Influence of Buoyancy on Vortex Shedding and Heat Transfer from a Square Cylinder in Proximity to a Wall

Abstract

The flow and heat transfer past a heated cylinder of square cross section mounted horizontally above a plane wall and subjected to a uniform shear flow is considered. The flow field is considered for a moderate range of Reynolds number (based on the incident stream at the cylinder upstream face and the height of the cylinder) and Grashof number at cylinder-to-wall gap height 0.5 times the cylinder height. The flow field and heat transfer are computed through a pressure-correction-based iterative algorithm with the QUICK scheme in convective terms. The code is tested for accuracy by comparing with published results for certain values of the flow parameters. We examine the combined effects of buoyancy and shear flow on the vortex shedding behind the cylinder in close proximity to a plane wall. A boundary layer develops along the wall, and this interacts with the shear layer formed along the two sides of the cylinder. The role of the thermally induced baroclinic vorticity production term on the vortex shedding is examined. Our results show that the breakdown of vortex shedding takes place beyond certain values of Richardson number (which depends on the Reynolds number). The dependence of the average rate of heat transfer from the surface of the cylinder on Reynolds number and Grashof number is also investigated.