Numerical simulations of solidification around two tandemly-arranged circular cylinders under forced convection

This paper presents a parametric numerical investigation of solidification around two cooled cylinders placed in tandem under forced convection. The front-tracking/finite difference method is used together with an interpolation technique for solving the phase change process. Evolution of the solidifying interface is followed by the front-tracking, and the interpolation handles the presence of the solid phase and the no-slip and constant isothermal boundary conditions. The effects of various non-dimensional parameters on the evolution of the solid phase such as the Reynolds number Re, the Stefan number St, the dimensionless temperature of the inflowing liquid theta(0), the ratios of the thermal properties k(sl) and C-psl and the distance between two cylinders L are studied. The computational results show that the solidified region expands with an increase in k(sl) or L, or with a decrease in any one of Re, Pr, theta(0). However, St and C-psl have a minor effect on the final form of the solid phase. The effect of density difference between the solid and liquid phases, and results in the case of side-by-side arrangement are also presented. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.