Numerical simulations of natural convection heat transfer along a vertical cylinder

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a numerical solution for the problem of steady laminar flow and heat transfer characteristics of viscous incompressible fluid. Design/methodology/approach - For this purpose a two dimensional code has been developed to simulate the natural convection heat transfer along a vertical cylinder, for four different geometries: from vertical cylinder in infinite medium; from a vertical flat plate in an infinite medium; from an open assembly of a finite vertical cylinder; and from an open rectangular pitch assembly of cylinders. Findings - The effects of various parameters of interest have been discussed through simulations. The Nusselt numbers of constant wall temperature and constant heat flux cylinders calculated numerically,and compared with Lee et al. and Heckel et al., respectively, and are found within reasonable agreement. For large radius, a vertical cylinder has been treated as a vertical flat plate, so that the curvature effects become negligible. For the case of vertical fiat plate, Nusselt number has been compared with analytical relation for the local Nusselt number given by Jaluria. Practical implications - The natural convection has been studied for four different geometries: the flow regime in all the case studies has been assumed to be Laminar. Originality/value - Computer code developed for current study can be applied to many other geometries to simulate natural convection heat transfer.