Turbulent Mixed Convection Over an Isothermal Horizontal Flat Plate

Turbulent boundary layer flow adjacent to an isothermal horizontal flat plate is analyzed for the mixed convection regime. Results are presented for both air (Pr = 0.7) and water (Pr= 7) flowing above the heated plate at various velocities over a range of temperature differences between the plate and the free stream. Closure of the governing, time-averaged, turbulent equations for the mean flow quantities is attained by using a modified k–ε model that accounts for the influence of buoyancy-induced forces on the turbulent quantities. It is found that the local surface heat flux increases with increasing buoyancy force parameter. The numerical results are in qualitative agreement with available experimental measurements.