Numerical and experimental analysis of combined convective and radiative heat transfer in laminar flow over a circular cylinder

Abstract

Flow and heat transfer of a participating medium over a right circular cylinder was investigated experimentally and numerically. Experimental results for the total Nu number using combustion products of propane were obtained for Reynolds number 500 and gas temperature up to 1219 K. The length-to-diameter ratio of the cylinder was greater than 10, in order to simulate two-dimensional conditions. A finite-element method was used to solve low Reynolds number flow over a circular cylinder in a radiatively participating medium. Continuity, momentum, energy, and an equation for radiative intensity were solved simultaneously. A constant property assumption allowed decoupling of the momentum and energy equations. The medium was assumed non-gray and non-scattering, and the intensity field was approximated by the P 1 spherical harmonic method for each effective band. Edward's wide band model was used to obtain the absorption coefficient and the effective band width for each band. The average and local Nusselt numbers were calculated for Re = 500. The numerical results for the average total Nu number are in agreement with the experimental data.