Comparison of Smooth and Ribbed Channels for Active Cooling with Supercritical n-decane

The demand for efficient thermal protection in hypersonic vehicles has sparked significant interest in active cooling systems utilizing supercritical fluids. This study investigates the cooling performance of smooth and ribbed channels using supercritical n-decane, well known for its advantageous thermo-physical properties. Numerical simulations were conducted to assess temperature distribution and heat transfer efficiency. The results demonstrate that ribbed channels, under the same mass flow rate, achieve lower maximum and average wall temperatures compared to smooth channels. Specifically, ribbed channels outperform smooth channels in terms of heat transfer due to enhanced turbulence and increased surface area. The findings highlight the trade-off between cooling efficiency and pressure drop, providing valuable insights for optimizing cooling systems in thermal protection applications employing supercritical fluids.