The interaction process analysis and results of numerical simulation of a free-convection boundary layer developing around a circular cylinder placed on a vertical heated plate are presented. The cylinder axis is directed normally to the plate. The numerical model is based on the Navier–Stokes and the energy balance equations. The assumed system of equations is solved using the Boussinesq approximation. It is shown that the presence of a three-dimensional obstacle (cylinder) on the plate results in the formation of a complex vortex structure both upstream and downstream of the cylinder. In particular, a horseshoe vortex formed upstream of it is similar to vortex formation that has been observed in forced convection heat transfer by many researchers. In this paper, the tentative results of the study of the complex three-dimensional vortical structure in conditions of free convection and its influence on the heat transfer are presented.

Citation:Yu.S. Chumakov, A.M. Levchenya, H. Malah, The vortex structure formation around a circular cylinder placed on a vertical heated plate, St. Petersburg Polytechnical State University Journal. Physics and Mathematics. 11 (1) (2018) 73 – 85. DOI: 10.18721/JPM.11108