Three-dimensional numerical study of flow and heat transfer from a cube placed in a uniform flow

The fluid flow and heat transfer from a stationary cube placed in a uniform flow is studied numerically. The three-dimensional unsteady Navier Stokes and energy equations are solved using higher order temporal and spatial discretizations. Computations are carried out for a Reynolds number range of 50–400. At Re = 218, the symmetry seen at Re = 216 breaks down in one of the orthogonal planes while remains symmetric on the other thus showing a planar symmetry. The flow experiences a Hopf bifurcation at a Reynolds number between 265 and 270 and becomes unsteady. The thermal field also shows all the transitions same as those of flow transitions. The drag coefficient decreases while the heat transfer shows an increasing trend with Reynolds number. The transition from a steady to an unsteady flow does not show any significant increase in the heat transfer. Both the flow and thermal fields show multiple frequencies at high Reynolds number and the number of frequencies increases with the increase in Reynolds number. The instantaneous flow and temperature field are seen to deviate from planar symmetry at Re = 400.