ME409 –Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow (3 Credit Hours)

Course Description: An introduction to the theory and practice of computational heat transfer; finite volume method for simulating fluid flow and conduction and convection heat transfer

Course Instructors: This course is typically taught by the following instructors:

• Dr. Gerald J. Micklow
• Dr. Will Schreiber
• Dr. Keith Woodbury

Sample Syllabus: A sample syllabus indicative of that typically used in the course can be found here.

Pre-Requisite Skills: Students entering this course are expected to have mastered the following skills:

• ESM 311 or CHE 304 - Fluid Mechanics 
• Perform pipe flow calculations
• Describe qualitatively concepts concerning boundary layer flow
• ME 309 or CHE 306 - Heat Transfer 
• Solve Fourier’s law equation to predict conduction heat transfer through one-dimensional solids
• Represent a multidimensional conduction problem using the heat conduction PDE with boundary conditions and an initial condition
• Use a control volume to derive a simple rate equation
• ME 349 or equivalent - Engineering Analysis 
• Elementary programming skills
• Gauss-Seidel method for solving systems of linear algebraic equations

Co-Requisite Skills: Students taking this course are expected to be enrolled (or to have taken) courses that teach students the following skills:

Course Objectives: Students who successfully complete this course can be expected to:

• Simplify the energy, momentum, and continuity equations to describe a multidimensional heat convection problem. (a2)
• Use the control volume method to discretize the transient multidimensional energy PDE. (e)
• Discretize boundary conditions for the discretized energy equation. (e)
• Know how to predict conductivity at the control volume interface. (e)
• Linearize nonlinear source terms in the energy equation. (m)
• Solve the system of linear algebraic equations derived from the finite difference method using: (k)
• Gauss-Seidel method
• Line-by-line method
• ADI method
• Explain the difference between the explicit and implicit methods of solving the transient problem. (a2)
• Program an algorithm for the implicit method. (k)
• Explain the necessity of using either an upwind scheme, a hybrid, or a power law scheme and the difference between the three schemes. (m)
• Sketch a staggered field for a two dimensional convection problem. (k)
• Explain the necessity of using the staggered grid. (a2)
• Explain the necessity of using pressure and velocity corrections for convergence of a fluid flow prediction. (a2)
• List the steps used with the SIMPLE algorithm. (a2)
• Explain how the SIMPLER algorithm varies from the SIMPLE algorithm. (a2)
• Use a computer code of the SIMPLE algorithm to predict some elementary flow and temperature fields. (k)
• Determine the heat transfer between a fluid and a solid wall using a computer code of the SIMPLE algorithm. (k,o)

Sample Examinations: Examples of Examinations given in this course can be found here.

Downstream Users: This course serves as a pre-requisite to the following courses at The University of Alabama: none