Heat transfer enhancement in a microchannel using active vibrating piezoelectric vortex generator

Heat transfer processes are widely used in many industrial applications, therefore many studies have been conducted in this field. so in this research, the effect of the active vibrations of a piezoelectric vortex generator on the displacement heat transfer rate in a microchannel is investigated. The assumed vortex generators consist of square pins having a flexible splitter plates on their lee side. These plates will be deformed under fluid structure interactions. The Reynolds number, based on the channel’s hydraulic diameter,is set to 1000 to ensure laminar flow. The heat transfer performance, the hydrodynamic friction factor and the overall hydrothermal efficiency for different number of VGs and splitter’s flexural rigidity are investigated. The results showed that softer splitters provide better heat transfer capability and the higher hydrothermal performance. The results also indicated that, by selecting proper configuration, in the expense of 33% decrease in total hydrothermal efficiency with respect to clean channel, 140% increase in the rejected heat, compared to clean channel, can be achieved.