Analysis of Non-Newtonian Fluid Flowing Around Two Horizontal Cylinders in Tandem Arrangement by Finite Element Methods

The steady state laminar flow of a power-law non-Newtonian fluid from two cylinders in a tandem arrangement is analyzed by finite element methods. The computational strategy is first investigated by solving a simple flow system and the computational results are compared with previous published data. The present study involves the effects of Reynolds number, power index of non-Newtonian fluid to the position of separating point, the location and size of vorticity, the skin friction coefficient, Cf, the pressure coefficient, P and the total drag coefficient, CD. The understanding of the flow system is practically useful in the engineering design of heat exchanger or polymer processing.