A numerically-based parametric study of heat transfer off an inclined surface subject to impinging airflow

Impinging jets may be used to achieve enhanced local heat transfer for convective heating, cooling, or drying. The issuing jet may contact the surface normally or obliquely. Factors such as jet attachment, surface angle, jet angle and size, separation distance between jet orifice and surface of impingement, and trajectory influence heat transfer dramatically. This study addresses the thermal problem of jet impingement on an inclined surface and is motivated by the practical application of air jets issuing out of a defroster’s nozzles and impinging on the inclined windshield surface of a vehicle. The effects of incoming fluid velocity, openings’ geometry (circular vs. rectangular), number of openings, angle that the inclined surface makes with the horizontal plane and angle of impinging jet on heat transfer are examined. Fluid mechanics and heat transfer characteristics are exhibited in details for a configuration with three rectangular openings. A comparative study for other configurations is also featured. The results are correlated in terms of governing dimensionless parameters through numerically-based correlations that are useful for predicting heat transfer on an inclined surface subject to impinging airflow.