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### Research Papers: Forced Convection

J. Heat Transfer. 2016;139(2):021701-021701-7. doi:10.1115/1.4034774.

A turbulent convective flow of an incompressible fluid inside a staggered ribbed channel with high blockage at ReH ≈ 4200 is simulated with direct numerical simulation (DNS) and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) techniques. The DNS results provide the reference solution for comparison of the RANS turbulence models. The k–ε realizable, k–ω SST, and $v2¯–f$ model are accurately analyzed for their strengths and weaknesses in predicting the flow and temperature field for this geometry. These three models have been extensively used in literature to simulate this configuration and boundary conditions but with discordant conclusions upon their performance. The $v2¯–f$ model performs much better than the k–ε realizable while the k–ω SST model results to be inadequate.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

### Research Papers: Micro/Nanoscale Heat Transfer

J. Heat Transfer. 2016;139(2):022401-022401-5. doi:10.1115/1.4034757.

Metal nanoparticle has been a promising option for fillers in thermal interface materials due to its low cost and ease of fabrication. However, nanoparticle aggregation effect is not well understood because of its complexity. Theoretical models, like effective medium approximation model, barely cover aggregation effect. In this work, we have fabricated nickel–epoxy nanocomposites and observed higher thermal conductivity than effective medium theory predicts. Smaller particles are also found to show higher thermal conductivity, contrary to classical models indicate. A two-level effective medium approximation (EMA) model is developed to account for aggregation effect and to explain the size-dependent enhancement of thermal conductivity by introducing local concentration in aggregation structures.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

### Research Papers: Natural and Mixed Convection

J. Heat Transfer. 2016;139(2):022501-022501-10. doi:10.1115/1.4034794.

In this paper, we found, by means of numerical simulations, a transition in the oscillatory character of the flow field for a particular combination of buoyancy and spacing in an array of six circular cylinders at a Reynolds number of 100 and Prandtl number of 0.7. The cylinders are isothermal and they are aligned with the earth acceleration (g). According to the array orientation, an aiding or an opposing buoyancy is considered. The effect of natural convection with respect to the forced convection is modulated with the Richardson number, Ri, ranging between −1 and 1. Two values of center-to-center spacing (s = 3.6d–4d) are considered. The effects of buoyancy and spacing on the flow pattern in the near and far field are described. Several transitions in the flow patterns are found, and a parametric analysis of the dependence of the force coefficients and Nusselt number with respect to the Richardson number is reported. For Ri=−1, the change of spacing ratio from 3.6 to 4 induces a transition in the standard deviation of the force coefficients and heat flux. In fact, the transition occurs due to rearrangement of the near-field flow in a more ordered wake pattern. Therefore, attention is focused on the influence of geometrical and buoyancy parameters on the heat and momentum exchange and their fluctuations. The available heat exchange models for cylinders array provide a not accurate prediction of the Nusselt number in the cases here studied.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Heat Transfer. 2016;139(2):022502-022502-6. doi:10.1115/1.4034795.

The influence of gravitational modulation on natural convection in a horizontal porous annulus is investigated in this paper. The mathematical model describing the phenomenon consists of the heat equation coupled by the hydrodynamics equations under the Boussinesq approximation. The derived system of equations with the stream function–temperature formulation is obtained and solved numerically using the alternating direction implicit method. It is shown that the convective stability of the fluid can be gained for small amplitudes of the vibration, while it will be lost for large ones. It was also observed that increasing the frequency has a destabilizing effect.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

### Research Papers: Radiative Heat Transfer

J. Heat Transfer. 2016;139(2):022701-022701-8. doi:10.1115/1.4034793.

Enhancing photon tunneling probability is the key to increasing the near-field radiative heat transfer between two objects. It has been shown that hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and graphene heterostructures can enable plentiful phononic and plasmonic resonance modes. This work demonstrates that heterostructures consisting of a monolayer graphene on an hBN film can support surface plasmon–phonon polaritons that greatly enhance the photon tunneling and outperform individual structures made of either graphene or hBN. Both the thickness of the hBN films and the chemical potential of graphene can affect the tunneling probability, offering potential routes toward passive or active control of near-field heat transfer. The results presented here may facilitate the system design for near-field energy harvesting, thermal imaging, and radiative cooling applications based on two-dimensional materials.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster