CONVECTION

HEAT TRANSFER
 CONVECTION
• Convection is the transfer
of heat by the motion of
liquids and gases.
– Convection in a gas occurs
because gas expands when
heated.
– Convection occurs because
currents flow when hot gas
rises and cool gas sink.
– Convection in liquids also
occurs because of
differences in density.
 CONVECTION EQUATION

Heat transfer coefficient Area contacting fluids (m2)

(watts/m2oC)

Heat flow
(watts)
q = h A (T2 -T1)

Temperature
difference (oC)
 CONVECTION
What happens to the particles in a liquid or
a gas when you heat them?

The particles spread out and

become less dense.
 CONVECTION

when air or water is

heated, it expands,

rises and is replaced by cold

air from above.
Why air-conditioners are usually set up high on the wall?
Warm air is taken An air-
in by the air- conditioner
conditioner & gives out
cold air
cooled.
which falls.

This pushes
the warm air
up.
 CONVECTION
Where is the Freezer
freezer compartment
compartment
put in a fridge?
It is warmer
at the
It is put at the bottom, so
top, because this warmer
cool air sinks, air rises and
so it cools the a convection
food on the current is
way down. set up.
In a fire, why should you crawl close to the floor in
a smoke-filled room?
Smoke is warmer than the surrounding air.

It rises & its places would

Smoke is
be replaced by the
toxic.
surrounding cooler air.

We should crawl close to

the floor to prevent smoke
inhalation.
immersion heater
is fixed near the
bottom

Air-conditioner is
usually installed
high on the wall
CONVECTION
• When the flow of gas or
liquid comes from
differences in density
and temperature, it is
called free convection.
• When the flow of gas or
liquid is circulated by
pumps or fans it is called
forced convection.
CONVECTION

• Convection depends on
speed.
• Motion increases heat
transfer by convection
in all fluids.
CONVECTION

• Convection depends on
surface area.
• If the surface contacting
the fluid is increased, the
rate of heat transfer also
increases.
• Almost all devices made
for convection have fins
for this purpose.
 CONVECTION
• Both free and forced convection help to
heat houses and cool car engines.
 CONVECTION
• On a smaller scale near coastlines,
convection is responsible for sea
breezes.
• During the daytime, land is much
hotter than the ocean.
• A sea breeze is created when hot
air over the land rises due to
convection and is replaced by
cooler air from the ocean.
• At night the temperature reverses
so a land breeze occurs.
 CONVECTION
• Much of the Earth’s climate is regulated by giant convection
currents in the ocean.
REYNOLDS NUMBER
• LAMINAR FLOW
Smooth streamlines
Highly- ordered motion
(highly viscous fluids in small
pipes)
• TURBULENT FLOW
Velocity fluctuations
Highly-disordered motion
• TRANSITIONAL FLOW

18
 REYNOLDS NUMBER

Flow Regime: Ratio of the inertial forces to viscous

forces in the fluid
Geometry
Surface roughness
m D  m D
Flow velocity
Re = =
Surface temperature type v 
of fluid

m Mean flow velocity

D Characteristic length of
the geometry
v=/ Kinematic viscosity

19
• For a given application, Recr depends upon
– Pipe roughness
– Vibrations
– Upstream fluctuations, disturbances (valves,
elbows, etc. that may disturb the flow)
• Critical Reynolds number (Recr) for flow in a round
pipe
Re < 2100  laminar
2300 ≤ Re ≤ 4000  transitional
Re > 4000  turbulent
***Note that these values are approximate.

20
HYDRAULIC DIAMETER

• For non-round pipes,

• the hydraulic diameter
Dh = 4Ac/P
Ac = cross-section area
P = wetted perimeter

21
NUSSELT NUMBER
(Dimensionless number)

hLc
Nu =
k
• T
q cond =k
L
•
q conv = hT
•
q conv hT hL
•
= = = Nu
q cond kT / L k
22
 PRANDTL NUMBER
Pr = ν = Cp μ
α k
is unity, which is approximately the case for
most gases (0.6<Pr<1.0). The Prandtl number for
liquids however, varies widely, ranging from
large values for viscous oils to very small values
for liquid metals which have high thermal
conductivities.
 PRANDTL NUMBER
• Boundary layer theory
molecular diffusivity of momentum
 C p
Pr = = =
 k
molecular diffusivity of heat
Pr<<1 heat diffuses very quickly in liquid metals,
tbl thicker
Pr>>1 heat diffuses very slowly in oils relative to momentum, tbl thinner than vbl

24
 THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER

Flow region over the

surface in which the
temperature varies in the
direction normal to the
surface
Velocity profile influences
temperature profile

25
A flow field is best characterized by the velocity
distribution, and velocity may vary in three dimension
 
 ( x, y , z ) in rectangular  (r ,  , z ) in cylinderical coordinates

One
dimensional
flow in a
circular pipe

26
 FORCED CONVECTION:
LAMINAR FLOW

The primary resistance to heat transfer by

convection is normally controlled within a thin
layer of the fluid, adjacent to the immersed
body, in which viscous effects are important. The
quantity of heat transferred is highly dependent
upon the fluid motion within this boundary
layer, being determined chiefly by the thickness
of the layer.
 FORCED CONVECTION:
LAMINAR FLOW
Prandtl’s Boundary Layer Equation
By applying Newton’s second law and the continuity
equation to an infinitesimal, two dimensional control volume within
the boundary layer, and assuming that
1. Fluid viscosity is constant
2. Shear in the y-direction is negligible
3. The flow is steady, and the fluid is
incompressible
4. The vertical pressure gradient is negligible
THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER: FLAT PLATE
When a fluid at one temperature flows along a surface
which is at another temperature, a thermal boundary
layer develops. The thermal boundary layer thickness
is defined as the distance required for the temperature
T to reach 99% of its free-stream value T∞. And
assuming,
1. steady, incompressible flow
2. Constant fluid properties evaluated at film
temperature: Tw = Ts + T∞
2
3. Negligible body forces, viscous heating, and
conduction in the flow direction
 PARALLEL FLOW OVER FLAT PLATES
Blasius’ numerical solution with the corresponding values of u
and v and that the boundary layer edge, u/Vx = 0.99,
corresponds to η ≈ 5.0;

δ√V∞ / vx ≈ 5.0

δ ≈ 5.0 ≈ 5.0
x √V∞ / vx √Rex

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow commonly occurs

at 300, 000< Re < 600,000

30
THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER: FLAT PLATE
The equation for heat transfer to flat plate;

Nu = 0.332 Re1/2 Pr 1/3

( 1 – ( xo /x) ¾) 1/3
Where:
Nu = hx L / k = Nusselt number
Pr = Cp μ / k = Prandtl number
Re = u L ρ / μ = Reynolds number
THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER: FLAT PLATE
When plate is heated over its entire length, xo = 0

Nu = 0.332 Re1/2 Pr 1/3

When average value of Nu over entire length, x1

Nu = 0.664 Re1/2 Pr 1/3

(for constant heat flux, the coefficient 0.332 becomes
0.453, effecting an increase of the coefficient over an
entire length)
THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER: FLAT PLATE
These equations are valid only for Prandtl
numbers of 1.0 or greater, since the derivation
assumes a thermal boundary layer no thicker
than the hydrodynamic layer. However, they can
be used for gases with Pr ≈ 0.70 with little error.
The equations are also restricted to cases where
the Nusselt number is fairly large, 10 or higher
since axial conduction, which was neglected in
the derivation, has a significant effect for thick
boundary layers.
 PARALLEL FLOW OVER FLAT PLATES

 x L
Re L = = 5  10 5

Laminar (average coefficient)

hL
Nu = = 0.664 Re 0L.5 Pr1/ 3 Re L  5 105
k
Turbulent (average coefficient)

hL
Nu = = 0.037 Re 0L.8 Pr 1 / 3 0.6  Pr  60
k
5  10 5  Re L  10 7
34
Laminar flow heat transfer to flat plate
Castor oil at 38OC flows over a wide, 6 m long,
heated plate at 0.06 m/s. For a surface temperature
of 93OC, determine a) the hydrodynamic boundary
layer thickness at the end of the plate b) the local
heat transfer coefficient h, at the end of the plate c)
the total heat rate from the surface per unit width.
Assume the thermal diffusivity to be 7.22 x 10-8
m2/s, the thermal conductivity to be 0.213 w/m.K
and the kinematic viscosity to be 6 x 10-5 m2/s at the
film temperature.
Fo = αtT = 4ktT = 4kL
rm2 CpρD2 CpρD2V

Gz = m Cp = Π Re Pr D ; Pe = Re Pr = DV
kL 4 L 𝝰

Gz = m Cp = Π Re Pr D = Π D Pe = Π
kL 4 L 4L Fo
LAMINAR FLOW HEAT TRANSFER INSIDE
TUBES
The Nusselt number for heat transfer to a fluid
inside a pipe is

Nu = hi D
k
where the film coefficient hi is the average value
over the length of the pipe and is calculate for
the case of constant wall temperature:
LAMINAR FLOW HEAT TRANSFER INSIDE
TUBES
hi =m Cp (Tb – Ta) > constant wall temperature
ΠDL ΔŤL
Since ΔŤL = (Tw – Ta) – (Tw – Ťb)
ln (Tw – Ta / Tw – Ťb)
hi = m Cp ln Tw – Ta
ΠDL Tw – Ťb

Then Nu = mCp ln Tw – Ta
ΠkL Tw – Ťb

Or Nu = Gz ln Tw – Ta
Π Tw – Ťb
LAMINAR FLOW HEAT TRANSFER INSIDE
TUBES
Asymptotic Limitation: Ťb = Tw
Nu = 2 Gz and Gz ≈ 10
Π
For laminar flow of fluids inside horizontal
tubes, correction factor for heating and cooling
Nu = 2 m Cp 1/3 μ 0.14 = 2 Gz1/3 Фᵥ
kL μw
Gz > 20 Nu = 2 Gz1/3