Turbulent mixed convection in a horizontal cylindrical cavity with the off-lattice Boltzmann method

Abstract

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent mixed convection in a horizontal concentric cylindrical cavity when cylinders are subjected to rotations are investigated in the present study. A characteristic-based finite-difference off-lattice Boltzmann method solver is employed to investigate whether rotation enhances heat transfer in a horizontal concentric cylindrical cavity configuration where buoyancy acts perpendicular to the cylinder axis. The study focuses on assessing heat transfer characteristics for different rotation intensities in both counter-rotating-cylinders (CRC) and outer-rotating-cylinder (ORC) configurations. The LES simulations are performed for Rayleigh number, Ra=106, and Reynolds numbers, Re=0,500,1000, and 5000 for air (Pr=0.71), employing a classical Smagorinsky sub-grid-scale (SGS) model. The numerical solver is verified using two benchmark problems, namely (i) Buoyancy-driven flow in a differentially heated air-filled cubic enclosure and (ii) turbulent Taylor-Couette flow. The CRC and ORC configurations are chosen for the three-dimensional simulations in this study, prompted by the notable improvement in heat transfer observed in their respective two-dimensional simulations. A thorough comparison between two- and three-dimensional mixed convection results reveals substantial influence from secondary flow in the axial direction. While three-dimensional CRC simulations exhibit a modest increase in heat transfer at Re=500, the ORC configuration experiences a decrease in heat transfer rate as the Reynolds number increases, contrasting with two-dimensional simulation trends. The CRC configuration enhances the axial motion of the flow with Reynolds number, and its magnitude is larger than that of the ORC configuration and natural convection. A significant difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional mixed convection simulation results is observed because of considerable secondary flow. Furthermore, the flow and thermal characteristics of turbulent mixed convection are investigated using streamlines, isotherms, Q-criterion, Nusselt number variation along the cylinders, anisotropy analysis, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), dissipation, contours of radial and axial components of velocity.