Computational analysis of nonhomogeneous fluid flow in a two-cylinder-driven rectangular cavity

Abstract

This paper involves a two-dimensional computational study of flow evolution patterns and the temperature distribution at evolved states of a fluid under compressible conditions contained within a driven rectangular cavity with two symmetrically placed circular cylinders, where one cylinder is heated and the other cooled. Conditions developed by varying the positions of the cylinders within the cavity, by varying the initial conditions of temperature distributions of the fluid as well as temperatures at which the cylinders are held to heat or cool the flow and by varying the orientation of the direction of rotation of the cylinders with respect to each other – either opposing or identical – are studied. The analyses are conducted by observing the temperature distributions over the streamline patterns, the velocity profiles over a line dividing the cavity length in half and the temperature distribution over a line dividing the cavity height in half. Best mixing conditions have been found to be for cavities with cylinders placed close to each other and rotating in identical directions.

Keywords

• Nonhomogeneous fluid flow
• Cavity flow
• Compressible cavity flow
• Rotating cylinders
• Thermal mixing
• Differentially heated