Laminar fully developed forced-convection flow within an asymmetrically heated horizontal double-passage channel

The present analytical study is concerned with the thermal characteristics of hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed flow in an asymmetrically heated horizontal channel, which is divided into two passages (by means of a baffe) for two separate flow streams. Each stream will have its own pressure gradient and hence its own individual velocity profile. Based upon bulk mean temperature of the whole flow in the channel, Nusselt numbers and the generalized temperature profiles in the fully developed regions are determined by means of integration of the momentum and energy equations. Three possible combinations of the thermal boundary conditions on the two wall plates of the channel are considered: isothermal-isothermal, isothermal-isoflux, and isoflux-isoflux. Results show that the thermal characteristics of the fully developed flow could be significantly affected by the position of the baffle, the pressure-gradient ratio by the two separate streams, and thermal boundary conditions on the channel walls.