MHD forced convection flow in an infinite channel with a rotating cylinder

Abstract

The numerical investigation of forced convection flows under the influence of a uniform magnetic field is carried out in an infinite channel with an isothermal rotating circular cylinder placed in the center of the channel. The problem is discretized using the dual reciprocity boundary element method with constant elements. The analysis is done on how the controlling parameters affect both the fluid flow and heat transfer properties. It is observed that increasing the intensity of the magnetic field suppresses the impact of the rotational cylinder and decreases the flow velocity at the center while it enhances the heat transfer rate which causes a rise in the average Nusselt number along the heated walls. On the other hand, the heat transfer rate along the horizontal walls is an increasing or decreasing function of the rotational velocity of the cylinder, and the direction of cylinder rotation causes the boundary layers to become thicker or thinner close to the heated surfaces. Thus, the combined effects of the spinning cylinder and the magnetic field can be used to regulate the characteristic of fluid flow as well as the thermal topology of an infinite channel.