Natural Convection From a Horizontal Cylinder—Turbulent Regime

A two-equation model has been adopted in obtaining numerical solutions of turbulent natural convection from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder. The k-ε model employed in this study characterizes turbulence through the kinetic energy and its volumetric rate of dissipation. The transport equations for these two variables, along with those for time-averaged stream function, vorticity, and temperature, form a closed set of five coupled partial differential equations. These equations are solved for the entire flow domain, without boundary layer approximations. Buoyancy effects on the turbulence structure are also accounted for. Results are presented for a Rayleigh number range of 5×10⁷ to 10¹⁰ and the average Nusselt numbers are compared with existing correlations and limited available experimental data.