Effects of surface roughness on the average heat transfer of an impinging air jet

The effect of surface roughness of a uniformly heated plate on the average heat transfer characteristics of an impinging air jet was experimentally investigated. Two aluminum plates, one with a flat surface and the second with some roughness added to the surface were fabricated. The roughness took the shape of a circular array of protrusions of 0.5mm base and 0.5mm height. A circular Kapton heater of the same diameter as the plates (70mm) supplied the necessary power. The surfaces of the plates were polished to reduce radiation heat losses and the back and sides insulated to reduce conduction heat losses. Temperatures were measured over a Reynolds number ranging from 9600 to 38500 based on flow rate through a 6.85mm diameter nozzle. The temperature measurements were repeated for nozzle exit-to-plate spacing, z/d ranging from 1 to 10. The average Nusselt number for both cases was plotted versus the Reynolds number and their functional correlation was determined. The results indicate an increase of up to 6.0% of the average Nusselt number due to surface roughness. This modest increase provides evidence to encourage further investigation and characterization of the surface roughness as a parameter for enhancing heat transfer. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.