A general 3-D CFD code is used to simulate the effects of the heated wall on buoyancy-affected secondary flow, mixed convective flow and heat transfer for a horizontal fuel cell duct with rectangular cross section. The constant thermal-properties assumption except for linear density variation with temperature in the body force term is applied, and a constant heat flux is prescribed on either the bottom, top or side wall, while thermal insulation is implemented on the other remaining three walls. The secondary flow forms vortices in the duct and has various effects on friction factor and heat transfer. Calculations have been performed to determine the effects of various placements of the heated wall, Grashof number Gr* and Reynolds number Re. This study may be regarded as an improved modeling procedure for gas flow and convective heat transfer in fuel cell ducts.
Keyword: SOFC, Heat transfer, Gas flow, Convection, Heated Wall