Evolutionary Design Method for a Conducting Solid Cooled by Combined Free Convection and Radiation

Abstract

An iterative design algorithm is used to adjust the shape of a conducting solid body that is subjected to a surface heat flux and cooled simultaneously by free convection and radiation in order to reduce the overall thermal resistance. Parametric simulations are carried out over a range of domain dimensions and emissivity values to determine the sensitivity of (i) the predicted solid shape and (ii) the overall thermal resistance to the relative strength of convection or radiation. Results show that, for the conditions considered, surface radiation has a significant influence on the predicted optimal solid geometry and overall thermal resistance.