ENHANCING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY IN JET HEATING: THE ROLE OF TRIANGULAR JET ORIENTATION

Abstract Impinging air jets' (IAJ) excellent heat transfer (HT) efficiency makes them popular in industrial settings. This paper employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the triangular jet orientation's impact on heat transfer, exergy destruction (ExD), and CO2 reduction potential (CRP). The k-ω Sheer Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model was preferred to simulate three jet orientations at four flow rates. While jet orientation had minimal effect on average Nusselt numbers (ANuN), significant local variations were observed. The third or fourth jet had the highest local Nusselt numbers (LNuN), and increasing the Reynolds number from 16,250 to 32,500 led to local enhancements of 48%–89%. Exergy analysis showed that destruction rates increased with Reynolds number across all orientations. The lowest local exergy destruction consistently occurred at the third and fourth jets. Depending on the flow rate, the highest and lowest mean exergy destruction appeared in different orientations. CO2 reduction potential analysis indicated a consistent rise in CO2 reduction potential with increasing Reynolds number. The highest CO2 reduction potential values were typically found at the first jet, while the fourth jet showed the lowest across all orientations. These findings contribute to the optimization of impinging air jet systems by enhancing thermal performance, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.