Detached eddy simulation of flow and heat transfer in fully developed rotating internal cooling channel with normal ribs

Numerical predictions of a hydrodynamic and thermally developed turbulent flow are presented for a rotating duct with square ribs aligned normal to the main flow direction. Three rotation numbers Ro = 0.18, 0.35 and 0.67 are investigated. The rib height to channel hydraulic diameter (e/Dh) is 0.1, the rib pitch to rib height (P/e) is 10 and the calculations have been carried out for a bulk Reynolds number of 20,000. The capability of the detached eddy simulation (DES) in predicting the turbulent flow field and the heat transfer under the effects of rotation has been evaluated against unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (URANS), large-eddy simulations (LES), and experimental data. It is shown that DES by capturing a large portion of the turbulent energy in the resolved scales is much more capable than URANS in transcending the underlying shortcomings of the RANS model. DES shows much better fidelity in calculating critical components of the turbulent flow field and heat transfer than URANS.