Hydrodynamics and heat transfer in sphere assemblages - Multisphere cylindrical cell models

In order to evaluate interactions between vaporizing fuel droplets, a cylindrical cell model based on a single sphere has been suggested by the authors in previous works as a replacement for the existing spherical cell model. Since wake effects are important, a multisphere cylindrical cell model has been developed in the present work. The Navier-Stokes and energy equations have been solved numerically within the representative cells for intermediate Reynolds numbers. Using a nonuniform mesh suited for the problem, several spheres in tandem are considered and the importance of wake effects in considerably reducing the drag and Nusselt number in the bulk is discussed. The quasiperiodic features of the hydrodynamic results are indicated and compared favorably with a model assuming periodicity a priori.