Int. J. Therm. Sci.

(2001) 40, 890898

2001 ditions scientiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved
S1290-0729(01)01275-3/FLA

Jet impingement cooling of a convex semi-cylindrical

surface

Cristina Cornaro 1 , Amy S. Fleischer 2 , Michael Rounds 3 , Richard J. Goldstein

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 125 Mechanical Engineering, 111 Church St. S.E.,
Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

(Received 14 August 2000, accepted 9 January 2001)

Abstract Liquid crystals are used to investigate the eect of high relative curvature on surface heat transfer for a round air jet
impinging perpendicularly on a semicylindrical convex surface. The relative curvature, (d/D ), is varied by changing the jet tube
diameter for the same surface diameter. Relative curvature varies from 0.180.38. The eects of relative curvature, Reynolds number
and jet exit-to-surface spacing are described. 2001 ditions scientiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS
jets / jet impingement / curved surfaces / impingement heat transfer / liquid crystals

Nomenclature angle along the surface

StefanBoltzmann constant . . . . . . . Wm2 K4
A area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m2
d jet diameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m
D diameter of convex surface . . . . . . . m
h heat transfer coefficient . . . . . . . . . Wm2 K1 INTRODUCTION
H jet exit-to-surface distance . . . . . . . . m
k thermal conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . Wm1 K1 Jet impingement is used in applications ranging from
L tube length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m the drying of textiles and films to the cooling of gas
Nu Nusselt number turbine blades and combustor walls. A number of heat
q heat flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wm2 transfer studies have analyzed the ability of impinging
r radial distance from center of jet . . . . m jets to enhance heat transfer. Most of these focus on jet
Re Reynolds number = U d/ impingement on flat surfaces. These studies investigate
s curvilinear coordinate . . . . . . . . . . m the effects of Reynolds number, jet-to-surface distance,
T temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K nozzle geometry, jet temperature, jet orientation, and
U jet velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ms1 impingement surface shape on heat transfer. Martin [1],
Uc jet centerline velocity . . . . . . . . . . ms1 Jambunathan et al. [2] and Viskanta [3] have published
V voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V comprehensive reviews of many of these studies.
x axial coordinate . . . . . . . . . . . . . m Liquid crystals are used in heat transfer studies to vi-
y vertical coordinate . . . . . . . . . . . . m
sualize the surface temperature distribution. In a steady-
emissivity
state method, a thin resistance heater is covered with
kinematic viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . m2 s1 liquid crystals. The heater raises the temperature of the
liquid crystals above the color change range. The jet
Correspondence and reprints. impingement then cools the crystal back into the color
E-mail address: rjg@me.umn.edu (R.J. Goldstein). range and the local temperature is visualized as a two-
1 Currently at University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. dimensional color map across the surface. Goldstein and
2 Currently at Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA. Franchett [4] used this method to investigate the heat
3 Currently at United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, USA. transfer of jets impinging at oblique angles to the surface

890
 Jet impingement cooling of a convex semi-cylindrical surface
for Re = 10 00030 000 and Goldstein and Timmers [5]
used liquid crystals to investigate heat transfer from ar-
rays of jets. Lee et al. [6] used liquid crystals to measure
heat transfer from an elliptic jet impinging on a flat plate;
and Yan and Saniei [7] used a preheated wall transient
liquid crystal technique to measure heat transfer from an
obliquely impinging circular jet to a flat plate.
A few papers have investigated the effects of surface
curvature on heat transfer. Chupp et al. [8] studied the
heat transfer from an array of small round jets imping-
ing on a concave surface. Similar geometric configu-
rations were studied by Metzger et al. [9] and Hyrack
[10]. Lee et al. [11] studied the local impingement heat
transfer on a convex surface with low relative curva-
ture (d/D = 0.0340.089) for Re = 11 00050 000 us-
ing liquid crystals to measure the local surface tempera-
ture. This study concluded that the stagnation point Nus-
selt number increases with increasing values of curvature.
Kornblum and Goldstein [12] investigated the local heat
transfer and recovery factors for jets impinging on con-
cave and convex surfaces. The high Reynolds number,
contoured-nozzle jets impinged on surfaces with small
relative curvature (d/D = 0.0190.038). This study in-
cluded flow visualization using entrained water droplets.
Although this method gives an overview of the flow pat-
tern, it does not provide detailed images of the vortex
structures.
Gau and Chung [13] investigated the heat transfer on
semicylindrical concave and convex surfaces using slot
jets with Reynolds numbers from 6 00035 000 and slot
width to surface diameter ratios of 0.0220.125. Flow vi-
sualization using entrained smoke particles was also pre-
sented, but the poor resolution of the pictures makes it
difficult to determine the effect of curvature on the jet dy-
namics. The authors suggest that the formation of three-
dimensional counter-rotating vortices at the stagnation
point on the convex surface and the formation of Taylor
Grtler vortices on the concave surface increase the heat
transfer. These studies provide valuable information on
the effects of curvature on jet impingement with small
relative curvature values.
Cornaro et al. [14] used smoke-wire flow visualization
to investigate the behavior of a round jet impinging on
concave and convex surfaces with high relative curvature
values (d/D = 0.180.38). The visualization of the
impinging jet shows the initiation and growth of ring
vortices in the jet shear layer and their interaction with
the cylindrical surfaces, allowing the study of the effects
of surface curvature on jet dynamics.
The present study was undertaken to investigate the
effect of high relative curvature on surface heat transfer,
and to relate the vortex structures observed by Cornaro
et al. [14] to observed areas of high heat transfer. The
local Nusselt number is measured for a round air jet
impinging perpendicularly on a semicylindrical convex
surface. The experiment is conducted at three different
Reynolds numbers (6 000; 10 000; 16 000) at jet exit-
to-surface spacing (H /d) of 14 tube diameters. The
relative curvature, (d/D), is varied by changing the tube
diameter. Tube diameters of 47.2 mm, 72.6 mm, and
98.6 mm are used with a fixed surface diameter of
259 mm resulting in a relative curvature range of 0.18
0.38. The temperature of the surface is recorded with
narrow band liquid crystals.
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
The experimental apparatus is shown in figure 1. Three
jet tubes of different diameters (47.2 mm, 72.6 mm,
and 98.6 mm) are used to vary the relative curvature.
A honeycomb and two mesh screens are positioned in
each tube inlet to straighten the flow. The air is supplied
by the building compressor and controlled by a pressure
regulator. Upstream of the jet tube, the air passes through
flexible tubing that allows vertical motion of the tube,
varying the jet exit-to-surface distance.
The velocity and the turbulence intensity at the jet
exit are measured at different radial and axial position
for each jet tube at each Reynolds number to verify
the symmetry and uniformity of the flow. A hot-wire
anemometer measures the local velocity and turbulence
intensity. An orifice plate and a manometer are used to
measure the mean flowrate. Jet temperature is measured
using a type T (copper-constantin) thermocouple inserted
in the tube 10 cm upstream of the jet exit. Additional
type T thermocouples measure the ambient and orifice
temperatures.
The impingement surface is formed from one half of
a circular PVC pipe with 25 cm nominal diameter and
5 mm thickness. The underside of the convex surface is
insulated with cast polyurethane foam to minimize heat
loss.
A 0.0254 mm thick Inconel 600 foil heater is applied
to the surface using a 0.051 mm thick double-sided
adhesive. Care is taken to avoid cracks or wrinkles of
the thin film heater during installation, which can lead
to non-uniform heating of the surface. The heat flux
is generated by applying current to the heater through
copper bus bars attached to the ends of the metallic
foil. Silver-loaded paint ensures good electrical contact
between the copper bus bars and the heating surface. The
891
 C. Cornaro et al.
Figure 1. Experimental apparatus.
bus bars are connected to an adjustable dc power supply
in series with a calibrated resistance.
A 30 cm 30 cm liquid crystal sheet, 0.2 mm
thick, is attached to the surface heater using its adhesive
backing. The liquid crystal sheet (Hallcrest R35C1W)
exhibits a narrow color change band from 35 C to 36 C.
A reference grid is marked on the surface with a white
paint pen.
For each experimental configuration, the surface is
photographed with black and white film filtered through
a red lens. The use of the red lens causes the red
isotherm to appear white in the photos, while the other
colors appear dark. This isolates the red isotherms on the
surface. A calibration of the red band of the liquid crystal
identifies the exact temperature of the liquid crystal when
the surface is red (35.2 C), and the black and white
photos precisely locate the isotherm along the surface.
Because the actual color image is affected by factors
such as the thickness of the liquid crystal, and the angle
and distance of the light illuminating the liquid crystal
surface, a precise color calibration of the red isotherm
was carried out under lighting conditions similar to the
experiment.
The data acquisition is computer controlled. A precise
voltage is supplied to the bus bars by the power sup-
ply, and the system is allowed to come to steady-state.
After steady-state is reached, the jet temperature, ambi-
892
ent temperature, orifice temperature, voltage drop across
the heater, and voltage drop across the calibrated resis-
tance are recorded at 10 s intervals. Ten data sets are
recorded for each run. Both color and red filtered black
and white photographs are taken during the data acquisi-
tion process. Two 40W soft white tungsten bulbs briefly
illuminate the surface while the pictures are being taken.
These lights remain off during the rest of the experiment
to minimize radiative heat gain. When the data acquisi-
tion is complete, the voltage to the surface is increased,
changing the location of the red isotherm and the process
is repeated. Nine to twelve isotherm locations, each cor-
responding to a different heat flux, are photographed for
each Reynolds number, relative curvature, and jet exit-
to-surface distance. The series of black and white pho-
tographs is used to create two-dimensional heat transfer
coefficient contour maps for each relative curvature, jet
exit-to-surface spacing, and Reynolds number.
DATA REDUCTION
For constant heat flux boundary conditions, an iso-
therm on the liquid crystal surface corresponds to a line of
constant heat transfer coefficient. The local heat transfer
coefficient, h, at the position of a particular isotherm is
 Jet impingement cooling of a convex semi-cylindrical surface
given by:
h = qv /(Tw Tj ) (1)
where Tw is the surface temperature of the red isotherm
(35.3 0.1 C), Tj is the jet temperature, and qv is the net
convective heat flux. The total temperature of the air is
the same as the jet temperature for all conditions due to
the low Reynolds numbers.
The net heat flux is obtained by subtracting the heat
losses from the total heat flux through the heater:
qv = f (I V )heater /Aheater qrad qcon (2)
where the current, I , is found from the voltage drop
across the calibrated resistance:
I = Vshunt/Rshunt (3)
and f represents the non-uniformity of the surface
heating. It has been taken equal to unity but it has been
left in the equation to calculate the overall uncertainty of
the Nusselt number.
Figure 2. Surface map of heat transfer coecient (d/D = 0.18, H /d = 1, Re = 16 000).
The conduction loss, qcon , through the back of the
surface into the polyurethane foam insulation and the
lateral conduction loss are found to be negligible due
to the low thermal conductivity of the PVC pipe. The
radiation loss, qrad is calculated from:


qrad = Tw4 Ta4 (4)
where is the emissivity, is the StefanBoltzmann
constant, and Ta is the ambient temperature. The emis-
sivity of the liquid crystal and black paint is taken to
be 0.9 0.05. This contribution is large for low jet ve-
locities. The temperature of the jet is maintained within
0.3 C of the ambient temperature.
The position of each line of constant heat transfer
coefficient is known from the location of the isotherms
on the black and white photos. The location of the bright
ring representing the red isotherm is scaled off the photos
using the grid drawn on the liquid crystal sheet.
The overall uncertainty of the Nusselt number is
estimated to be less than 4.7%, using the method of
893
 C. Cornaro et al.

propagation of errors, with the major contributions from

the non-uniformity of the heater and the uncertainty of
the emissivity of the liquid crystal.
Repeatibility of the results was verified by multiple
runs. The results were found to be repeatable within 3.5%
in Nusselt number.
Contour maps of the iso-heat-transfer-coefficient for
each experimental configuration were compiled. An ex-
ample of these contour maps is shown in figure 2 for
d/D = 0.18; Re = 16 000; H /d = 1. The contour maps
give an overview of the heat transfer pattern on the sur-
face. Figure 2, for example, represents a situation in
which a heat transfer minimum is visible at = 25
and x/d = 0.25, and heat transfer maxima occur at
x/d = 0.5 and = 0.0 and at x/d = 1.7 and = 0.0.

VELOCITY RESULTS

The velocity and turbulence intensity profiles at the jet

exit characterize the jet dynamics, and influence the heat
transfer rate on the impingement surface. The velocity
data are taken across the jet diameter in two orientations,
90 apart, 5 mm downstream from the jet exit. The
turbulence intensity is presented as the percentage of
the ratio of the velocity fluctuations over the centerline
velocity. From these velocity profiles, the flow is found
to be symmetric (figure 3). The presence of honeycomb
and screens in the jet tubes lower the turbulence intensity
to a maximum of 1% in the center of the jet. In the shear
layer at the edge of the jet the turbulence level increases
due to the interaction of the jet flow with the stagnant
fluid.
The axial velocity profile is measured by positioning
the hot-wire probe at the centerline of the jet exit and Figure 3. Radial distribution of: (a) Axial velocity; (b) Turbu-
lence intensity for 47.2 mm jet at jet exit.
measuring the velocity at various distances away from
the jet exit without the impingement surface present.
The potential core region of the jet can be identified
from the axial velocity profile and increases from 4 to by large vortex structures that perturb the jet centerline at
5.1 diameters as the Reynolds number increases from low Reynolds numbers (Cornaro et al., [14]).
6 000 to 16 000. Similar behavior was observed by Lee
et al. [11].
A disturbance in the axial velocity profile occurs for HEAT TRANSFER RESULTS
the 47.2 mm jet at Re = 6 000 (figure 4) and for the
72.6 mm jet at Re = 6 000 and 10 000 (not shown). No
disturbance is observed for these jets at higher Reynolds The local Nusselt number is plotted versus the curvi-
numbers (figure 4 for 47.2 mm jet), and no disturbance is linear (s/d at x = 0) and longitudinal (x/d at s = 0)
observed for the 98.6 mm jet for any Reynolds number dimensionless coordinates for each H /d, and Reynolds
tests (not shown). These disturbances are consistently number and curvature. The effects of each parameter are
reproduced for each run. These disturbances are caused discussed and compared.

894
 Jet impingement cooling of a convex semi-cylindrical surface
Figure 4. Axial velocity distributions for 47.2 mm jet at jet
centerline: (a) Re = 6 000; (b) Re = 10 000.
H /d spacing eect
For all spacings (H /d) and Reynolds numbers tested,
the Nusselt number decreases as distance from the stag-
nation point increases s/d < 1.2 (see figure 5). The Nus-
selt number then increases in the region between s/d =
1.3 and 2.2 until it reaches a maximum. The intensity and
the location of this maximum are related to the Reynolds
number and the jet exit-to-surface distance. For Re =
16 000, the maximum is most prominent for H /d = 1
Figure 5. Heat transfer along the curvilinear axis (at x = 0,
d/D = 0.18).
and 2, and decreases in intensity as H increases until
at H /d = 4 no true maximum can be observed. A sim-
ilar change, indicating the start of a transition, is also ob-
served in the same region at Re = 10 000. For Re = 6 000
no maxima are observed but a change in slope can be
recognized for s/d between one and two. These maxima
can be caused by the transition from a laminar to a tur-
bulent boundary layer along the surface, as suggested by
Gardon and Akfirat [15]. The possibility that these max-
ima are caused by the incidence of coherent vortices on
the surface, may be questioned because the maxima are
observed in flow situations in which no visible coherent
vortices were found by Cornaro et al. [14].
Along the longitudinal axis of the surface (figure 6),
for all jet exit-surface spacings, maxima occur at x/d =
0.5. Different theories have been given to explain the
presence of similar maxima that occur during impinge-
ment on a flat plate. These include a sudden increase in
the flow acceleration due to the direction change of the
jet flow as it impacts the surface (Jambunathan et al. [2]).
In the present case, the symmetric maxima are probably
related to the impact of the ring vortices in the shear layer
at the edge of the jet observed by Cornaro et al. [14]. The
intensity of maxima increases as Re increases.
Additionally, at H /d = 1 two symmetric secondary
maxima occur between x/d = 1.52. As Re decreases
these two secondary maxima decrease, eventually disap-
895
 C. Cornaro et al.

Figure 6. Heat transfer along the longitudinal axis (at = 0,

d/D = 0.18).
Figure 7. Heat transfer along the curvilinear axis (at x = 0,
d/D = 0.18).

pearing at Re = 6 000. These secondary maxima also dis-

appear as relative curvature increases.

Figure 7 shows the variation of Nu/ Re along the
curvilinear axis. The collapse of the data with this
scaling indicates that a laminar boundary layer probably
exists along the surface from the stagnation point until
s/d = 1.3, at which point a transition occurs, producing
the secondary maximum. At H /d = 4 (not shown) no
transition is observed.

The variation of Nu/ Re along the longitudinal axis
is shown in figure 8. In this case, the departure from
the laminar conditions are visible near the stagnation
point for Re = 16 000 and at s/d
1.2 where the two
symmetric secondary maxima appear (H /d = 1 only).
As Reynolds number decreases, the secondary maxima
decrease in intensity until at Re = 6 000, no true maxima
occur.

Reynolds number eect

Figures 5 and 6 also show the effect of increasing
Reynolds number on the local Nusselt number for each
of the curvatures studied. It can be seen that as would
be expected, Nusselt number increases with Reynolds
number for all cases. This was found for all relative
curvatures studied, although only one is presented.
Figure 8. Heat transfer along the longitudinal axis (at = 0,
H /d = 1, d/D = 0.18).
Curvature eects
Along the curvilinear axis, a curvature effect can be
seen. The Nusselt number increases with for d/D for all

896
 Jet impingement cooling of a convex semi-cylindrical surface
Figure 9. Heat transfer along the curvilinear axis (at x = 0,
H /d = 3).
jet exit-surface spacings. The curvature effect is strongest
for Re = 16 000 and decreases with Reynolds number.
Figure 9 shows that for Re = 16 000, the Nusselt number
is highest when d/D = 0.38 and lowest when d/D =
0.28. When Re = 10 000, the heat transfer is again
highest when d/D = 0.38, but lowest when d/D = 0.18.
When Re = 6 000, the effect of curvature has diminished
to the point that no difference can be seen in the heat
transfer for the three curvatures.
A curvature effect is also evident along the longitudi-
nal axis, as can be seen in figure 10. When Re = 16 000,
the heat transfer is highest in the impingement region for
d/D = 0.38 and decreases as curvature decreases. Far-
ther away from the impingement point, heat transfer is
highest for d/D = 0.18 due to the presence of the sec-
ondary maxima that occur only for that curvature. When
Re = 6 000, the effect of curvature has diminished to the
point where no difference can be ascertained. For clarity,
figure 10 does not include the data for Re = 10 000, but
the effect is similar to that for Re = 16 000, although to a
lesser degree.
CONCLUSIONS
Local measurements of heat transfer have been made
for jet impingement on a convex semi-cylinder. The jet
Figure 10. Heat transfer along the longitudinal axis (at = 0,
H /d = 1).
exit-to-surface distance varies from 1 to 4 diameters and
the Reynolds number varies from 6 00016 000.
Peak heat transfer is observed at one-half diameter
from the impingement point along the longitudinal axis
of the semicylinder. The symmetric maxima are related
to the impact of ring vortices in the shear layer at the
edge of the jet as observed by Cornaro et al. [14]. The
intensity of the maxima increases as Re increases.
Along the curvilinear axis, heat transfer decreases
monotonically until s/d > 1.2. The Nusselt number then
increases in the region between s/d = 1.3 and 2.2 until it
reaches a maximum. The intensity and the location of this
maximum are related to the Reynolds number and the jet
exit-to-surface distance and are caused by a transition in
the boundary layer.
Heat transfer increases with Reynolds number for all
situations studied. Heat transfer increased with increasing
curvature for all situations studied. The curvature effect is
greater at larger Reynolds numbers.
Acknowledgements
Support by the Engineering Research Program of the
Office of Basic Energy Sciences at the Department of
Energy is gratefully acknowledged.
897
 C. Cornaro et al.
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