The flow characteristics and the local heat transfer by forced convection for a heated circular cylinder are investigated experimentally at four Reynolds numbers from 16285 to 65140 in a low speed wind tunnel. Three cylinders, made of Aluminum, Brass and Stainless Steel were tested. The pressure distribution on the surface was obtained along with the temperature distribution at a number of locations. The wake region was explored to gain an understanding of the flow pattern on the back of the cylinder. An innovative technique of accounting for all the heat input was employed in this investigation. The heat transfer by forced convection is found to be higher near the stagnation point and near the base of the cylinder due to zero thickness of the boundary layer and intense mixing in the separated flow region respectively. The values of Nusselt number obtained from the heat loss recorded at different circumferential locations, and averaged over the values for the three cylinders, are compared with the values calculated from the empirical correlations proposed by previous investigators.
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