Natural Convection from Four Circular Cylinders in Across Arrangement within Horizontal Annular Space

Abstract

Abstract Numerical investigation is accomplished to study the roles of governing parameters of natural convection on the fluid motion and heat transfer rate of four heated circular cylinders placed inside a circular enclosure of cold surface. The cylinders are positioned in across arrangement. The representative results are obtained within the ranges of initial conditions as: Prandtl number (Pr = 7.1 to 1000) and Rayleigh number (Ra = 103 to 105). The average Nusselt number of each inner cylinder is computed. The effects of thermal buoyancy strength on the fluid motion and temperature are also illustrated. It was found that the heat transfer rate of cylinders depends significantly on the position inside the enclosure. Moreover, the role of Prandtl number on flow and thermal patterns is negligible. The values of Nusselt number are also given, which can be useful for some engineering applications.