Numerical Study of MHD Flow Past a Circular Cylinder at Low and Moderate Reynolds Numbers

The steady magneto- hydrodynamic (MHD) flow of an incompressible fluid past a circular cylinder with an aligned magnetic field is studied for the Reynolds number Re, up to 100, using the Hartmann number, M, as the perturbation parameter. The multigrid method with defect correction technique is used to achieve the second order accurate solution. The magnetic Reynolds number is assumed to be small. It is observed that volume of the separation bubble decreases and drag coefficient increases as M is increased. The graphs of streamlines, vorticity lines, drag coefficient, surface pressure, velocity fields and surface vorticity are presented and effect of magnetic field discussed.