Convection Heat Transfer

Reading Problems
12-1 12-8 12-41, 12-46, 12-53, 12-57, 12-76, 12-81
13-1 13-6 13-39, 13-47, 13-59
14-1 14-4 14-24, 14-29, 14-47, 14-60
Introduction
convection heat transfer is the transport mechanism made possible through the motion of
uid
the controlling equation for convection is Newtons Law of Cooling

Q
conv
=
T
R
conv
= hA(T
w
T

) R
conv
=
1
hA
where
A = total convective area, m
2
h = heat transfer coefcient, W/(m
2
K)
1
T
w
= surface temperature,

C
T

= uid temperature,

C
Factors Affecting Convective Heat Transfer
Geometry: at plate, circular cylinder, sphere, spheroids plus many other shapes. In addi-
tion to the general shape, size, aspect ratio (thin or thick) and orientation (vertical or
horizontal) play a signicant role in convective heat transfer.
Type of ow: forced, natural, mixed convection as well as laminar, turbulent and transi-
tional ows. These ows can also be considered as developing, fully developed, steady
or transient.
Boundary condition: (i) isothermal wall (T
w
= constant) or
(ii) isoux wall ( q
w
= constant)
Type of uid: viscous oil, water, gases (air) or liquid metals.
Fluid properties: symbols and units
mass density : , (kg/m
3
)
specic heat capacity : C
p
, (J/kg K)
dynamic viscosity : , (N s/m
2
)
kinematic viscosity : , / (m
2
/s)
thermal conductivity : k, (W/m K)
thermal diffusivity : , k/( C
p
) (m
2
/s)
Prandtl number : Pr, / ()
volumetric compressibility : , (1/K)
All properties are temperature dependent and are usually determined at the lm tem-
perature, T
f
= (T
w
+T

)/2
External Flow: the ow engulfs the body with which it interacts thermally
Internal Flow: the heat transfer surface surrounds and guides the convective stream
Forced Convection: ow is induced by an external source such as a pump, compressor, fan, etc.
2
Natural Convection: ow is induced by natural means without the assistance of an external
mechanism. The ow is initiated by a change in the density of uids incurred as a result
of heating.
Mixed Convection: combined forced and natural convection
Dimensionless Groups
In the study and analysis of convection processes it is common practice to reduce the total number
of functional variables by forming dimensionless groups consisting of relevant thermophysical
properties, geometry, boundary and ow conditions.
Prandtl number: Pr = / where 0 < Pr < (Pr 0 for liquid metals and Pr
for viscous oils). A measure of ratio between the diffusion of momentum to the diffusion
of heat.
Reynolds number: Re = UL/ UL/ (forced convection). A measure of the balance
between the inertial forces and the viscous forces.
Peclet number: Pe = UL/ RePr
Grashof number: Gr = g(T
w
T
f
)L
3
/
2
(natural convection)
Rayleigh number: Ra = g(T
w
T
f
)L
3
/( ) GrPr
Nusselt number: Nu = hL/k
f
This can be considered as the dimensionless heat transfer
coefcient.
Stanton number: St = h/(UC
p
) Nu/(RePr)
Forced Convection
The simplest forced convection conguration to consider is the ow of mass and heat near a at
plate as shown below.
as Reynolds number increases the ow has a tendency to become more chaotic resulting in
disordered motion known as turbulent ow
transition from laminar to turbulent is called the critical Reynolds number, Re
cr
Re
cr
=
U

x
cr

3
for ow over a at plate Re
cr
500, 000
the thin layer immediately adjacent to the wall where viscous effects dominate is known as
the laminar sublayer
Boundary Layers
Velocity Boundary Layer
the region of uid ow over the plate where viscous effects dominate is called the velocity
or hydrodynamic boundary layer
Thermal Boundary Layer
the thermal boundary layer is arbitrarily selected as the locus of points where
T T
w
T

T
w
= 0.99
4
Flow Over Plates
1. Laminar Boundary Layer Flow, Isothermal (UWT)
The local values of the skin friction and the Nusselt number are given as
C
f,x
=
0.664
Re
1/2
x
Nu
x
= 0.332 Re
1/2
x
Pr
1/3
local, laminar, UWT, Pr 0.6
Nu
L
=
h
L
L
k
f
= 0.664 Re
1/2
L
Pr
1/3
average, laminar, UWT, Pr 0.6
For low Prandtl numbers, i.e. liquid metals
Nu
x
= 0.565 Re
1/2
x
Pr
1/2
local, laminar, UWT, Pr 0.6
2. Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow, Isothermal (UWT)
C
f,x
=

w
(1/2)U
2

=
0.0592
Re
0.2
x
local, turbulent, UWT, Pr 0.6
Nu
x
= 0.0296 Re
0.8
x
Pr
1/3

local, turbulent, UWT,

0.6 < Pr < 100, Re
x
> 500, 000
5
Nu
L
= 0.037 Re
0.8
L
Pr
1/3

average, turbulent, UWT,

0.6 < Pr < 100, Re
x
> 500, 000
3. Combined Laminar and Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow, Isothermal (UWT)
Nu
L
=
h
L
L
k
= (0.037 Re
0.8
L
871) Pr
1/3

average, combined, UWT,

0.6 < Pr < 60,
500, 000 Re
L
> 10
7
4. Laminar Boundary Layer Flow, Isoux (UWF)
Nu
x
= 0.453 Re
1/2
x
Pr
1/3
local, laminar, UWF, Pr 0.6
5. Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow, Isoux (UWF)
Nu
x
= 0.0308 Re
4/5
x
Pr
1/3
local, turbulent, UWF, Pr 0.6
Flow Over Cylinders and Spheres
1. Boundary Layer Flow Over Circular Cylinders, Isothermal (UWT)
The Churchill-Berstein (1977) correlation for the average Nusselt number for long (L/D > 100)
cylinders is
Nu
D
= S

D
+f(Pr) Re
1/2
D
_
_
1 +
_
Re
D
282, 000
_
5/8
_
_
4/5

average, UWT, Re < 10

7
0 Pr , Re Pr > 0.2
where S

D
is the diffusive term associated with Re
D
0 and is given as
S

D
= 0.3
and the Prandtl number function is
f(Pr) =
0.62 Pr
1/3
[1 + (0.4/Pr)
2/3
]
1/4
6
All uid properties are evaluated at T
f
= (T
w
+T

)/2.
2. Boundary Layer Flow Over Non-Circular Cylinders, Isothermal (UWT)
The empirical formulations of Zhukauskas and Jakob given in Table 12-3 are commonly used,
where
Nu
D

hD
k
= C Re
m
D
Pr
1/3
see Table 12-3 for conditions
3. Boundary Layer Flow Over a Sphere, Isothermal (UWT)
For ow over an isothermal sphere of diameter D
Nu
D
= S

D
+
_
0.4 Re
1/2
D
+ 0.06 Re
2/3
D
_
Pr
0.4
_

w
_
1/4

average, UWT,
0.7 Pr 380
3.5 < Re
D
< 80, 000
where the diffusive term at Re
D
0 is
S

D
= 2
and the dynamic viscosity of the uid in the bulk ow,

is based on T

and the dynamic

viscosity of the uid at the surface,
w
, is based on T
w
. All other properties are based on T

.
7
Internal Flow
The Reynolds number is given as
Re
D
=
U
m
D

For ow in a tube:
Re
D
< 2300 laminar ow
2300 < Re
D
< 4000 transition to turbulent ow
Re
D
> 4000 turbulent ow
Hydrodynamic (Velocity) Boundary Layer
the hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness can be approximated as
(x) 5x
_
U
m
x

_
1/2
=
5x

Re
x
the hydrodynamic entry length can be approximated as
L
h
0.05Re
D
D (laminar ow)
8
Thermal Boundary Layer
the thermal entry length can be approximated as
L
t
0.05Re
D
PrD (laminar ow)
for turbulent ow L
h
L
t
10D
Wall Boundary Conditions
1. Uniform Wall Heat Flux: Since the wall ux q
w
is uniform, the local mean temperature de-
noted as
T
m,x
= T
m,i
+
q
w
A
mC
p
will increase in a linear manner with respect to x.
The surface temperature can be determined from
T
w
= T
m
+
q
w
h
9
2. Isothermal Wall: The outlet temperature of the tube is
T
out
= T
w
(T
w
T
in
) exp[hA/( mC
p
)]
Because of the exponential temperature decay within the tube, it is common to present the
mean temperature from inlet to outlet as a log mean temperature difference where

Q = hAT
ln
T
ln
=
T
out
T
in
ln
_
T
w
T
out
T
w
T
in
_
=
T
out
T
in
ln(T
out
/T
in
)
10
1. Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes, Isothermal (UWT) and Isoux (UWF)
For laminar ow where Re
D
2300
Nu
D
= 3.66 fully developed, laminar, UWT, L > L
t
&L
h
Nu
D
= 4.36 fully developed, laminar, UWF, L > L
t
&L
h
Nu
D
= 1.86
_
Re
D
PrD
L
_
1/3
_

w
_
0.14

developing laminar ow, UWT,

Pr > 0.5
L < L
h
or L < L
t
In all cases the uid properties are evaluated at the mean uid temperature given as
T
mean
=
1
2
(T
m,in
+T
m,out
)
except for
w
which is evaluated at the wall temperature, T
w
.
2. Turbulent Flow in Circular Tubes, Isothermal (UWT) and Isoux (UWF)
For turbulent ow where Re
D
2300 the Dittus-Bouler equation (Eq. 13-68) can be used
Nu
D
= 0.023 Re
0.8
D
Pr
n

turbulent ow, UWT or UWF,

0.7 Pr 160
Re
D
> 2, 300
n = 0.4 heating
n = 0.3 cooling
For non-circular tubes, again we can use the hydraulic diameter, D
h
= 4A
c
/P to determine both
the Reynolds and the Nusselt numbers.
In all cases the uid properties are evaluated at the mean uid temperature given as
T
mean
=
1
2
(T
m,in
+T
m,out
)
11
Natural Convection
What Drives Natural Convection?
uid ow is driven by the effects of buoyancy
uids tend to expand when heated and contract when cooled at constant pressure
therefore a uid layer adjacent to a surface will become lighter if heated and heavier if cooled
by the surface
Recall from forced convection that the ow behavior is determined by the Reynolds number. In
natural convection, we do not have a Reynolds number but we have an analogous dimensionless
group called the Grashof number
Gr =
buouancy force
viscous force
=
g(T
w
T

)L
3

2
where
g = gravitational acceleration, m/s
2
12
= volumetric expansion coefcient, 1/T
T
w
= wall temperature, K
T

= ambient temperature, K
L = characteristic length, m
= kinematic viscosity, m
2
/s
The volumetric expansion coefcient, , is used to express the variation of density of the uid with
respect to temperature and is given as
=
1

T
_
P
Natural Convection Over Surfaces
the velocity and temperature proles within a boundary layer formed on a vertical plate in a
stationary uid looks as follows:
13
note that unlike forced convection, the velocity at the edge of the boundary layer goes to zero
Natural Convection Heat Transfer Correlations
The general form of the Nusselt number for natural convection is as follows:
Nu = f(Gr, Pr) CGr
m
Pr
n
where Ra = Gr Pr
1. Laminar Flow Over a Vertical Plate, Isothermal (UWT)
The general form of the Nusselt number is given as
Nu
L
=
hL
k
f
= C
_
_
_
_
_
g(T
w
T

)L
3

2
. .
Gr
_
_
_
_
_
1/4
_
_
_
_
_

..
Pr
_
_
_
_
_
1/4
= C Gr
1/4
L
Pr
1/4
. .
Ra
1/4
where
Ra
L
= Gr
L
Pr =
g(T
w
T

)L
3

2. Laminar Flow Over a Long Horizontal Circular Cylinder, Isothermal (UWT)

The general boundary layer correlation is
Nu
D
=
hD
k
f
= C
_
_
_
_
_
g(T
w
T

)D
3

2
. .
Gr
_
_
_
_
_
1/4
_
_
_
_
_

..
Pr
_
_
_
_
_
1/4
= C Gr
1/4
D
Pr
1/4
. .
Ra
1/4
D
where
Ra
D
= Gr
D
Pr =
g(T
w
T

)L
3

All uid properties are evaluated at the lm temperature, T

f
= (T
w
+T

)/2.
14
Natural Convection From Plate Fin Heat Sinks
Plate n heat sinks are often used in natural convection to increase the heat transfer surface area
and in turn reduce the boundary layer resistance
R =
1
hA
For a given baseplate area, W L, two factors must be considered in the selection of the number
of ns
more ns results in added surface area and reduced boundary layer resistance,
R =
1
hA
more ns results in a decrease n spacing, S and in turn a decrease in the heat transfer
coefcient
R =
1
h A
A basic optimization of the n spacing can be obtained as follows:

Q = hA(T
w
T

)
15
where the ns are assumed to be isothermal and the surface area is 2nHL, with the area of the n
edges ignored.
For isothermal ns with t < S
S
opt
= 2.714
_
S
3
L
Ra
S
_
1/4
= 2.714
_
L
Ra
1/4
L
_
with
Ra
L
=
g(T
w
T

)L
3

2
Pr
The corresponding value of the heat transfer coefcient is
h = 1.307k/S
opt
All uid properties are evaluated at the lm temperature.
16