Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 30 (3) (2016) 1363~1375 www.springerlink.com/content/1738-494x(Print)/1976-3824(Online) DOI 10.1007/s12206-016-0243-1 Study on the turbulence model sensitivity for various cross-corrugated surfaces applied to matrix type heat exchanger † Jun Myung Lee 1 , Jeong Hoon Doo 2 , June Kee Min 2 , Man Yeong Ha 1,* and Changmin Son 1 1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, San 30, Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735, Korea 2 Rolls-Royce and Pusan National University Technology Centre in Thermal Management, Pusan National University, San 30, Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735, Korea (Manuscript Received April 9, 2015; Revised October 3, 2015; Accepted November 11, 2015) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract Diverse cross-corrugated surface geometries were considered to estimate the sensitivity of four variants of k-ε turbulence models (Low Reynolds, standard, RNG and realizable models). The cross-corrugated surfaces considered in this study are a conventional sinusoidal shape and two different asymmetric shapes. The numerical simulations using the steady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier- Stokes (RANS) equations were carried out to obtain the steady solutions of the flow and thermal fields in the unitary cell of the heat ex- changer matrix. In addition, the experimental test for the measurement of local convective heat transfer coefficients on the heat transfer surfaces was performed by means of the Transient liquid crystal (TLC) technique in order to compare the numerical results with the measured data. The features on detailed flow structure and corresponding heat transfer in the unitary cell of the matrix type heat ex- changer are compared and analyzed against four different turbulence models considered in this study. Keywords: Cross-corrugated surface; Numerical simulation; RANS simulation, k-ε turbulence model ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction Diverse cross-corrugated surfaces are frequently used to enhance the heat transfer capacity in the engineering equipment such as plate heat exchangers, micro-turbine recuperators and rotary air preheaters, etc. Since the cross- corrugated surface has good thermal effectiveness and aerodynamic performance, many researchers have carried out experimental and numerical studies on the aero-thermal performance of cross-corrugated surfaces such as a simple sinusoidal surface geometry. Focke and Knibbe [1] studied the flow visualization of cross-corrugated plates using the electrode-activated pH method with o-resolphthalein. The experiment varied the Reynolds number ranging from 10 to 1000 and included the case of the two plates forming different angles with respect to the main flow direction. Ciofalo et al. [2] investigated the effect of the Reynolds number, included angle and corrugation parameter such as the pitch to height ratio through the numerical approach. They obtained the flow and thermal fields in a cross corrugated geometry and compared CFD results with experimental data. The numerical predictions were obtained by a finite volume method using the laminar flow assumption method, various k- ε turbulence models, direct numerical simulation and large eddy simulation. Kanaris et al. [3] studied the capability of a general purpose commercial CFD code to predict the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a cross-corrugated plate. They used the SST model as the most appropriate turbulence model. The CFD model was validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data. Cheah et al. [4] investigated the performance of an annular wrap around recuperator system using numerical method. They studied several cross-corrugated geometries with differ- ent pitch to height ratios and inclined angles. The numerical simulation was used the laminar and Standard k-ε turbulence model. Jain et al. [5] analyzed the numerical and experimental study of heat transfer and fluid flow in single pass counter flow plate heat exchanger with chevron plates. They have compared the RNG k-ε turbulence model with Standard or non-equilibrium wall functions and the Realizable k-ε turbu- lence model with non-equilibrium wall functions. The nu- merical model was validated with experimental measurement data and literature data. Luan et al. [6] studied the flow resistance of the working * Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 51 510 2440, Fax.: +82 51 515 3101 E-mail address: myha@pusan.ac.kr † Recommended by Associate Editor Chung Yong Park © KSME & Springer 2016