Abstract
Heat transfer from relatively short vertical isothermal cylinders in a horizontal forced fluid flow has been considered. The flow conditions are such that the buoyancy forces resulting from the temperature differences in the flow are in general significant despite of the presence of a horizontal forced flow of air, that is, mixed convective flow exists. Because the cylinders are short and the buoyancy forces act normal to the forced flow, three-dimensional flow exists. The experiments were performed in a low velocity, open jet wind tunnel. The study involved the experimental determination of the mean heat transfer coefficient and a comparison of the results with a previous numerical analysis. Mean heat transfer rates were determined using the ‘lumped capacity’ method. The mean Nusselt number has the Reynolds number, Grashof number and the height to diameter ratio of the cylinders as parameters. The results have been used to determine the conditions under which the flow departs from purely forced convection and enters the mixed convection regime, i.e., determining the conditions for which the buoyancy effects should be included in convective heat transfer calculations for short cylinders.