Effect of thermal radiation on natural convection over cylinders of elliptic cross-section (Q1271634)

We investigate the effect of conduction-radiation on natural convection flow of an optically dense viscous incompressible fluid along an isothermal cylinder of elliptic cross-section. The boundary layer equations governing the flow are shown to be nonsimilar, thus we obtain the full numerical solutions of the governing equations by using the implicit finite difference method. The solutions are expressed in terms of the Nusselt number Nu against the eccentric angle \(\alpha\) in the range \([0,\pi]\). From the analysis it is found that the rate of heat transfer from the slender body is higher than from the blunt body and that these higher values become even higher due to an increase in the radiation in the flow field.