A Numerical Investigation of the Convective Heat Transfer in Unsteady Laminar Flow Past a Single and Tandem Pair of Square Cylinders in a Channel

The unsteady laminar flow and heat transfer characteristics from square cylinders located in a channel with a fully developed inlet velocity profile were studied numerically. The time-averaged Nusselt number for each face and the time-averaged cylinder Nusselt number (Nu) were determined, as well as aerodynamic characteristics such as cylinder lift, drag, and eddy-shedding Strouhal number (St) . The results show that the cylinder Nu decreases for both the single and the tandem pair of cylinders as they approach the channel wall. The upstream eddy-promoting cylinder significantly reduces the drag of the downstream cylinder as compared with that of the single cylinder. The St decreases as the wall is approached and is larger for the tandem pair than for the single cylinder for all positions.