CFD analysis of turbulent forced convection over a spinning cylinder in an enclosed channel

Abstract

A CFD approach has been used to analyze fully developed turbulent flow and heat transport over a spinning hot circular solid cylinder inside an enclosed channel. The finite element approach is used to solve the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes and energy equations and the shear stress transport model. The flow is explored for various Reynolds numbers ranging from 3 × 103 to 107 with the blockage ratios of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 along with the variation of speed ratios of the rotating cylinder. This study found that the direction and speed of the cylinder have an insignificant effect on thermo-fluid characteristics. On the other hand, the drag coefficient decreases while the average Nusselt number increases to a specific value of Reynolds number and then becomes almost constant. Effectiveness increases for a lower Reynolds number and then becomes stable. The heat performance of the rotating cylinder for the stationary one and the contributions of pressure drag are presented here.

Keywords

• Forced convection
• Rotating cylinder
• Effective heat transfer
• Drag coefficient
• Turbulent flow