Laser schlieren measurement of vertical flow past a heated horizontal circular cylinder

Flow past a heated horizontal circular cylinder in the vertically upward direction has been experimentally studied using a monochrome schlieren technique. Both free convection ((Gr)1/3Re)=0 and mixed convection ((Gr)1/3Re)=1011, 1055, 1095 and 1133 cases have been studied. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter is set at 102 for the mixed convection, and four heating levels have been utilized with Grashof numbers of Gr=975, 1105, 1240 and 1370. The temperature distribution of the plume, the Strouhal number and the schlieren images have been reported. The vortex shedding frequency decreases with increasing Grashof number and a complete suppression of vortex shedding takes place at Grashof number of 1370. The wake is seen to become visibly narrow during the suppression of vortex shedding. The nondimensional temperature profile inside the plume is a strong function of Grashof number for free convection in comparison to that of mixed convection.