LAUSR

Abstract The present computational study comprises the geometrical investigation using the Constructal Design of a triangular array of bluff bodies subjected to incompressible, transient, and forced convective flows in a two-dimensional domain. It is considered a Reynolds and Prandtl numbers of ReD = 100 and Pr = 0.71. The body areas and the maximum occupation area of the array are the problem constraints. The problem has three degrees of freedom (DOF): ST/D, SL/D (ratios between transverse and longitudinal pitch over characteristic dimension D, respectively), and H1/L1 (height and length ratio of the upstream body of the arrangement). The objectives are to minimize the drag coefficient ( C D ¯ ) and maximization of heat transfer rate per unit length ( q ¯ ′ ) of the arrangement. Conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy are solved with the Finite Volume Method (FVM). Results indicated a significant gain in the fluid dynamic and thermal performances of 68.85% and 100.34%, respectively when the best and worst shapes are compared. Moreover, variations of the ratio H1/L1 strongly affected the behavior of C D ¯ and q ¯ ′ as a function of ST/D and SL/D and optimal designs. Thermal streams with complex vortex structures distributed in tree-shaped patterns led to the highest heat transfer rate magnitudes.