Abstract:
In this work, steady and laminar flow of a viscoplastic fluid past two circular cylinders in a tandem arrangement
has been investigated numerically. The governing differential equations for a Bingham model fluid have been solved
over wide ranges of conditions as: Bingham number (0.01 ≤ Bn ≤ 100), Reynolds number (0.01 ≤ Re ≤ 40) and
Prandtl number (10 ≤ Pr ≤ 100) in order to delineate the influence of each of these parameters on the momentum and
heat transfer characteristics. In addition, the severity of the interactions between the two cylinders was modulated by
varying the center-to-center distance between the two cylinders in the range 2 ≤ G ≤ 10. Detailed results in terms of
the streamlines, isotherm contours, yielded/unyielded regions, shear rate profiles and the local Nusselt number in the
vicinity of cylinders have been discussed here. Further insights are developed in terms of the distribution of velocity
along the lines of symmetry. Finally, the overall behavior is captured in terms of the drag coefficient and average Nusselt
number as functions of the pertinent governing parameters namely, Bn, Re, Pr and G. To facilitate the estimation of
drag and Nusselt number in a new application, the present numerical results have been consolidated in terms of j
factor as well as the Stanton number as functions of the pertinent dimensionless parameters. The present results reveal
a significant impact of interference between the two cylinders, i.e., gap ratio on the detailed flow and thermal patterns
and the overall characteristics
