Momentum and heat transfer from an asymmetrically confined circular cylinder in a plane channel

Unsteady momentum and heat transfer from an asymmetrically confined circular cylinder in a plane channel is numerically investigated using FLUENT for the ranges of Reynolds numbers as 10 <= Re <= 500, of the blockage ratio as 0.1 <= beta <= 0.4, and of the gap ratio as 0.125 <= gamma <= 1 for a constant value of the Prandtl number of 0.744. The transition of the flow from steady to unsteady (characterized by critical Re) is determined as a function of gamma and beta. The effect of gamma on the mean drag ((C) over bar (D)) and lift ((C) over bar (L)) coefficients, Strouhal number (St), and Nusselt number (Nu(w)) is studied. Critical Re was found to increase with decreasing gamma for all values of beta. (C) over bar (D) and St were found to increase with decreasing values of gamma for fixed beta and Re. The effect of decrease in gamma on (Nu) over bar (w) was found to be negligible for all blockage ratios investigated.