ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No.

2, July–December, 2012

Conjugate Free Convection from a Horizontal Isothermal Circular

Cylinder with Heat generation
NHM A Azim*
Monjur Morshed**
M. K. Chowdhury***
Abstract
This work is focused on the study of the conjugate free convection from a horizontal circular
cylinder in presence of heat generation. The equations which govern the flow and the associated
boundary conditions are made dimensionless using a suitable transformation. The
dimensionless governing equations are then solved using the implicit finite difference method
with Keller box-scheme. The numerical values of the shear stress in terms of the skin friction
coefficients and the rate of heat transfer in terms of Nusselt Number are found for different
values of the conjugate conduction parameter, heat generation parameter and Prandtl number.
It is revealed that conduction inside the cylinder reduces the skin friction and heat transfer rate.
It is also observed that there is a significant influence of heat generation on the flow field.

Keywords: Conjugate free convection, Heat generation, Horizontal cylinder, Finite difference
method.

Introduction

The conduction inside the solid and the convection flow along the solid surface has a significant
importance in many practical application and known as conjugate heat transfer. The study of heat
generation in moving fluids is important specially those dealing with chemical reaction. Possible
heat generation effects may modify temperature distribution and, therefore, the particle deposition
rate. Consequently, the conduction and heat generation in the solid body and the convection in the
fluid should have to determine simultaneously.

The free convection boundary layer on an isothermal horizontal cylinder are analyzed by Merkin
[1, 2]. Kuehn and Goldstein [3] determined numerical solution to the Navier-Stokes equations for
laminar natural convection about a horizontal isothermal circular cylinder. Wang et al. [4]
investigated numerical computation of natural convection flow about a horizontal cylinder using
splines. Conjugate problems of natural convection were studied by Gdalevich and Fertman [5].
Miyamoto et al. [6] analysed the effects of axial heat conduction in a vertical flat plate on free
convection heat transfer. Pozzi and Lupo [7] investigated the entire thermo-fluid-dynamic (TFD)
field resulting from the coupling of natural convection along and conduction inside a heated flat

*
Assistant Professor, School of Business Studies, Southeast University, Bangladesh
**
Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, ASA University Bangladesh
***
Professor, Department of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
146 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012

plate by means of two expansions, regular series and asymptotic expansions. Kimura and Pop [8]
analysed conjugate natural convection from a horizontal circular cylinder. The heat transfer in a
laminar boundary layer flow of a viscous fluid over a linearly stretching continuous surface with
viscous dissipation/frictional heating and internal heat generation was analyzed by Vajravelu and
Hadjinicolaou [9]. They considered the volumetric rate of heat generation, q ¢¢¢ [W/m3],
as q¢¢¢ = Q0 (T f - T¥ ), for T f ³ T¥ and q ¢¢¢ = 0, for T f < T¥ . Where Q0 is the heat generation constant.
The above relation is valid for the state of some exothermic processes having T¥ as onset
temperature. Natural convection flow from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder in presence
of heat generation was studied by Molla et al. [10]. Mamun et al. [11] investigated MHD-
conjugate heat transfer analysis for a vertical flat plate in presence of viscous dissipation and heat
generation. Recently, Azim et al. [12] studied viscous Joule heating MHD–conjugate heat transfer
for a vertical flat plate in the presence of heat generation. A cross section of a horizontal circular
cylinder is considered in the current model which is a very simple and useful structure and
frequently used to design a heat exchanger or in a heat pipe. In a heat exchanger thermal energy
moves from hot fluid to a surface by convection, through the wall by conduction. In this study,
the conjugate free convection flow with heat generation from an isothermal circular cylinder has
been investigated.

Mathematical Analysis

Let us consider a steady natural convection flow of a viscous incompressible fluid from an
isothermal horizontal circular cylinder of radius a placed in a fluid of uniform temperature T¥ .

Fig. 1: Physical Model and coordinate system

The cylinder has a heated core region of temperature Tb and the normal distance from inner
surface to the outer surface is b with Tb > T¥ . The x -axis is taken along the circumference of the
cylinder and the y -axis is taken normal to the surface. The equations governing this boundary-
layer natural convection flow can be written as:
Conjugate Free Convection from a Horizontal Isothermal Circular 147

¶u ¶v
+ =0 (1)
¶x ¶ y
¶u ¶u ¶2 u æ xö
u +v =n + gb (T f - T¥ )sin ç ÷
ça÷
¶x ¶y
2
¶y è ø
(2)
¶T f ¶T f k f ¶ 2T f
+ 0 (T f - T¥ )
Q
u +v =
¶x ¶ y r cp ¶ y r cp
2

(3)
The physical situation of the system suggests the following boundary conditions:
u = v = 0, T f = T ( x, 0) ü
ï
ý on y = 0, x > 0
( )(
¶T f / ¶ y = k s T f - Tb / bk f ïþ )
u ® 0, T f ® T¥ as y ® ¥, x > 0
(4)
The governing equations (1)-(3) and the boundary conditions (4) can be made non-dimensional,
using the Grashof number Gr = [ gb a 3 (Tb - T¥ )] / n 2 which is assumed large and the following
non-dimensional variables:
x = x / a, y = yGr 1 / 4 / a, u = u aGr - 1 / 2 / n ,
v = vaGr - 1 / 4 / n , q = (T f - T¥ ) / (Tb - T¥ )
(5)
Where q is the dimensionless temperature. The non dimensional forms of the governing
equations (1)-(3) are as follows:
¶ u ¶v
+ =0
¶x ¶y
(6)
¶u ¶u ¶ 2 u
u +v = + q sin x
¶x ¶y ¶y 2
148 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012

(7)
¶q ¶q 1 ¶ 2q
u +v = + Qq
¶x ¶y Pr ¶y 2
(8)
Where Q = (Q0 a 2 )/ (n r c p Gr 1 / 2 ) is the heat generation parameter and Pr = (mc p ) / (k f ) is the
Prandtl number.

The boundary condition (4) can be written as in the following dimensionless form:
u = v = 0, q - 1 = p.¶q / ¶ y , on y = 0, x > 0
u ® 0, q ® 0 as y ® ¥, x > 0
(9)

(
Where p = bk f Gr
1/ 4
)/(ak ) is the conjugate conduction parameter. The present problem is
s
governed by the magnitude of heat generation parameter Q and conjugate conduction parameter
p. The values of p depends on the ratios of b / a and k f / k s and Grashof number Gr. The ratios
b / a and k f / k s are less than unity where as Gr is large for free convection. Therefore the value
of p is greater than zero.

To solve equation (6)-(8), subject to the boundary condition (9), we assume following
transformations:
y = x f (x , y ) , q = q ( x, y )
(10)
Where q is the dimensionless temperature and y is the stream function usually defined as:
u = ¶y / ¶y and v = -¶ y / ¶x
(11)

Substituting (11) in the equations (6)-(9), new forms of dimensionless equations (7) and (8) are:
sin x æ ¶f ¢ ¶f ö
f ¢¢¢ + ff ¢¢ - f ¢2 + q = xç f ¢ - f ¢¢ ÷
x è ¶x ¶x ø
(12)
1 æ ¶q ¶f ö
q ¢¢ + fq ¢ = xç f ¢ -q ¢ ÷
Pr è ¶x ¶x ø
Conjugate Free Convection from a Horizontal Isothermal Circular 149

(13)
The corresponding boundary conditions as mentioned in equation (9) take the following form:
f = f ¢ = 0, q - 1 = p.¶q / ¶ y at y = 0, x > 0
f ¢ ® 0, q ® 0 as y ® ¥ , x > 0
(14)
The shearing stress and the rate of heat transfer in terms of skin friction coefficient and Nusselt
number respectively can be written as:
C f Gr1 / 4 = x f ¢¢( x,0) , Nu Gr -1 / 4 = -q ( x,0)
(15)
The results of the velocity profiles and temperature distributions can be calculated by the
following relations:
u = f ¢( x, y ) , q = q ( x, y )
(16)

Method of Solution

Equations (12) and (13) are solved numerically based on the boundary conditions as described in
equation (14) using one of the most efficient and accurate methods known as implicit finite
difference method [13] with Keller box scheme [14]. The computation employs 181 nodal points
in the x direction and 301 nodal points is the y direction. Since the boundary layer thickness
changes more rapidly near the leading edge, more attention was given to this area of the domain.
The computations are performed using a uniform grid in the x direction and a non uniform grid in
the y direction. The non-uniform grid is defined by y j = sinh (( j - 1) / m ) , with j = 1,2,. . . ,301
and m = 100. For a given value of x, the iterative procedure is stopped when the difference in
computing the velocity in the next iteration is less than 10 -4 , i.e. when df i £ 10 -4 , where the
superscript denotes the iteration number.

Results and Discussion

Heat transfer process due to conjugate free convection from an isothermal horizontal circular
cylinder is the main interest of the study. The Prandtl numbers are considered to be 1.63, 1.44, 1.0
and 0.733 for the simulation that correspond to Glycerin, water, steam and hydrogen,
respectively. The remaining parameters are taken as follows: heat generation parameter Q=0.01-
0.30 and the conjugate conduction parameter p=0.75-2.00.

A comparison of the local Nusselt number and the local skin friction factor obtained in the
present work with Q=0.0, p = 0.0 and Pr = 1.0 and obtained by Merkin [1] and Molla et al.[10]
have been shown in table 1. It is clear from the table that there is an excellent agreement among
these three results.
150 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012

Table 1: Numerical values of - q ¢(x,0) and x f ¢¢(x,0) for different values of x while Pr=1.0, Q=0.0 and p = 0.0.
Nu Gr -1/ 4 = - q ¢(x,0) C f Gr1 / 4 = x f ¢¢(x,0)
x Merkin [1] Molla et al. [10] Present Merkin [1] Molla et al. [10] Present
0.0 0.4214 0.4214 0.4216 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
p/6 0.4161 0.4161 0.4163 0.4151 0.4145 0.4139
p/3 0.4007 0.4005 0.4006 0.7558 0.7539 0.7528
p/2 0.3745 0.3740 0.3741 0.9579 0.9541 0.9526
2p/3 0.3364 0.3355 0.3355 0.9756 0.9696 0.9678
5p/6 0.2825 0.2812 0.2811 0.7822 0.7739 0.7718
p 0.1945 0.1917 0.1912 0.3391 0.3264 0.3239

Fig.2 represents the skin friction coefficient and heat transfer rate for different values of heat
generation parameter while Pr = 1.0 and p=1.0. The increasing values of heat generation parameter
increase thermal energy within the boundary layer which ultimately decrease temperature difference
between the surface and the boundary layer as a result heat transfer decreases for increasing values
of heat generation parameter as observed from fig.2 (b). Increasing temperature within the boundary
layer increases convection of the fluid which increases the skin friction at the surface of the cylinder
which is shown from fig.2 (a).
The variation of the local skin friction coefficient and local rate of heat transfer are depicted in fig.3
for different values of conjugate conduction parameter p with Pr =1.0 and Q =0.01. Increasing value
of conjugate conduction parameter p resists conduction from the core region to the boundary layer
consequently, decelerates convection within the boundary layer. As a result the skin friction at the
surface decreases for increasing value of conjugate conduction parameter p, as observed in figs.3(a).
Since increasing value of conjugate conduction parameter resists conduction from the core region to
the boundary layer as mentioned earlier, it is of course resists thermal energy transfer which is
observed from fig.3(b).

1.0
0.20
Heat transfer, Nu x
Skin friction, Cfx

0.8
0.10
0.6 Q=0.01
Q=0.10 0.00
0.4 Q=0.01
Q=0.20
Q=0.30 Q=0.10
0.2 -0.10
Q=0.20
Q=0.30
0.0 -0.20
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
x 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
x
(a) (b)
Fig.2: (a) Variation of skin friction coefficients and (b) rate of heat transfer against x for varying of Q with Pr = 1.0 and
p =1.0.
Conjugate Free Convection from a Horizontal Isothermal Circular 151

0.8 0.30

Heat transfer, Nu x
Skin friction, Cfx
0.25
0.6
0.20
p=0.75
0.4 0.15
p=1.00 p=0.75
p=1.50 0.10 p=1.00
0.2 p=2.00 p=1.50
0.05 p=2.00

0.0 0.00
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
x x
(a) (b)
Fig.3: (a) Variation of skin friction coefficients and (b) rate of heat transfer against x for varying of p with Pr = 1.0 and
Q = 0.01.

0.30
0.80

Heat transfer, Nu x
0.25
Skin friction, Cfx

0.60 0.20

Pr=0.733 0.15
0.40 Pr=0.733
Pr=1.000
Pr=1.440 0.10 Pr=1.000
0.20 Pr=1.630 Pr=1.440
0.05
Pr=1.630
0.00 0.00
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
x x
(a) (b)
Fig.4: (a) Variation of skin friction coefficients and (b) rate of heat transfer against x for varying of Pr with Q = 0.01
and p = 1.0.

0.50 1.00

0.40 Q=0.01 0.80

Temperature, q

Q=0.10 Q=0.01
Velocity, f '

Q=0.20 0.60 Q=0.10

0.30
Q=0.30 Q=0.20
0.40 Q=0.30
0.20

0.20
0.10
0.00
0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5
0.00 y
0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5
y
(a) (b)
Fig.5: (a) Variation of velocity profiles and (b) temperature distributions against y for varying of Q with Pr =1.0 and p = 1.0.
152 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012

0.40
0.75
p=0.75

Temperature, q
0.30 0.60
p=1.00

Velocity, f '
p=0.75
p=1.50 p=1.00
p=2.00 0.45
0.20 p=1.50
p=2.00
0.30

0.10
0.15

0.00
0.00 0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5
0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 y
y
(a) (b)
Fig.6: (a) Variation of velocity profiles and (b) temperature distributions against y for varying of p with Pr =1.0 and Q = 0.01.

0.40 0.80

Pr=0.733
0.30 0.60

Temperature, q
Pr=1.000
Velocity, f '

Pr=0.733
Pr=1.440 Pr=1.000
0.20 Pr=1.630 0.40 Pr=1.440
Pr=1.630

0.10 0.20

0.00 0.00
0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5
y y
(a) (b)
Fig.7: (a) Variation of velocity profiles and (b) temperature distributions against y for varying of Pr with Q = 0.01 and p = 1.0.

Prandtl number is the ratio of viscous force and thermal force. Thus the increasing value of Pr
increases viscosity and decreases the thermal action of the fluid. Therefore the velocity and
temperature of fluid expected to decrease with the increasing Prandtl number which are observed
in figs. 7(a) and 7(b) respectively. Decreasing velocity of the fluid leads to decrease skin friction
and the decreasing temperature within in the boundary layer increases temperature difference
between core region and outer surface of the cylinder eventually increases rate of heat transfer
from the core region to the boundary layer as depicted in fig.4(a) and 4(b) respectively.

The increasing values of heat generation parameter increase thermal energy within the boundary
layer which ultimately increase convection of the fluid as observed in fig.5(b) and fig.5(b)
respectively. Increasing value of conjugate conduction parameter resists conduction from the core
region to the boundary layer consequently, decelerates convection within the boundary layer as a
result velocity and temperature decrease for increasing values of conjugate conduction parameter
at a particular value of y which are presented in fig.6(a) and fig.6(b) respectively.
Conjugate Free Convection from a Horizontal Isothermal Circular 153

Conclusion

The effects of the heat generation parameter, the conjugate conduction parameter and Prandtl
number on the skin friction and the heat transfer rate are analysed. The skin friction increases and
heat transfer decreases for increasing heat generation parameter while the skin friction decreases
and the rate of heat transfer increases for increasing Prandtl number. On the other hand both the
skin friction and heat transfer rate decrease for the increasing value of conjugate conduction
parameter. Finally, it is found that heat conduction has a significant influence in the rate of heat
transfer within the boundary layer; consequently, it may influence skin friction.

Nomenclature

Symbol Entities Dimension

a : Outer radius of the cylinder [L]
b : Thickness of the cylinder [L]
Cfx : Skin friction coefficient [---]
cp : Specific heat [L2θ-1T-2]
f : Dimensionless stream function [---]
g : Acceleration due to gravity [LT-2]
Nux : Local Nusselt number [---]
p : Conjugate conduction resistant parameter [---]
Pr : Prandtl number [---]
Q : Heat generation parameter [---]
Tf : Temperature at the boundary layer region [θ]
Ts : Temperature of the solid of the cylinder [θ]
Tb : Temperature of the inner cylinder [θ]
T∞ : Temperature of the ambient fluid [θ]
u, v : Velocity components [LT-1]
u ,v : Dimensionless velocity components [---]
x ,y : Cartesian coordinates [L]
x, y : Dimensionless cartesian coordinates [---]

Greek Symbols Entities Dimension

b : Co-efficient of thermal expansion [θ-1]
y : Dimensionless stream function [---]
r : Density of the fluid inside the boundary layer [ML-3]
n : Kinematic viscosity [L2T-1]
m : Viscosity of the fluid [ML-1T-1]
q : Dimensionless temperature [---]
s : Electrical conductivity [MLT-3 θ-1]
Kf : Thermal conductivity of the ambient fluid [MLT-3 θ-1]
Ks : Thermal conductivity of the ambient solid [MLT-3 θ-1]
154 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012

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