JOURNAL OF THERMOPHYSICS AND HEAT TRANSFER

Laminar Free Convection in Bingham Plastic Fluids

from an Isothermal Elliptic Cylinder

S. A. Patel∗ and R. P. Chhabra†

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India
DOI: 10.2514/1.T4578
Free convection from an isothermal elliptical cylinder in Bingham plastic fluids is studied numerically. This work
spans a wide range of aspect ratios of the elliptical cylinder (0.1 ≤ E ≤ 10) to delineate the effect of shape on the
flowfield close to the heated cylinder. The influence of the relevant parameters, namely, Rayleigh number
(102 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 ), Prandtl number (10 ≤ Pr ≤ 100), and Bingham number (0.5 ≤ Bn ≤ 107 ), on the momentum and
heat transfer characteristics is studied in terms of the yielded/unyielded regions, streamline, isotherm contours, and
local Nusselt number for an elliptical cylinder of constant surface area in blunt (E > 1) and slender orientations
(E < 1). The Nusselt number shows a positive dependence on the Rayleigh number, and it correlates negatively with
Bingham and Prandtl numbers. The blunt orientations (E < 1) enhance heat transfer as compared to that for a
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circular cylinder (of equal surface area) while slender orientations (E > 1) impede it. Using the present numerical
results, predictive correlations have been established in terms of the modified Rayleigh number (Ra ) and Prandtl
number (Pr ), thereby enabling the prediction of Nusselt number in a new application.

Nomenclature Tw = constant wall temperature at the surface of the

A = surface area of the cylinder, m2 cylinder, K
Ap = projected area of the cylinder, m2 V = velocity vector
a = semi-axis of the elliptical cylinder along the Vc = characteristic fluid velocity, m∕s
direction of flow, m β = −1∕ρ∂ρ∕∂TjP , coefficient of
Bn = τo 2b∕μB V c , Bingham number volumetric expansion, 1∕K
b = semi-axis of the elliptical cylinder normal to the γ ij = components of the rate of deformation tensor
direction of flow, m δ = growth rate parameter in Bercovier
C = heat capacity of fluid, J∕kg · K and Engelman model
CD = F∕0.5ρ∞ V 2c Ap , drag coefficient η = effective fluid viscosity
CDP = FDP ∕0.5ρ∞ V 2c Ap , pressure drag coefficient θ = position on the surface of cylinder
CP = ps − p∞ ∕0.5ρ∞ V 2c , pressure coefficient (measured from the front stagnation point), deg
D∞ = diameter of the outer boundary of the domain, m μB = Bingham plastic viscosity, Pa · s
E = a∕b, aspect ratio of the elliptical cylinder μy = yielding viscosity, Pa · s
ey = unit vector in y-direction ξ = T − T ∞ ∕T w − T ∞ , temperature of fluid
F = total drag force per unit length of the cylinder, N∕m ρ = fluid density, kg∕m3
FDP = pressure component of drag force τ = extra stress tensor
per unit length of the cylinder, N∕m τij = components of the extra stress tensor
Gr = ρ2∞ gβT w − T ∞ 2b3 ∕μ2B , Grashof number τ0 = Bingham yield stress, Pa
Gr = ρ2∞ gβT w − T ∞ 2a3 ∕μ2B , Grashof number
h = local heat transfer coefficient, W∕m2 · K Subscripts
k = thermal conductivity of fluid, W∕m · K
i, j, x, = Cartesian coordinates
M = growth rate parameter in Papanastasiou model
y, z
ns = unit vector normal to the surface of cylinder
Nu = local Nusselt number
Nuavg = average Nusselt number I. Introduction
Nuc = Nusselt number in the conduction limit
p
ps
=
=
pressure
local pressure on the surface of cylinder, Pa A CYLINDER of elliptical cross section has been frequently used
as a prototype geometry to explore the influence of shape on
free convection heat transfer from heated two-dimensional objects in
p∞ = reference pressure far away from the cylinder, Pa
Pr = CμB ∕k, Prandtl number quiescent fluids like air and water. Current interest in studying free
Pr = Pr1  Bn, modified Prandtl number convective heat transfer from elliptical cylinders stems from both
Ra = ρ2∞ CgβT w − T ∞ 2b3 ∕μB k, Rayleigh number fundamental and pragmatic considerations. From a theoretical
Ra = Ra∕1  Bn, modified Rayleigh number standpoint, elliptical shape offers a simple, convenient, and free-from
T = temperature of fluid, K singularities (in contrast to the square, triangular cross section or
semi-circular shape, for instance) configuration to delineate the effect
of shape with respect to the direction of gravity. Indeed, this line of
reasoning combined with dimensional considerations has formed the
Received 12 September 2014; revision received 28 October 2014; accepted basis of developing shape factors or modifications thereof [1–3] to
for publication 31 October 2014; published online 27 February 2015. estimate the rate of heat transfer in the free convection regime. The
Copyright © 2014 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, development of such generalized predictive methods is also moti-
Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of this paper may be made for personal or vated by the fact that it is unlikely that theoretical or numerical results
internal use, on condition that the copier pay the $10.00 per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; will ever become available for all possible shapes and orientations
include the code 1533-6808/15 and $10.00 in correspondence with the CCC. encountered in industrial practice. Furthermore, free convection heat
*Graduate Student, Department of Chemical Engineering. transfer from an elliptical tube denotes an idealization of many
† industrially important processes including design of boilers, evap-
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering; chhabra@iitk.ac.in
(Corresponding Author). orators, tubular heat exchangers, etc. [4]. Additional examples are
AIAA Early Edition / 1
 2 AIAA Early Edition
found in the context of aerospace-related applications including
boundary-layer flows over plane surfaces [5,6], atomization [7],
and in the general context of non-Newtonian and/or nanofluids
processing [8–10]. Consequently, over the years, significant research
effort has been expended in studying heat transfer over elliptic-
shaped ducts in confined and unconfined Newtonian fluids. Because
the available experimental literature dealing with the free convection
from horizontal elliptical cylinders of varying aspect ratios in
Newtonian and power-law fluids has been reviewed elsewhere [11], it
is not repeated here. Suffice it to say here that, based on a combination
of the approximate analytical, numerical, and experimental studies, it
is now possible to estimate the value of the average Nusselt number in
the laminar and turbulent free convection regimes from an isothermal
elliptical cylinder. However, some of these studies will be reviewed
again in the context of validation of the present results in a later
section.
The next generation of studies in this field has addressed the role
of confinement on free convection from elliptical cylinders in
enclosures of various shapes and sizes. For instance, Ghasemi et al.
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[12] have considered the case of an elliptical cylinder (hot) confined
concentrically in a circular duct (cold) with air as the working fluid.
They considered various orientations of the elliptical cylinder (of a
fixed aspect ratio of 0.436) with reference to the direction of gravity.
However, they mainly concentrated on the streamline and isotherm
patterns, and no results were presented for Nusselt number. Similarly,
Liao and Lin [13] have studied free convection heat transfer from a
stationary and rotating elliptical cylinder in a square enclosure with
air as the working fluid. They reported extensive results on the
streamline and isotherm contours as well as on the distribution of the
local Nusselt number along the surface of the cylinder and that of the
enclosure. At low Richardson numbers, the rotation of the inner
cylinder could enhance the value of the Nusselt number by 15% or so
over and above that for free convection from a stationary cylinder.
However, the four shapes (aspect ratio less than 1) considered in this
study correspond to the situation when the longer axis is oriented
transverse to the gravity vector (i.e., blunt configuration). The walls
of the enclosure were all isothermal at lower temperature than the
cylinder. The analogous case of the laminar free convection from a
stationary elliptical cylinder in a square enclosure with air as the
working fluid has also been studied by Bararnia et al. [14] and
Kalyana Raman et al. [15]. Bararnia et al. [14] have considered the
walls of the enclosure to be isothermal over the range of Rayleigh
number as 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106 ; they studied three vertical positions of
the elliptic cylinder of a fixed aspect ratio of 0.312 (with longer axis
normal to gravity) inside the enclosure. In contrast, Kalyana Raman
et al. [15] have studied numerically the laminar free convection
(Ra  104 ; 105 ; 106 ) in air from an elliptical cylinder (aspect ratio
0.2 to 1 in blunt orientation) in a square enclosure with isothermal
walls. Broadly, all these results are mutually consistent with each other.
Similarly, very few studies are available on forced convection in
crossflow over a bundle of elliptical cylinders (e.g., see [16]), but there
does not appear to be any such study on free convection from tube
bundles of elliptical cylinders. From the preceding brief discussion and
the available survey articles [17,18], it is abundantly clear that the
currently available literature on the momentum and heat transfer
characteristics of single and multiple elliptical cylinders in the free
convection regime in Newtonian fluids is neither as extensive nor as
coherent as that for single and multiple circular cylinders.
In contrast, most structured fluids of macromolecular or
multiphasic nature or wormlike micellar solutions encountered in
scores of industrial settings display viscoplastic characteristics
[19,20]. Typical examples include foodstuffs, filled-polymer and
fiber-reinforced composites, foams, emulsions, suspensions, novel
aviation fuels, etc., all of which exhibit a threshold stress (known as
the yield stress), which must be exceeded for such a substance to
shear or deform like a fluid. Conversely, if the magnitude of the
applied stress is below this value, such a substance shows elastic
solidlike behavior. It thus stands to reason that, for a given value of the
fluid yield stress, there must be a limiting strength of the flow (value
of the Reynolds number in forced convection and of Grashof or
Rayleigh number in free convection) to overcome the fluid yield
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA
stress and/or for the onset of convection in such fluids. In other words,
if the entire mass of such a substance is unyielded, heat transfer will
occur solely by conduction. At the other extreme, when the value of
the fluid yield stress is vanishingly small, the fluid behavior will
approach its Newtonian limit. From the standpoint of heating and
cooling of such fluids, it thus stands to reason that the rate of heat
transfer will progressively decrease from its maximum value in an
equivalent Newtonian medium to that corresponding to conduction in
the limit of Bn → ∞. This study thus endeavors to elucidate the effect
of fluid yield stress and shape of the cylinder on free convection heat
transfer from a two-dimensional elliptical cylinder in the laminar
regime. It is, however, instructive to briefly review the pertinent
studies to facilitate the subsequent discussion of the new results
obtained in this study.
As noted earlier, the state of the art on heat transfer from elliptical
cylinders in Newtonian and power-law fluids has been reviewed
elsewhere [11]. Suffice it to add here that, for a given aspect ratio of
the elliptic cross section, shear-thinning fluid behavior promotes the
rate of heat transfer over and above that in Newtonian fluids in both
free [11] and forced [21] convection regimes. On the other hand, all
else being equal, slender shapes (longer axis aligned with gravity)
yield higher heat transfer than the blunt shape (longer axis transverse
to the direction of gravity) irrespective of the type of fluid, without
any yield stress. The preceding remarks, however, are based on the
studies relating to unconfined fluids. Indeed, there have been a very
few analogous studies on convective transport from two-dimensional
cylinders in Bingham plastic fluids. Free convection from a circular
cylinder in confined Bingham plastic fluids in a square enclosure
as well as in an unconfined Bingham medium has been studied
only very recently [22,23]. In both cases, in the limit of Bn → ∞,
conduction limit was observed under appropriate values of the
Bingham number. Sairamu et al. [22] studied numerically the
laminar natural convection from a heated circular cylinder enclosed
in a square duct filled with quiescent Bingham fluid over the
range of Rayleigh number (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 ), Prandtl number
(1 ≤ Pr ≤ 500), and Bingham number (0 ≤ Bn ≤ Bnmax ) for the
ratio of the cylinder diameter to the size of the enclosing square duct
(0.125 ≤ B ≤ 0.5). They observed that the values of the maximum
Bingham number and the average Nusselt number corresponding to
the conduction limit shifted toward higher values as the size of square
duct with respect to circular cylinder increases. On the other hand,
Nirmalkar et al. [23] carried out a numerical study on the laminar
free convection from an unconfined heated circular cylinder
submerged in Bingham fluid. The average Nusselt number showed a
positive dependence on the Rayleigh number, whereas the Prandtl
number and Bingham number were shown to have an adverse effect
on the heat transfer. Finally, they developed predictive correlations for
the average Nusselt number as a function of the modified Rayleigh
number and Prandtl number over the range of the conditions as
102 ≤ Ra ≤ 106 , 30 ≤ Pr ≤ 100, and Bingham number Bn ≤ 104.
This work endeavors to study laminar free convection from a
horizontal isothermal elliptical cylinder in an unconfined Bingham
plastic fluid. The minor-to-major axis of the elliptic cross section is
varied by a factor of 100, thereby spanning the full range of nearly a
plane surface aligned with and transverse to the direction of
buoyancy-induced flow. However, to delineate the effect of shape on
the free convection heat transfer in an unambiguous manner, the
problem formulation used here is such that the circumference (hence
the heat transfer area) of the elliptic cylinder was held constant. In
particular, the coupled momentum and thermal energy equations
have been solved numerically over the following ranges of
conditions: Rayleigh number (102 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 ), Prandtl number
(10 ≤ Pr ≤ 100), Bingham number (0.5 ≤ Bn ≤ 107 ), and the
aspect ratio, 0.1 ≤ E ≤ 10. The effect of each of the aforementioned
parameters on the flowfield (streamline contours, yielded/unyielded
regions), temperature field (isotherm contours), and local and
average Nusselt number in the steady flow regime has been discussed
in the present study. The present predictions are compared with the
prior literature values wherever possible, and finally a simple
correlation is presented to estimate the value of the average Nusselt
number in a new application.
 AIAA Early Edition / PATEL AND CHHABRA 3

II. Physical Model and Mathematical Formulation Here, ey is the unit vector in the y direction._γ ij and τ ij are the
Consider the steady free convection heat transfer from an components of the rate of deformation and deviatoric stress tensors,
isothermal horizontal elliptical cylinder (of uniform surface respectively; γ_ and τ are the corresponding second invariants,
temperature T w ) immersed in a quiescent Bingham plastic fluid respectively, defined as
(maintained at a temperature T ∞ < T w ) as shown in Fig. 1. The  X 1
semi-axes of the elliptical cylinder a and b correspond to the axis 1 2
γ_  γ_ ij γ_ ij (6)
along and normal to the direction of flow, respectively, with the 2
aspect ratio given as E  a∕b. Because of the infinite length of the
cylinder in the z direction, the flow is two-dimensional, i.e., V z  0
 X 1
and ∂ ∕∂z  0. The density of the fluid away from the cylinder 1 2
progressively increases eventually approaching the constant value of τ τij τij (7)
2
ρ∞ corresponding to the fluid temperature T ∞ . For small temperature
interval (T w − T ∞ ), the Boussinesq approximation is suitable to
In turn, the components of the strain rate tensor are given as
approximate the temperature-dependence of fluid density, i.e., ρ 
ρ∞ 1 − βT − T ∞ , in the buoyancy term of the equation of motion,  
1 ∂V i ∂V j
whereas everywhere else ρ  ρ∞ is used. For the sake of simplicity, γ ij   (8)
the other fluid properties are assumed to be temperature-independent. 2 ∂xj ∂xi
Neglecting the viscous energy dissipation, the conservation equa-
tions for mass, momentum, and energy together with the Boussinesq The dimensionless parameters appearing in Eqs. (2–4) are the
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approximation (in their nondimensionalized form) are written as familiar Prandtl number Pr, Rayleigh number Ra, and Bingham
follows. number Bn, respectively, defined as follows:
Continuity equation:
CμB ρ2∞ CgβT w − T ∞ 2b3
∇·V0 (1) Pr  Ra 
k μB k

Momentum equation: and

r
Pr τo 2b
V · ∇V  −∇p  ∇ · τ  ξey (2) Bn 
Ra μB V c

Thermal energy equation: Also, the temperature of the fluid T ∞ far away from the cylinder
is taken as the reference temperature in the buoyancy term. The
1
V · ∇ξ  p ∇2 ξ (3) aforementioned nondimensional equations have been obtained
RaPr by using 2b as the length scale, V c  gβT w − T ∞ 2b1∕2 as the
velocity scale, and for pressure, shear stress, shear rate, and
The Bingham plastic constitutive equation is given as temperature difference, the corresponding scales employed here are
  ρ∞ V 2c , μB V c ∕2b, V c ∕2b and (T w − T ∞ ) respectively.
Bn The nondimensional absolute viscosity η for a Bingham plastic
τij  1  γ for τ ≥ Bn (4)
γ_ ij fluid is defined as

Bn
η1 for τ ≥ Bn (9)
γ_ ij  0 for τ < Bn (5) γ_

Fig. 1 Schematic representation of physical model and computational domain including grid structure.
 4 AIAA Early Edition / PATEL AND CHHABRA

η  ∞ for τ < Bn
The inherent discontinuous nature of the Bingham constitutive
relation is treated via the widely used regularization methods pro-
posed in the literature [24]. In this approach, Papanastasiou [24]
introduced an exponential regularization that enables the Bingham
plastic viscosity to be approximated as
 
1 − e−M_γ
ηP  1  Bn
γ_
As discussed elsewhere in our previous studies [23,25,26] and in the
literature [27,28], the stronger the yield stress effects are, the larger is
the value of the regularization parameter M needed to obtain accurate
predictions. Of course, M → ∞ reproduces the true Bingham plastic
fluid behavior. Although the bulk of the results reported herein have
been obtained using this approximation, limited cross-comparisons
were also performed by employing the other two regularization
approaches available in the literature, namely, the so-called
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(10) The problem statement is completed by identifying the appropriate
boundary conditions. These are identical to that used in the case of a
circular cylinder [23]; in brief, a no-slip condition (V x  0 and
V y  0) and constant temperature (ξ  1) are implemented on the
surface of the heated elliptical cylinder. At the outer fictitious
cylindrical envelope of fluid, the dimensionless temperature ξ  0
and the radial velocity V r  0 and ∂V r ∕∂r  0 (equivalent to stress-
free) are prescribed. However, for sufficiently large values of D∞ , the
effect of far-field boundary conditions is known to be negligible in
(11) Newtonian and power-law fluids [11,32] and is expected to be even
weaker here due to the unyielding of a Bingham plastic medium.
Finally, over the range of conditions spanned here, the flow is
expected to be symmetric about the vertical centerline, and therefore
the symmetry conditions have been used at the x  0 plane to achieve
computational economy. The numerical solution of the preceding
field equations maps the flow domain in terms of the primitive
variables, and the local Nusselt number on the surface of the heated
elliptical cylinder is simply evaluated as Nu  h2b∕k  −∂ξ∕∂ns .
Dimensional considerations suggest the flow and temperature fields

and the Nusselt number to be influenced by four dimensionless

biviscosity model [29,30] and the one due to Bercovier and
groups (or combinations thereof), namely, aspect ratio E, Rayleigh
Engleman [31] written as follows.
number Ra, Bingham number Bn, and Prandtl number Pr. This work
Biviscosity model:
endeavors to explore and develop this functional relationship.
μy
ηBv  for τ ≤ Bn (12a)
μB III. Numerical Methodology and Choice of Numerical
Parameters
   The nondimensional governing equations [Eqs. (1–3)] along with
1 1
ηBv  1  Bn 1 − for τ > Bn (12b) the suitable boundary conditions are solved using the finite-element
μy ∕μB  γ_ based COMSOL Multiphysics (version 4.3a). Because the numerical
methodology employed in the present work is similar to that used in
Bercovier and Engelman model: our previous studies [26,33], only the salient features are described
  here. The system of equations has been solved using the steady, two-
1 dimensional, laminar flow module. The absolute viscosity η of the
ηBE  1  Bn (13)
γ_  δ Bingham plastic fluids estimated using Eq. (11) and the buoyancy
contribution were incorporated via use of the user-defined functions.
In essence, the biviscous model [Eq. (12)] obviates the unbounded In line with our previous work, the relative convergence criterion of
nature of fluid viscosity for the stress levels below the fluid yield 10−5 was used for both the velocity and temperature fields.
stress by treating it as a highly viscous fluid of viscosity μy (yielding For extreme values of E  0.1 and E  10, the value of (D∞ ∕2b)
viscosity), which is typically several orders of magnitude larger than was systematically varied as 65, 155, 200 for E  0.1 and 650, 1560,
the Bingham plastic viscosity μB. Similarly, Eq. (13) circumvents the 2010 for E  10, respectively. After detailed examination of the
discontinuity in the fluid behavior by replacing the zero shear rate in results, the domain size of D∞ ∕2b  155 for E  0.1 and
the unyielded part by a very small value, denoted here by δ. In D∞ ∕2b  1560 for E  10 was found to be adequate for the
summary, all three foregoing approximations replace the true results to be free from boundary effects. For the limiting case of the
Bingham fluid as a fluid having vastly different viscous char- circular cylinder, E  1, D∞ ∕2b  710 was used. This is in stark
acteristics below and above the yield stress. Furthermore, all three contrast to the same size domain employed in previous studies
approaches rely on a suitable choice of the single regularization (irrespective of the value of E) [34–37]. Similarly, the grid-
parameter: M, μy , or δ. Next, the unconfined flow condition is independence tests have been carried out using three different
approached here by enclosing the elliptic cylinder in a concentric nonuniform grids G1, G2, and G3 by varying the number of elements
cylindrical envelope of fluid of diameter D∞, as shown schematically on the surface of the cylinder, N p (detailed in Table 1), for aspect
in Fig. 1. ratios E  0.1, 1, and 10 at Pr  100, Ra  105 , and Bn  0.1 and

Table 1 Grid-independence test at Ra  105 , Pr  100 (M  107 )

Bn  0.1 Bn  107
Grid Np a Elementsb Nuavg CD CDP Nuavg CD CDP
E  0.1
G1 140 33,600 7.4665 0.7932 0.7661 0.5499 1505.680 1,452.351
G2 240 55,000 7.5247 0.7949 0.7689 0.5499 1505.776 1,449.174
G3 310 81,000 7.5139 0.7943 0.7692 0.5499 1505.680 1,452.351
E1
G1 160 36,800 9.4788 0.8487 0.5600 0.3072 23594.24 11,779.23
G2 220 55,000 9.5724 0.8586 0.5668 0.3072 23594.21 11,784.75
G3 310 81,000 9.6657 0.8678 0.5731 0.3071 23590.54 11,787.47
E  10
G3 140 33,600 6.3197 4.4300 0.2866 0.0547 140269 12,917.082
G1 240 55,000 6.3003 4.4310 0.2874 0.0547 140263 12,909.943
G2 300 81,000 6.2876 4.4284 0.2869 0.0547 140260 12,871.204

a
Number of elements on the surface of the cylinder in the half domain (x ≥ 0).
b
Number of elements in the half domain (x ≥ 0).
 AIAA Early Edition / PATEL AND CHHABRA 5

107 . Evidently, G2 is seen to be satisfactory in each case; for further
refinement by going from G2 to G3, the results change by less than
1%. Finally, to approximate the fluid behavior as close to the
true Bingham fluid as possible, the value of M in Eq. (11) must
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be chosen carefully because its excessively large values lead to
possible convergence difficulties, whereas unduly small values yield
inaccurate results [28]. Figures 2 and 3 show the influence of
regularization parameter on the surface pressure coefficient Cp , local

Fig. 2 Regularization parameter test for Papanastasiou model (M).

 6 AIAA Early Edition
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Fig. 3 Effect of Papanastasiou regularization parameter on yielded (unshaded)/unyielded (shaded) regions.
Nusselt number Nu, and yielded/unyielded regions for three values
of E  0.1, 1, and 10 at Bn  10, Pr  100, and Ra  102 and 105 .
An examination of these results suggests that the values of
M  1.26 × 106 , 1.7 × 106 , and 4 × 106 are satisfactory for E  0.1,
1, and 10, respectively. To add further weight to this choice,
prediction of the biviscosity model [using μy ∕μB  1.3 × 105 E 
0.1 and 4 × 105 E  10] and Bercovier and Engelman model
[using δ  1.3 × 10−12 E  0.1 and 4 × 10−12 E  10] are also
included in these figures; a very good agreement is seen to exist with
each other. In summary, all results reported in the present study are
based on the use of G2 with 55,000 elements in a computational
domain with the domain sizes ranging from D∞ ∕2b  155 to
D∞ ∕2b  1560, depending upon the value of E.
IV. Results and Discussion
In the present work, the numerical results have been obtained to
delineate the effect of aspect ratio (0.1 ≤ E ≤ 10) on the momentum
Fig. 4 Comparison of the local Nusselt number for Newtonian fluids (Gr  103 ).
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA
and thermal characteristics in Bingham plastic fluids over wide
ranges of parameters as 0.5 ≤ Bn ≤ 107 , 10 ≤ Pr ≤ 100, and 102 ≤
Ra ≤ 105 in the steady free convection regime. Before undertaking a
detailed presentation and discussion of the new results for elliptical
cylinders, the validity of the computational scheme and numerical
parameters have been demonstrated by presenting a few benchmark
comparisons with the prior studies available in the literature.
A. Validation of Results
In a recent study [11], extensive comparisons between the previous
numerical and experimental results for free convection in Newtonian
fluids from elliptical cylinders (0.2 ≤ E ≤ 5) were reported as a part
of validation to ascertain the accuracy of the new results on free
convection in power-law fluids, and hence these are not repeated
here. However, as a sample benchmarking, Fig. 4 shows a good
agreement between the numerical predictions of Sasmal and Chhabra
[11] obtained using a finite-volume method with the present results
 AIAA Early Edition / PATEL AND CHHABRA 7

Table 2 Comparison of the average Nusselt found to be stronger than that implicitly included in the definition of
number for a Newtonian fluid Rayleigh number. Similarly, the so-called blunt configuration (E < 1)
Nuavg ∕Gr0.25 is known to yield stronger fluid deformation than the so-called
slender (E ≥ 1) configuration; the competition between the role of
Slender Blunt
Ra and Bn is further accentuated for blunt configurations. It is
E Cheng [35] Present Cheng [35] Present useful to begin with the case of a circular cylinder (E  1) where,
0.30 0.4319 0.4288 0.3240 0.3047 depending upon the values of Ra and Bn, qualitatively different types
0.40 0.4225 0.4180 0.3374 0.3222 of yield surfaces are observed [23]. For instance, at low Rayleigh
0.50 0.4118 0.4072 0.3462 0.3330
0.60 0.3979 0.3964 0.3495 0.3425
numbers like Ra  102 , the buoyancy-induced current is weak, and
0.70 0.3852 0.3856 0.3515 0.3479 the yielded regions are relatively small; there are tiny unyielded
0.80 0.3757 0.3748 0.3547 0.3519 regions adhering to the cylinder at the front and rear stagnation points
0.90 0.3655 0.3654 0.3556 0.3533 that disappear with the increasing Rayleigh number but tend to
1.00 0.3559 0.3546 — — — — reappear with the increasing Bingham number. Also, at low Rayleigh
numbers, the cold fluid is entrained mainly from beneath the cylinder,
and so some yielding occurs in this region, and with the increasing
Rayleigh number, the cold fluid is also entrained from the sides, and
this can be seen in the form of expanding yielded regions (e.g., see
the results at Ra  105 ). Similarly, with the increasing Rayleigh
Table 3 Comparison of the present number, a rising plume is expected to form above the heated cylinder
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results with that of Badr [36] in air
Slender Blunt
E Badr [36] Present Badr [36] Present
Ra  103
0.4 3.2 3.2330 3.59 3.6134
0.6 3.16 3.1051 3.44 3.3675
0.8 3.11 3.0080 3.23 3.1043
Ra  104
0.4 4.9 4.9981 5.91 5.7896
0.6 4.96 4.8684 5.63 5.3997
0.8 4.93 4.7684 5.36 4.9643
for E  0.2 and E  5. This comparison is of particular significance
because Sasmal and Chhabra [11] benchmarked their predictions
using experimental and numerical results from various sources, and
therefore, in view of the close correspondence seen in Fig. 4, the
present results would also show similar agreement with most of the
previous studies for free convection in Newtonian fluids from
elliptical cylinders summarized in [11]. Similarly, the present values
of the average Nusselt number were found to be within 7% of that
reported in [11] for elliptical cylinders and 6% of Farouk and
Guceri [34] for a circular cylinder. For the purpose of additional
validation, limited simulations were also performed for an isothermal
vertical plate, and these were found to be consistent with the
experimental data [38,39] and the approximate boundary-layer
analysis [40,41]. Tables 2 and 3 show comparison for elliptical
cylinders in Newtonian fluids for Pr  0.7 (air) and Pr  1,
respectively, and the close correspondence seen here [35,36] testifies
to the reliability of the numerical methodology used in this work. The
preceding comparisons together with our previous experience
suggest the present new results to be reliable within 2% or so.
B. Delineation of Yielded/Unyielded Zones
One of the key distinct features of the yield-stress fluids is the
simultaneous manifestation of fluidlike (yielded) and solidlike
(unyielded) regions coexisting adjacent to each other. Naturally, this
directly influences the local and overall rate of heat transfer in such
fluids. It is therefore worthwhile to examine the influence of Ra, Pr,
E, and Bn on the size and shape of the yield surfaces. Indeed, as seen
here, a wide variety of morphologies are observed that are not at all
seen in the forced convection regime. Figures 5 and 6 show
representative results elucidating the influence of Ra, Pr, E, and Bn
on the yield surfaces, as the results for a circular cylinder are available
in a detailed fashion elsewhere [23], these are not shown here.
Intuitively, because the Rayleigh number plays the same role in free
convection as does the Reynolds number in forced convection, it
stands to reason that the increasing values of Ra should intensify the
extent of fluid deformation, and therefore fluidlike (yielded) regions
must grow with Ra. On the other hand, this tendency is suppressed by
the increasing Bingham number. The role of the Prandtl number is
that counters the tendency for the formation of recirculation regions
here, which is commonly seen in Newtonian fluids. Attention is also
drawn to the fact that, for a fixed value of Rayleigh number, as the
value of the Prandtl number is increased, this is accompanied by a
concomitant drop in the value of the Grashof number, thereby
weakening the buoyancy-induced flow (i.e., shorter yielded region).
However, almost the opposite effect occurs at Bn  0.5. This is
believed to be so due to the weak yield stress effects, and the momen-
tum and thermal boundary layers are expected to be much thicker
than the so-called stress boundary layer under these conditions.
Finally, in the limit of large Bingham number (e.g., at Bn  104 ), the
whole body of fluid is frozen at low Ra  102 (weak advection), and
yielding is confined to the close proximity of the cylinder even at
Ra  105 . It is thus perhaps fair to conjecture that the heat transfer is
maximum in the limit of Newtonian fluid behavior (Bn → 0) and
minimum in the limit of Bn → ∞, corresponding to the fully plastic
flow or conduction limit.
Now turning our attention to the results for the so-called blunt
configuration (E  0.1 and 0.5) shown in Fig. 5, the role of Ra, Pr,
and Bn is seen to be qualitatively similar to that for a circular cylinder,
except that in this case the flow itself is strongly modulated by the
shape of the cylinder. For instance, one can see a rather large mass of
unyielded fluid adhering in the front and rear of the cylinder surface,
which progressively increases with the increasing Bingham number
and Prandtl number, eventually approaching the fully frozen limit at
Bn  104 , even at Ra  105 for E  0.1. This is presumably so
because of the fact that the heated fluid below the blunt cylinder can
only move by diffusion until reaching the tip, where gravity takes
over. Because the buoyancy, viscous, and inertial forces scale
differently with the spatial coordinate, the relative magnitudes of
these forces change in a complex fashion, leading to the breakup and
coalescence of the yielded regions for certain combinations of values
of Ra, Pr, E, and Bn, as can be seen at Bn  5 for E  0.1 and
E  0.5. In fact, this trend is also present for the slender config-
urations, but at Bn  100. In this case, when the buoyancy-induced
flow is weak, the limiting behavior at Bn  104 is similar at Ra 
102 , but the effect of shape is evident even under these conditions.
Broadly, for slender shapes (E > 1), a plume is seen to exist up to
Bn ∼ 5, which disappears at Bn  104 , with complex transition zone
being present in between the two limits. Undoubtedly, such complex
interactions between various forces not only present themselves in
the form of complex shapes and sizes of the unyielded and yielded
regions, but these also directly influence the local Nusselt number
variation along the surface of the cylinder. Suffice it to add here
that the limited simulations performed using the biviscous model
[Eq. (12)] also led to almost identical predictions of the yield surfaces,
but these are not included here for the sake of clarity of these figures.
C. Streamlines and Isotherm Contours
It is customary to visualize the detailed structures of the flow and
temperature fields via the use of streamline and isotherm contours.
 8 AIAA Early Edition
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Fig. 5 Yielded (unshaded)/unyielded (shaded) zones: a) E  0.1, and b) E  0.5.
Such plots facilitate delineation of the regions of “fast” or “slow”
flow, secondary flows, local “hot” and “cold” spots, etc., which may
be of interest during the processing of temperature-sensitive materials
and/or where product homogeneity is a concern. Owing to the
symmetry of the flow about the vertical centerline (y axis), stream-
lines are shown in the right half of each figure, whereas the cor-
responding isotherm contours are plotted on the left side. Figures 7
and 8 show representative plots for the two extreme values of
Rayleigh number (Ra  102 , Ra  105 ) and Prandtl number
(Pr  10, Pr  100), for three values of E  0.1, 1, 10, and for
scores of values of the Bingham number. An examination of these
figures reveals the following key trends. At low Rayleigh numbers,
Ra  102 (Figs. 7 and 8), as noted earlier, the cold fluid is entrained
mainly from beneath the heated cylinder at small Bingham numbers
(Bn  0.5). In fact, this contribution becomes increasingly evident
from the increasing streamlining of the cylinder (i.e., increasing value
of E). However, with the increasing Bingham number, this tendency
is weakens due to the suppression of fluid deformation as the
streamlines closely follow the contour of the body. The isotherm
contours are seen to be more distorted for blunt shapes (E < 1) than
that for the streamlined shapes (E  1 and E  10). Therefore, blunt
shapes must lead to higher heat transfer than the slender shapes, a
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA
trend that is also consistent with that seen in Newtonian and power-
law [11] fluids. On the other hand, with the increasing Rayleigh
number as the buoyancy-induced flow gains strength, streamline
patterns indicate increasing entrainment from the lateral sides (e.g.,
see Figs. 7b and 8b). However, this tendency is also suppressed with
the increasing yield stress (e.g., see the results for Bn  100 and
Bn  107 in these figures). Naturally, the larger the Rayleigh number
is, the larger is the value of the Bingham number needed to approach
the fully plastic limit. This is also consistent with the trends observed
in the forced convection regime for an elliptical cylinder [30]. Under
these conditions, conduction is the sole mechanism of heat transfer,
and isotherm contours exhibit symmetry about the y axis, and these
closely follow the body contour.
As the Rayleigh number and/or Prandtl number increases, the
resulting strong buoyancy current makes the thermal boundary-layer
thinner. This effect seems to be more pronounced at lower Bingham
number values where the buoyancy flow is able to overcome the yield
stress effects, and hence the rate of heat transfer to the fluid increases
due to convective transport for each aspect ratio. However, the
enhancement of heat transfer from the surface of the cylinder is
obviously affected by the shape of the body and the presence of the
yielded/unyielded regions adjacent to the cylinder. Broadly, these
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Fig. 6 Yielded (unshaded)/unyielded (shaded) zones: a) E  2, and b) E  10.
figures seem to suggest that, at low values of the Bingham number
(Bn  0.5 and 5), the isotherm contours cluster near the front
stagnation point for the cylinder having aspect ratio E ≥ 1, whereas
for E < 1, this region shifts toward the equator, indicating the regions
with maximum temperature gradient.
Also a steady plume is formed above the cylinder at low Rayleigh
numbers, for example Ra  102 , which compresses toward the plane
of symmetry with the increasing values of Rayleigh number and/or
Prandtl number. On the other hand, the increasing values of the
Bingham number broaden the plume indicating that the yield stress
effects outweigh the buoyancy forces, thereby weakening the con-
vection effect. In summary, the increasing values of Bingham number
impede convection whereas the Rayleigh number tends to augment it.
Indeed, the local and global rate of heat transfer (values of Nusselt
number), as will be seen in the following section, is determined by an
intricate interplay between Ra, Pr, Bn, and the aspect ratio of the
heated cylinder.
D. Distribution of Local Nusselt number
At the next level, it is customary to study the heat transfer
characteristics in terms of the distribution of the local Nusselt number
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA 9
along the surface of the heated cylinder. Despite the fact that the
surface of the cylinder is isothermal, the temperature gradient normal
to it varies, thereby giving rise to the variation in the value of the local
Nusselt number along the surface. Figure 9 shows the combined
effects of Ra, Pr, Bn, and E on the distribution of the local Nusselt
number. All else being equal, at low Bingham numbers, the behavior
is closer to that observed in Newtonian fluids, e.g., see the results for
Bn  0, i.e., the local Nusselt number was seen to be maximum at the
front stagnation point for a circular cylinder (E  1) and for slender
configuration of elliptic cylinders (E > 1). It is also appropriate to
mention here that, in the case of a circular cylinder, the value of the
local Nusselt number at the front stagnation point is slightly less than
its maximum value, especially at low Bingham numbers. This is
possibly due to the formation of the unyielded zones at the front
stagnation point, which impedes heat transfer. At the other extreme,
in the limit of Bn → ∞, the results approach the conduction limit
[23]. In the case of blunt configurations (E < 1), the Nusselt number
is seen to be maximum at the equator due to the abrupt turning and
bending of the streamlines and isotherms to negotiate the body
contour. In overall terms, the local Nusselt number shows a positive
dependence on the Rayleigh number, and the severity of this
 10 AIAA Early Edition
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Fig. 7 Isotherm (left half) and streamline (right half) contours at Pr  10: a) Ra  102 , and b) Ra  105 .
dependence, in turn, is strongly modulated by the shape of the
cylinder; clearly, the transition from blunt (E < 1) to slender (E > 1)
shapes is seen to foster heat transfer due to the increasing role of
gravity. Also, as the value of the Bingham number is progressively
increased, there are varying levels of deterioration in the rate of heat
transfer. This is presumably so because of the gradual diminishing
yielded regions, thereby increasing the thermal resistance to heat
transfer. The effect of the Prandtl number over and above that
incorporated via the Rayleigh number is seen to be rather weak. In
summary, based on the preceding discussion, it stands to reason that
the surface average Nusselt number is influenced in the decreasing
order of importance by Rayleigh number, aspect ratio, Bingham
number, and Prandtl number.
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA
E. Average Nusselt number
Undoubtedly, the detailed analysis of the yield surfaces, streamline
and isotherm contours, and local Nusselt number distribution provides
valuable insights into the nature of the complex interactions between
the viscous, buoyancy, and yield-stress effects; reliable average values
of the Nusselt number are required for process engineering calcula-
tions. Hence, it is worthwhile to examine the functional relationship
between the mean Nusselt number on one hand and Ra, Bn, Pr, and E
on the other. Figure 10 shows the variation of the average Nusselt
number with the Bingham number for scores of values of the Rayleigh
number, Prandtl number, and aspect ratio. A detailed examination of
these results points to the positive dependence of the average Nusselt
number on Rayleigh number, inverse dependence on Bingham
 AIAA Early Edition
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Fig. 8 Isotherm (left half) and streamline (right half) contours at Pr  100: a) Ra  102 , and b) Ra  105 .
number, and exhibiting a limiting value of the Nusselt number
corresponding to the pure conduction limit; broadly, the larger the
Rayleigh number is, the higher is the value of the Bingham number
needed to approach the conduction limit. On the other hand, the
dependence on the aspect ratio is seen to be modulated by the values of
Ra and Bn. In view of the exceptionally high peak values for blunt
shapes (E < 1), the mean Nusselt number does not necessarily increase
with the increasing value of E. This relationship is further compounded
by the size and shape of the unyielded material adhering to the surface
of the cylinder, which is itself strongly influenced by the values of
E, Ra, and Bn. Therefore, a range of functional dependences can
be observed. For instance, at low Grashof numbers (Ra∕Pr), one can
see a gradual decrease in the value of the Nusselt number as the
cylinder shape transits from being blunt to slender, especially for
small values of the Bingham number (i.e., in Newtonian-like fluids).
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA 11
At such low Rayleigh numbers, the conduction limit is seen to
approach at Bn ∼ O100. Irrespective of the value of the Bingham
number, conduction dominates the heat transfer at such low Rayleigh
numbers. With the gradual increase in Rayleigh number, the role of
aspect ratio is seen to flip over at about Bn ∼ 0.5 or so. To elucidate the
effect of E in an unequivocal manner, the results shown in Fig. 10 are
replotted against E in Fig. 11. At low Rayleigh numbers or Grashof
numbers, the Nusselt number is seen to increase slightly between the
range 0.1 ≤ E ≤ ∼0.8 due to the streamlining of the cylinder, and then
it decreases all the way up to E  10 due to decreasing level of
shearing.
Finally, based on dimensional arguments and the preceding
discussion, it is fair to anticipate the average Nusselt number to be a
function of Rayleigh number, Prandtl number, Bingham number, and
aspect ratio, i.e.,
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Fig. 9 Local Nusselt number profiles at a) Ra  102 , and b) Ra  105 .

Nuavg  fRa; Pr; Bn; E (14) This approach does not incorporate the shear-dependent nature of
fluid viscosity. Following the ideas employed in our previous studies
It is, however, useful to recall here that the preceding analysis is based [23,42], this weakness can be circumvented by redefining the
on the application of the plastic viscosity μB as the viscosity scale. viscosity scale as μB  τo ∕_γ ch , where the characteristic shear rate is
 AIAA Early Edition
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Fig. 10 Variation of the average Nusselt number with dimensionless parameters.
p
approximated as γ_ ch  V c ∕2b   gβΔT2b∕2b. This, in
turn, leads to the following modified definitions of the Rayleigh
number Ra and Prandtl number Pr as
Ra
Ra  ; Pr  Pr1  Bn (15)
1  Bn
Hence, the average Nusselt number Nuavg is expected to be a function
only of Ra , Pr , and E. Also, it needs to be recognized that, in the
limit of Bn → ∞, when most of the fluid is unyielded, conduction
dominates the heat transfer, and it is thus desirable to include this limit
in the predictive equations. Using the foregoing heuristics, the
present numerical data can be satisfactorily correlated as
For E ≤ 1:
Nuavg  Nuc  0.325Ra 0.29 1  0.0024Pr −0.95 1  E0.35
(16)
For E > 1:
Nuavg  Nuc  0.503Ra 0.29 1  0.0024Pr −0.95 1  E−0.26
(17)
In Eqs. (16) and (17), the values of Nuc used are summarized in
Table 4, wherein its analytical [43] and the present numerical values
are in near prefect agreement. Overall, Eqs. (16) and (17) are valid for
the range of aspect ratio E ≤ 1 and E > 1, respectively, over the
range of the modified parameters as 10−5 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 and
15 ≤ Pr ≤ 109 . Equation (16) reproduces the present numerical
results (510 data points) with an average error of 10%, which rises to a
maximum of 56%, and Eq. (17) reproduces 688 data points with an
/ PATEL AND CHHABRA 13
average error of 15%, which rises to maximum of 84%. However,
only 10% of the data points show deviations greater than 30% without
any discernible trends. Admittedly, the rather large errors for a few
data points (∼10%) seen previously are discomforting, but while
assessing the efficacy of Eqs. (16) and (17), the following factors
must be borne in mind. A cursory examination of the available
literature [1] shows that no correlation exists in the literature for
laminar free convection heat transfer from elliptical cylinders, even in
Newtonian fluids. Second, even for a circular cylinder in Bingham
plastic fluids, the available correlation exhibits maximum error of
about 40% [23], whereas for elliptical cylinders in power-law fluids,
these are of the order of ∼70% [11]. Clearly, such poor fits indicate
the intrinsically complex nature of such a functional relationship that
contains four (Bn, Ra, Pr, E) influencing dimensionless parameters.
It is thus far from obvious even to postulate the most appropriate
functional form of the Nusselt number correlation. A few other forms
were attempted in the present case, but no worthwhile improvement
could be achieved. Also, it is worthwhile to add here that the 100-fold
variation in the value of E (0.1 ≤ E ≤ 10) is much too large to be
accommodated satisfactorily in a single correlation. However,
despite these weaknesses, the dependence on the modified Rayleigh
numbers seen in these equations is similar to that seen in Newtonian
fluids, namely, Nu ∼ Ra1∕4 .
Before leaving this section, it is worthwhile to recapitulate the key
assumptions implicit in the present study. First, the thermophysical
properties of the fluid are assumed to be independent of temperature.
Among all these, perhaps the Bingham yield stress and plastic
viscosity are the most temperature sensitive. Second, the present
work is limited to the two-dimensional flow regime. Although it is not
possible to make generalizations, the available limited work with
Newtonian fluids suggests this to be a reasonable assumption for
length-to-diameter ratios in excess of 30, at least in the range of
 14 AIAA Early Edition / PATEL AND CHHABRA
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Fig. 11 Variation of the average Nusselt number with dimensionless parameters.

Rayleigh number and Prandtl number spanned here. On the other aspect ratio E. Broadly, increasing values of Rayleigh number induce
hand, it is hoped that further studies in this field would address some fluidlike behavior, whereas the Bingham number opposes this
of these and the other pertinent issues to provide definitive propensity. This, in turn, influences the value of the local and Nusselt
information on these aspects. number in a complex fashion. The maximum Nusselt number does
not always occur on the front stagnation point, especially for E < 1
configurations. In fact, all else being equal, the average Nusselt
V. Conclusions number only improves up to about E ∼ 0.8 − 1 whereas for E > 1,
In this work, the effect of aspect ratio on the free convective heat there is a reduction in the average Nusselt number due to the reduced
transfer from an elliptical cylinder in Bingham plastic fluids has been fluidlike behavior. Finally, correlations for the average Nusselt
investigated numerically over the range of pertinent parameters, number have been established in terms of the modified Rayleigh
102 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 , 10 ≤ Pr ≤ 107 , and 0.5 ≤ Bn ≤ 107 for blunt number and Prandtl number for the range of conditions spanned
(E > 1) and slender orientations (E < 1) including the case of a here.
circular cylinder (E  1). A detailed examination of the results on the
yielded/unyielded zones, streamlines, and isotherm contours reveals
that a variety of yield surfaces can be encountered depending upon References
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