag force reduction around three heated square cylinders controlled by partitions

Investigating the subject offers a pioneering approach to enhancing thermal performance and aerodynamic efficiency, unlocking novel strategies for optimizing energy utilization and air dynamics in engineering applications. In this research, a numerical study of airflow control coupled to heat transfer around several heated square cylinders is carried out at a fixed Reynolds number (Re=100). The effect of the positioning and length of the control partitions is examined. Numerical simulations are carried out using the lattice Boltzmann method with multiple relaxation times model. The obtained results reveal the existence of a critical position g=0 where a significant improvement in the Nusselt number is observed. This improvement amounts to 31.1% for the rear face of the top obstacle, 30.2% for the rear face of the central obstacle, and 36.65% for the rear face of the bottom obstacle compared to the uncontrolled case. Thus, a complete suppression of the vortex shedding is observed when the length of the partitions reaches a critical value (Lp=4D). Furthermore, a maximum percentage of drag reduction is achieved by around 6.03% for the central block and 16.67% for the two end blocks when the length of the control partitions reaches this critical value.