Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer from a Heated Oscillating Rectangular Cylinder in a Cross Flow

Abstract

A numerical simulation is performed to study the flow structures and heat transfer characteristics of a heated transversely oscillating rectangular cylinder in a cross flow. The variations of flow and thermal fields are classified into a class of the moving boundary problems. The moving interfaces between the fluid and rectangular cylinder have been considered. An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) kinematic description method is adopted to describe the flow and thermal fields. A penalty consistent finite element formulation is applied to solve the governing equations. The subsequent developments of the vortex shedding and heat transfer characteristics around the heated rectangular cylinder are presented in detail. The effects of Reynolds number, oscillating amplitude, oscillating speed, blockage ratio, and aspect ratio on the flow structures and heat transfer characteristics are examined. The results show that the interaction between the oscillating rectangular cylinder and vortex shedding from the rectangular cylinder dominates the state of the wake. The flow and thermal fields may approach a periodic state with time. The heat transfer around the rectangular cylinder performance is enhanced remarkably.