Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2021) 143:2039–2052

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-10297-7

Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder

with various cross sections
Muhammad M. Janjua1 · Najeeb U. Khan1 · Waqar A. Khan2 · Waseem S. Khan1 · Hafiz Muhammad Ali3

Received: 29 January 2020 / Accepted: 22 September 2020 / Published online: 13 October 2020
© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2020

Abstract
The thermal performance of an isothermal horizontal cylinder with different selected cross sections in cross-flow was inves-
tigated numerically. These cross sections include circular, elliptical, square, rectangular, hexagonal and triangular cross sec-
tions. The governing partial differential equations including continuity, momentum and energy equations are solved using
the software Fluent™ (Version 18.2). The angle of attack is considered to vary from 0° to 90° for elliptic, square, triangular
and hexagonal cross sections for the isothermal thermal boundary conditions. The selected geometries were imported from
the software Creo™ Parametric 4.0, and the flow was analyzed using pressure-based solver. The pressure–velocity coupling
was solved using SIMPLE scheme. For turbulence model, Reynolds Stress Method-Baseline (RSM-BSL) is used to analyze
the flow. It was demonstrated that the average Nusselt number depends on the Reynolds number as well as the orientation of
the cylinder. The numerical results thus obtained do agree with those of earlier published experimental results.

Keywords  Forced convection · Heat transfer · Nusselt number · Cross sections · Fluent

List of symbols cp Specific heat at constant pressure (J kg−1 K−1)

Ts Cylinder surface temperature (K) k Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)
T∞ Free stream temperature (K) μ Dynamic viscosity (kg m−1 s−1)
T Temperature (K) ρ Density (kg m−3)
p Free stream pressure (Pa) h Convective heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)
u  x component of velocity ­(ms−1) Nu Nusselt number, Nu = hL/k
U∞ Free stream velocity ­(ms−1) R2 Coefficient of determination
v  y component of velocity ­(ms−1)
D Diameter of circumscribed circle (m)
Re Reynolds number based on characteristic length, Introduction
Re = ρU∞L/μ
L Characteristic length = diameter of circumscribed The variation in the convective heat transfer coefficient
circle (m) across different cross sections is an important consideration
Pr Prandtl number, Pr = μcp/k in the design and production of heat exchangers,
transmission cables and electronic equipment. The
convective heat transfer across circular, elliptical, square,
* Hafiz Muhammad Ali rectangular, hexagonal and triangular cross sections inclined
hafiz.ali@kfupm.edu.sa at various angles to a uniform stream of air is numerically
1
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, investigated. This problem is very significant in engineering
Higher Colleges of Technology, P.O. Box 15825, Dubai, applications and industrial processing. In an experiment,
United Arab Emirates investigation is made by Ota et al. [1] for Reynolds number
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College ranging from 5000 to 90,000 and for an angle of attack of 0°
of Engineering, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, to 90°. They compared the local heat transfer behavior of an
Al Khobar 31952, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia elliptic cylinder with that of circular cylinder for an axis
3
Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd ratio of 1:2. The heat transfer rate from the upstream surface,
University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, on which a laminar boundary layer develops, becomes lower
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

2040
than that from the downstream surface in the separated flow
region in the region of α > 40°. They have reported that the
mean heat transfer coefficient ­Num is dependent on the angle
of attack along with the Reynolds number. According to
them, the N ­ um is the highest for α = 75° to 90° and is the
lowest for α = 30° over the whole Reynolds number range of
5000 to 90,000. They concluded that the mean heat transfer
rate from the elliptic cylinder is higher than that from the
circular cylinder at all the angles of attack over the specified
Reynolds number range. Ota et al. [2] experimentally found
that heat transfer varies significantly with changing angle of
attack while working on elliptic cylinders in a tandem
arrangement. Their findings were focused on critical cylinder
only. They found that the variation in the average Nusselt
number is a complicated function of geometric parameters.
Therefore, different geometries need to be taken for the
investigation. D’Alessioi and Dennis [3] performed
numerical analysis on steady laminar forced convection from
an elliptic cylinder. No numerical solution exists for other
cross sections for higher values of Reynolds numbers.
Nakamura and Igarashi [4] discussed the dependence of the
Nusselt number in the separated flow behind a circular
cylinder. This dependence notably varies with Reynolds
number in different flow regimes, i.e., laminar shedding,
shear layer and wake transition. Jancu [5] investigated the
transient heat transfer from an elliptic cylinder numerically.
The range of Reynolds number was low varying from 5 to
40. A general correlation for the average heat transfer across
a circular cylinder was obtained by Khan et al. [6]. For an
elliptic cross section, Bharti et al. [7] studied the forced
convection heat transfer numerically to power-law fluids for
low Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.01 to 40. They found
that the dependence of Nusselt number on other
dimensionless parameters is limited to only elliptic cross
section at low Reynolds numbers. Haider et al. [8] presented
an extensive numerical study to determine the cross-flow of
air (Pr = 0.71) around isothermal cylinders of the circular
cross section in arrangements such as a single cylinder,
inline arrays and staggered arrays. They used software
package Fluent™ to solve the fluid flow and energy
equations for the two-dimensional, steady, viscous and
incompressible fluid bounded in a duct for the Reynolds
number ranging from 40 to 10,000. They found that the heat
transfer from a staggered array of cylinders is slightly higher
than an inline array of cylinders. An experimental study of
forced convection heat transfer around a triangular cylinder
for a fixed orientation using four equilateral cross sections
with side length ranging from 30 to 120 mm is reported by
Ali et al. [9]. They obtained empirical correlations for the
overall averaged Nusselt number using side length as the
characteristic length while vertex is facing the flow. They
also compared the Nusselt numbers obtained by triangular
cylinders to that of circular and square cylinders in
13
M. M. Janjua et al.
cross-flow and concluded that at large Reynolds number
there is an enhancement in convective heat transfer for
triangular cylinders. Regarding the fluid flow and heat
transfer around a rectangular cylinder, Igarashi and Mayumi
[10] have considered the small angle of attack over the range
of 0° to 20° for Reynolds number ranging from 2500 to
12,800. From the experimental results, they reported having
a maximum average heat transfer for the angle of attack
between 0 and 5°. For angles higher than 20°, there is no
empirical relation obtained. Sharma and Eswaran [11]
performed numerical simulations using finite volume
method to predict the heat transfer and fluid flow across a
square cylinder in two-dimensional laminar flow regime for
Reynolds numbers of 1 to 160. They obtained heat transfer
correlations for the Nusselt number in the case of uniform
heat flux and temperature boundary conditions. However,
the effect of the variation in the angle of attack is not studied.
Dhiman et al. [12] studied heat transfer characteristics of an
isolated square cylinder by varying Reynolds and Prandtl
numbers in the cross-flow. The flow regime investigated is
for low Reynolds numbers in the range of 1 to 45. Chatterjee
et al. [13] numerically investigated forced convection heat
transfer for unsteady flow across a row of square cylinders.
Dhiman et al. [14] employed the numerical method of finite
volume to study the effects of Reynolds numbers on the heat
transfer characteristics of an isolated square cylinder. They
considered the low Reynolds number in the range from 1 to
45 to obtain the heat transfer correlations for the constant
cylinder temperature and constant heat flux boundary
conditions. Igarashi and Mayumi [15] studied experimentally
the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics around a
rectangular cylinder in the Reynolds number range from
2500 to 12,800. They considered the width/height ratio of
the cylinder as 5.0, and the angle of attack was varied over
the range from 0 to 20°. They presented the local heat
transfer coefficients on the reattachment surface and the
upper and lower surfaces by the same empirical relation,
Nu = CRe2/3, where the constant C decreases with increase
in α for α > 5°. They found the maximum average heat
transfer for α values between 0° and 5°. Nakamura et al. [16]
studied the flow and local heat transfer around a wall-
mounted cube oriented 45° to the flow. The experimental
investigation was performed in the range of Reynolds
number of 4200 to 33,000 based on the cube height. They
examined the distribution of local heat transfer on the cube
and its base wall and reported the heat transfer distribution
for different cases. The average heat transfer on the top face
is enhanced for Re > 10,000 when the cube is aligned
perpendicular to the flow. They compared Nusselt numbers
for circular and square cylinders in cross-flow of air and
found that triangular cylinder enhances the heat transfer at
large Reynolds number. Sahin et al. [17] studied the heat
transfer and pressure drop across equilateral triangular
Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections 2041

cylinder placed in the channel for Reynolds number ranging is larger compared to other studies in the literature. The soft-
from 5000 to 10,000. They investigated the effects of the ware Creo™ was used to create geometry, and the software
blockage ratio and Reynolds number on the heat transfer Fluent™ was used to run numerical simulations. Reynolds
from triangular bodies. They concluded that the heat transfer Stress Method-Baseline (RSM-BSL) model was used for
is enhanced due to the presence of the equilateral obstacles turbulence modeling.
in the flow field. The position of the triangles and the
Reynolds number affected the temperature distributions
behind these obstacles and significantly changed beyond the
Governing equations
bluff bodies in the vertical direction along the x distance.
They reported that the highest values of overall heat transfer
To solve the two-dimensional heat transfer problem of flow
were obtained at W/B = 0 and Re = 5 and the lowest
around a cylinder, continuity (Eq. 1), momentum (Eqs. 2 and
coefficient was found at W/B = 1 and Re = 10.0. Waqas et al.
3) and energy equations (Eq. 4) are solved at each node of
[18] studied the effect of spacing between three inline square
discretized model. These equations for Newtonian fluid are:
cylinders at low Reynolds number of 200. In this study it is
demonstrated that for the first cylinder in line of the flow is
Equation of continuity
similar to single cylinder analysis. However, the values
obtained for succeeding cylinders are different because of
𝜕u 𝜕v
wake interference effects even for large spacing between the + =0 (1)
𝜕x 𝜕y
cylinders. Sivakumar et al. [19] analyzed the effectiveness
of solar air heater using circular pin fins. It was demonstrated x component of conservation of momentum
that the energy efficiency of solar air heater was increased ( )
up to a maximum of 12% by using circular pin fins. However, 𝜕u 𝜕u 𝜕u 1 𝜕p 𝜇 𝜕 2 u 𝜕 2 u
+u +v =− + + (2)
no comparison was performed to see the effect of changing 𝜕t 𝜕x 𝜕y 𝜌 𝜕x 𝜌 𝜕x2 𝜕y2
shape and orientation of cross section. Hoseinzadeh et al.
[20] studied theheat transfer of porous fins and compared y component of conservation of momentum
their findings with rectangular cross section fins, and their 𝜕v 𝜕v 𝜕v
(
1 𝜕p 𝜇 𝜕 2 v 𝜕 2 v
)
findings were also in low Reynolds number range to keep +u +v =− + + (3)
𝜕t 𝜕x 𝜕y 𝜌 𝜕y 𝜌 𝜕x2 𝜕y2
the flow laminar. Sheikoleslami [21] studied heat transfer
and fluid flow problem over circular cylinder using Energy equation
nanofluid. Various volume fractions of nanoparticles were ( 2 )
considered, and it was found that Nusselt number increases 𝜕T 𝜕T 𝜕T 𝜕 T 𝜕2T
+u +v =𝛼 + . (4)
with the increase in nanoparticles volume fractions, suction 𝜕t 𝜕x 𝜕y 𝜕x2 𝜕y2
parameters and Reynolds number. Shafee [22] examined the
impact of adding twisted geometry to circular pipe.
Simulation results indicate the reduction in exergy loss with
increase in Reynolds number and reduction in pitch ratio. Physical models and boundary conditions
Hassanpour [23] numerically studied the forced convection
heat transfer of magnetohydrodynamic fluid. Governing Consider the two-dimensional steady-state flow of air across
equations were solved used SIMPLE method; however, the a cylinder with circular, elliptical, square, hexagonal and
problem did not look the variation in geometries. triangular cross sections inclined at various angles to the
Sheikholeslami [24] experientially and numerically incoming uniform flow field, which is directed normal to
investigated the flow and heat transfer in double pipe heat the axis of the cross sections. In each case, the surface of
exchanger. Results obtained show that Nusselt number the cylinder is kept isothermal at a temperature T s. The
increases with the increase in Reynolds number and Prandtl free stream temperature at a considerable distance from
numbers. The tubes used in the setup were of circular shape, the cylinder is also considered constant at T∞ . Therefore,
and results did not include any variation in cross section of the maximum temperature difference ΔT, occurring in
tubes. A lot of experimental and numerical work has been the flow field is given by ΔT = Ts − T∞ . By considering
published in the literature to compute convective heat trans- small temperature difference, it can be justified that the
fer coefficient on a cylinder of various cross sections. How- buoyant forces are negligible in comparison with viscous
ever, the novelty of this study is to provide the correlation and inertia forces. This condition also ensures that the
equations of Nusselt number in terms of Reynolds number thermophysical properties are constant throughout the flow
for different cross sections with various orientations. The field. Top and bottom walls are assumed to be adiabatic,
range of Reynolds number of 100 to 40,000 used in the study and no shear conditions are used to remove any wall effect.

13

2042 M. M. Janjua et al.

Adiabatic boundary
No shear conditions

Isothermal
surface

Pressure Outlet

Velocity Inlet

Adiabatic boundary
0.000 0.150 0.300 (m)
No shear conditions
0.075 0.225

Fig. 1  Physical model and boundary conditions for a circular cylinder

Figure 2 shows the refined grid around the cylinder surface

to accurately resolve boundary layer. The diameter of the
circumscribed circle is chosen as the reference length to
compute Reynolds numbers for various cross sections, i.e.,
circle, an ellipse with an aspect ratio of 0.5, square, hexagon
and equilateral triangle. Air properties are taken at 300 K to
compute the velocity of air at various Reynolds numbers.
The surface temperature of all cross sections has been kept
at 325 K. Top and bottom walls are considered adiabatic.
The average Nusselt number was obtained directly from the
software and was averaged over 5000 iterations after the flow
started to repeat its pattern. In Table 1, cross sections under
study are shown with their characteristic lengths. Figure 3
shows the orientation of cross sections and the angles they
make with the direction of flow. In simulations, the flow is
moving from left to right.

Numerical methods and simulation conditions

In the present work, numerical simulations have been per-

Fig. 2  Mesh analysis for a circular cylinder
Physical model and boundary conditions of the domain
for the circular cylinder are shown in Fig.  1. All other
cylinders are analyzed using the same boundary conditions.
formed to investigate the convective heat transfer coefficient
for various cross sections subjected to various Reynolds
numbers. The effects of orientation on different cross sec-
tions are also investigated for constant surface temperature
case. The numerical simulations were carried out using Flu-
ent™ (Version 18.2). The geometries were created in Creo™
Parametric 4.0 and then exported to Fluent™ where unstruc-
tured mesh was created. A 2-D, steady, incompressible flow
is analyzed using pressure-based solver. SIMPLE scheme is
used to solve the pressure–velocity coupling.

13
Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections 2043

Table 1  Different cross sections

with their characteristic lengths Circle D = diameter of the circle

Ellipse D = diameter of major Axis

Square D = 1.4142 × length of one side of the square

Hexagon D = 2 × length of one side of the hexagon

Triangle D = 1.1547 × length of one side of an equilateral triangle

Two sets of simulations are achieved, and results are
compared with experimental data where available. In one set
of simulations, flow is considered laminar regardless of the
inlet velocity of the flow and in the other set, the turbulence
is taken into account. For turbulence model, Reynolds Stress
Method-Baseline (RSM-BSL) [25] is used to analyze the
flow. The RSM-BSL is a robust and accurate combination
of standard k–ω and k–ε turbulence models. The k–ω is an
accurate model to analyze flow in near-wall regions, while
k–ε is used to analyze flow in the far field. The RSM-BSL
model uses a blended function that is designed to be one
in near-wall region, which ensures that the standard k–ω
model is used, while zero away from the wall surface, which
ensures the k-ε is activated to analyze the flow.
Sensitivity analysis (grid independence)
Numerically, the solution is made independent of mesh
grid size for all geometries. This is demonstrated for the
case of a circular cylinder, where the average Nusselt
number is computed by changing the grid size while

13

2044 M. M. Janjua et al.

0° 30° 60° 90° Results and discussion

U∞ Numerical simulations have been performed, and results

are obtained to predict the average Nusselt number for
a cylinder with various cross sections, circle, ellipse,
U∞ square, hexagon and triangle over a range of Reynolds
number from 100 to 40,000. The effect of orientation on
the convective heat transfer is also investigated in the cur-
U∞ rent study as shown in Fig. 3. The surface of the cylinder
is maintained at 325 K, and free stream air temperature
is fixed at 300 K. Air properties at 300 K are used in the
analysis.
U∞
To obtain the Nusselt number for various cross sec-
tions, two different approaches were employed. In the first
approach, the flow was assumed laminar, and in the sec-
U∞
ond approach, a turbulent model, Reynolds stress model-
BSL (RSM-BSL), is used. In RSM-BSL model, Reynolds
stresses are solved directly using transport equations. The
Fig. 3  Flow over various cross sections and orientations
RSM-BSL is suitable for flows with a high degree of cur-
vatures and swirls in the flow. For a low Reynolds number,
where the flow stayed laminar, both laminar and RSM-
Table 2  Sensitivity analysis of Nusselt number BSL methods agreed with the experimental data or cor-
relation equations, but at higher Reynolds number and for
Number of divisions Nodes Elements Nusselt #
on cylinder shapes that are more likely to create flow separation at low
Reynolds number, the results obtained by laminar flow did
50 10,879 10,635 11.993 not match with the correlation equations and with those
100 12,203 11,936 11.991 obtained by RSM-BSL. For the case of turbulent flows, the
200 15,150 14,838 11.980 turbulent intensity of 0.1% has been chosen at the inlet of
300 17,788 17,429 11.980 the domain to predict the average Nusselt number. The tur-
400 20,614 20,202 11.980 bulent intensity, TI, is the ratio of root-mean-square of the
velocity fluctuations to the mean flow velocity. For new or
modified older wind tunnels, the TI values are around 0.1%
[26, 27]. Choosing the correct value of TI is essential as
the values of Nusselt number would change slightly based
keeping the same Reynolds number. It can be seen in
on the initial value of TI at the inlet. Turbulence intensity
Table 2 that Nusselt number obtained is in the tolerance
(TI) was also obtained for the overall flow to see when flow
range as grid is refined. To increase the efficiency of
transitioned from laminar to turbulent as it is estimated that
obtaining numerical solution, grid size is chosen which
when the flow TI is less than 1%, flow is considered laminar;
gives similar results as compared to most refined mesh.
when it is from 1 to 5%, flow is mildly turbulent; and when
Similar studies were performed for other geometries to
it is more than 5%, flow is considered highly turbulent.
make them independent of grid size. On the completion of
Numerical simulations are also made grid independent
meshing, the quality was checked through the skewness,
(Table  2). As Reynolds number is increased, the flow
which is less than 0.85 showing good-quality mesh.
starts to fluctuate around a mean value, and it can be seen
Reynolds number is computed based on circumscribed
through residual plot in Fig. 4. An average value of Nusselt
diameter (D = 0.05 m). The following parameters were
number is obtained by averaging five thousand iterations
used during sensitivity analysis:
when flow started to repeat itself. Convergence plot for
600 iterations has been added to show these random
Reynolds number 500
fluctuations on flow in Fig. 5 for triangular cylinder, flow
Inflation (max layers) 20
can be assumed to be statistically steady and an average
Growth rate 1.1
Nusselt number is obtained for all cross sections at high
Max fact size 0.005
Reynolds number; the average Nusselt number obtained
Number of total divisions on cylinder 200
is in close agreement with experimental results where
Inflation layer 20

13
Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections 2045

Residuals
energy Circular cylinder
1e–0.5
Laminar
Turbulent
Hilpert
Igarashi
102
Convergence
Scale

3e–06

NuD
101

1e–06
7500 7600 7700 7800 7900 8000 8100 8200
Iterations

Fig. 4  Convergence versus iterations for a triangular cylinder 100

102 103 104
ReD

Nusselt Number fluctations Fig. 6  Variation in Nusselt number with Reynolds number for a
137.5 circular cylinder

137
Nusselt number

the current study is 0.05 m, and its surface is maintained at a

136.5
constant surface temperature of 325 K. Results are obtained
136 for Reynolds number varying from 100 to 40,000 as shown
in Fig.  6. At low Reynolds number, the results obtained
135.5
by laminar flow simulation and RSM-BSL method are in
135 agreement with experimental results [28]. As the Reynolds
7500 7600 7700 7800 7900 8000 8100 number is increased, the flow started to transition from laminar
Iterations
to turbulent; results obtained assuming laminar flow started to
deviate from the experimental and Turbulent flow analysis.
Fig. 5  Fluctuations in the Nusselt number for a triangular cylinder
The turbulent intensity is also computed, and at Reynolds
number above 2000, the turbulent intensity is more than 2%
available. Once Nusselt number is obtained, Eq. 5 can be in the flow which predicts that flow was mildly turbulent and at
used to compute h, average heat transfer coefficient. L is Reynolds number of 40,000 the turbulent intensity increases to
the characteristic length and in current study taken to be 3.8%. So, for low Reynolds number below 2000, both laminar
diameter of circumscribed circle D, and k is the thermal and RSM-BSL models predict the Nusselt number accurately
conductivity of the fluid. but as the Reynolds number is increased, the RSM-BSL
gives more accurate results as it takes turbulence of flow into
h=
Nu × k
(5) account.
L
The rate of heat transfer Q̇ between the plate and the sur-
rounding air at any time can be expressed as: Cylinder with elliptical cross section

Q̇ = hAs Ts − T∞ (6) The characteristic length ‘L’ which is the diameter of

( )
where Ts is the surface temperature, T∞ is the air mean tem-
perature and h is the convection heat transfer coefficient.
Cylinder with circular cross section
The characteristic length ‘L’ which is the diameter of
circumscribed circle of cross section is used to calculate the
Reynolds and Nusselt number. The diameter of the cylinder in
circumscribed circle enclosing the cross section is used
to calculate the Reynolds number and the Nusselt number
in all cases. In the case of ellipse, ‘L’ is equal to the
diameter of major axis. Aspect ratio of 2:1 is considered
in the present study. Nusselt number values are obtained
for a range of Reynolds number from 100 to 40,000. The
major diameter of the circle is 0.05 m, and minor diameter
is 0.025  m. Experimental results [29] are compared
with laminar and RSM-BSL simulation results. As the
cross section is streamlined so for even large Reynolds

13

2046 M. M. Janjua et al.

Elliptical cylinder Hexagonal cylinder

Laminar Laminar
Turbulent Turbulent
Zukauskas
Ota
102 102
NuD

NuD
101 101

100
100
102 103 104
102 103 104
ReD ReD

Fig. 7  Variation in Nusselt number with Reynolds number for an Fig. 9  Variation in Nusselt number with Reynolds number for a
elliptical cylinder hexagonal cylinder

numbers, laminar and RSM-BSL model results are in close compared with experimental data for 0° [29]. The RSM-
agreement. However, when the TI in the flow is higher BSL solution takes into account the turbulence in the flow
than 1%, the RSM-BSL model predicted the results better. and thus gives better results for higher Reynolds numbers
Results are compared for 0-degree orientation in Fig. 7. as shown in Fig. 8.

Cylinder with square cross section

The characteristic length ‘L’ used to calculate the
Reynolds and Nusselt number for the case of the square
cylinder is chosen to be the diameter of the circumscribed
circle that encloses the square shape. Nusselt number
values were obtained for a range of Reynolds number from
100 to 40,000. The diameter of the circumscribed circle
is 0.05 m. Laminar and RSM-BSL simulation results are
Cylinder with hexagonal cross section
The characteristic length ‘L’ used to calculate the
Reynolds and the Nusselt number is chosen as the diameter
of the circumscribed circle that encloses the hexagon
shape. Nusselt number values are obtained for range of
Reynolds number from 100 to 40,000. The diameter of the
circumscribed circle is 0.05 m. Laminar and RSM-BSL

Square cylinder Triangular cylinder

Laminar Laminar
Turbulent Turbulent
Hilpert
Igarashi
102 102
NuD
NuD

101 101

100 100
102 103 104 102 103 104
ReD ReD

Fig. 8  Variation in Nusselt number with Reynolds number for a Fig. 10  Variation in Nusselt number with Reynolds number for a
square cylinder triangular cylinder

13
Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections 2047

Heat transfer rate at 0° incidence Heat transfer rate at 60° incidence

Circle Circle
Ellipse Ellipse
Hexagon Hexagon
Square Square
102 Triangle 102 Triangle
NuD

NuD
101 101

100 100
102 103 104 102 103 104
ReD ReD

Fig. 11  Comparison of Nusselt number of various shapes at 0° angle Fig. 13  Comparison of Nusselt number of various shapes at 60° angle
of incidence of incidence

simulation results were compared for 0° orientation. As
the RSM-BSL analysis considers turbulence in the flow,
consequently it gives better results compared to laminar
flow at higher Reynolds numbers as shown in Fig. 9.
solution takes into account the turbulence in the flow and
thus gives better results for higher Reynolds numbers.
Comparison of various orientations

Cylinder with triangular cross section As shown earlier, the RSM-BSL model gives more
accurate estimate of Nusselt number over a range of Re
The characteristic length ‘L’ used to calculate the Reynolds number from 100 to 40,000. RSM-BSL results for various
and Nusselt number for the case of the triangular cylinder cross sections at different orientations are compared in
is chosen as the diameter of the circumscribed circle that Figs. 11–14. At 0° incidence angle, the triangular cross
encloses the equilateral triangle. Nusselt number values section has the highest Nusselt number up to Reynolds
are obtained for a range of Reynolds number from 100 number of 15,000 and after that square cross section
to 40,000. The diameter of the circumscribed circle is has the highest Nusselt number up to Reynolds number
0.05 m. Laminar and RSM-BSL simulation results are of 40,000. At the 30° incidence angle, both triangular
compared for 0° orientation in Fig. 10. The RSM-BSL
Heat transfer rate at 30° incidence Heat transfer rate at 90° incidence
Circle Circle
Ellipse Ellipse
Hexagon Hexagon
Square Square
102 Triangle 102 Triangle
NuD
NuD

101 101

100 100
102 103 104 102 103 104
ReD ReD

Fig. 12  Comparison of Nusselt number of various shapes at 30° angle Fig. 14  Comparison of Nusselt number of various shapes at 90° angle
of incidence of incidence

13

2048 M. M. Janjua et al.

Fig. 15  Temperature variation Static temperature

325.0
around an isothermal circular
cylinder at 30,000 Reynolds 319.9
number
314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

and square cross sections have higher Nusselt numbers
compared to other cross section over the range of Reynolds
number from 100 to 40,000. At the 60° incidence angle,
triangular cross section has the highest Nusselt number
over the range of Reynolds number from 100 to 40,000. At
90° incidence angle, the square cross section has greater
Nusselt number at high Reynolds numbers of up to 40,000.
Temperature distribution in Figs. 15–19 across various
orientations at 30,000 Reynolds number is presented to
show how temperature is varying in the flow field for
isothermal cylinders.

Fig. 16  Temperature variation Static temperature

325.0
around an isothermal elliptical
cylinder for various orientations 319.9

(0°, 30°, 60° and 90°) at 30,000

Reynolds number
314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]
Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]
Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

13
Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections 2049

Fig. 17  Temperature variation Static temperature

325.0
around an isothermal square
cylinder for various orientations 319.9
(0°, 30° and 60°) at 30,000
Reynolds number 314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]
Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

Fig. 18  Temperature variation Static temperature

325.0
around an isothermal hexagonal
cylinder for various orientations 319.9

(0° and 30°) at 30,000 Reynolds

number 314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

13

2050 M. M. Janjua et al.

Fig. 19  Temperature variation Static temperature

325.0
around an isothermal triangular
cylinder for various orientations 319.9
(0°, 30° and 60°) at 30,000
Reynolds number 314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]
Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

Static temperature
325.0

319.9

314.9

309.9

304.9

299.9
[K]

Table 3  Correlation equations Shape Orientation Correlation equations R2

for Nusselt number versus
Reynolds number Correlation equations for Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes and orientations
Equations are valid for Reynolds number in the range from 100 to 40,000 and Pr = 0.71
Circle 0°, 30°, 60°, 90° −4E−08Re2 + 0.0053Re + 10.129 0.9955
Ellipse 0° −4E−08Re2 + 0.005Re + 11.639 0.9938
2
30° −4E−08Re  + 0.005Re + 11.663 0.9930
60° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0059Re + 11.471 0.9945
90° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0059Re + 11.576 0.9946
Square 0°, 90° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0063Re + 8.7641 0.9962
30° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0059Re + 10.342 0.9961
60° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0055Re + 10.787 0.9953
Hexagon 0°, 60° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0055Re + 9.0685 0.9966
30°, 90° −4E−08Re2 + 0.0054Re + 9.1333 0.9983
2
Triangle 0° −6E−08Re  + 0.0061Re + 12.086 0.9929
30°, 90° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0059Re + 9.1855 0.9962
60° −5E−08Re2 + 0.0059Re + 11.471 0.9945

13
Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections 2051

Table 4  Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes Table 6  Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes
at 0° at 60°
Reynolds # Circle Ellipse Hexagon Square Triangle Reynolds # Circle Ellipse Hexagon Square Triangle

Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes at 0°, Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes at 60°,
Pr = 0.71 Pr = 0.71
100 5.53 6.23 5.38 5.024 6.05 100 5.53 6.07 5.38 5.61 4.78
200 7.71 8.42 7.36 6.49 8.61 200 7.71 8.44 7.30 7.59 6.43
500 11.98 12.98 10.76 9.85 13.81 500 11.98 13.20 10.76 12.31 11.42
1000 16.69 18.24 15.58 15.37 19.68 1000 16.69 18.78 15.59 18.35 16.34
2000 23.76 25.61 22.81 23.73 27.83 2000 23.76 26.83 22.81 25.76 23.77
5000 38.07 40.46 37.26 44.03 46.52 5000 38.07 44.23 37.27 42.30 41.91
8000 53.03 51.96 52.26 60.19 61.08 8000 53.03 59.09 52.267 55.50 57.18
10,000 61.04 59.24 62.22 70.08 69.55 10,000 61.04 67.43 62.22 63.49 67.01
15,000 79.01 75.69 79.68 90.77 88.12 15,000 79.01 86.93 79.67 82.70 88.46
20,000 94.16 90.89 94.01 110.98 104.33 20,000 94.16 103.99 94.01 100.74 106.80
30,000 123.84 120.38 126.28 148.17 132.88 30,000 123.84 134.23 126.28 133.14 141.78
40,000 152.09 146.56 150.13 184.17 158.44 40,000 152.09 163.01 150.13 162.76 173.76

Table 5  Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes Table 7  Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes
at 30° at 90°

Reynolds # Circle Ellipse Hexagon Square Triangle Reynolds # Circle Ellipse Hexagon Square Triangle

Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes at 30°, Nusselt number versus Reynolds number for various shapes at 90°,
Pr = 0.71 Pr = 0.71
100 5.53 6.02 5.44 5.43 5.058 100 5.53 6.12 5.44 5.02 6.05
200 7.71 8.32 7.61 7.52 6.67 200 7.71 8.62 7.61 6.49 8.61
500 11.98 12.88 11.90 12.06 10.52 500 11.98 13.34 11.91 9.85 13.80
1000 16.69 18.19 16.57 17.97 15.78 1000 16.69 18.74 16.57 15.37 19.68
2000 23.76 25.33 23.32 25.92 23.55 2000 23.76 26.9 23.32 23.73 27.83
5000 38.07 41.09 37.98 42.84 42.68 5000 38.07 45.94 37.98 44.03 46.52
8000 53.03 53.50 50.37 57.36 57.69 8000 53.03 59.34 50.37 60.19 61.08
10,000 61.04 60.87 59.18 66.23 66.23 10,000 61.04 66.68 59.18 70.08 69.55
15,000 79.01 77.89 81.22 87.06 87.09 15,000 79.01 90.22 81.22 90.77 88.12
20,000 94.16 93.08 100.25 106.74 106.39 20,000 94.16 107.76 100.25 110.98 104.33
30,000 123.84 122.21 135.33 140.99 139.92 30,000 123.84 138.90 135.33 148.17 132.87
40,000 152.09 153.23 162.35 173.84 175.68 40,000 152.09 173.31 162.35 184.17 158.44

values have been computed as well to show the quality of the

Correlation equations obtained for various
orientations
Correlation equations for Nusselt number versus Reynolds
number are obtained using 12 data points for various
cross sections with varying orientations as shown in
Table 3. Polynomial equations have been used to define the
correlation equations, and R2 (coefficient of determination)
regression analysis, where a value close to 1 for R2 means
that the curve obtained by correlation equations passes
through all data points and a value close to 0 shows that the
curve misses most of the data points. The R2 values obtained
are close to 1 and predict accurately the intermediate values
of Nusselt number over a range of Reynolds number from
100 to 40,000. Nusselt numbers obtained using RSM-
BSL model for various Reynolds numbers for different
cross sections with varying orientation are presented in
Tables 4–7.

13

2052 M. M. Janjua et al.

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