Three-dimensional advective--diffusive boundary layers in open channels with parallel and inclined walls

Abstract

We study the steady laminar advective transport of a diffusive passive scalar released at the base of narrow three-dimensional longitudinal open channels with non-absorbing side walls and rectangular or truncated-wedge-shaped cross-sections. The scalar field in the advective--diffusive boundary layer at the base of the channels is fundamentally three-dimensional in the general case, owing to a three-dimensional velocity field and differing boundary conditions at the side walls. We utilise three-dimensional numerical simulations and asymptotic analysis to understand how this inherent three-dimensionality influences the advective-diffusive transport as described by the normalised average flux, the Sherwood $Sh$ or Nusselt numbers for mass or heat transfer, respectively. We show that $Sh$ is well approximated by an appropriately formulated two-dimensional calculation, even when the boundary layer structure is itself far from two-dimensional. This important result can significantly simplify the modelling of many laminar advection--diffusion scalar transfer problems: the cleaning or decontamination of confined channels, or transport processes in chemical or biological microfluidic devices.