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NATURAL CONVECTION

• Buoyancy forces are responsible for the fluid motion in natural

convection.
• Viscous forces appose the fluid motion.

Viscous Buoyancy
Force Force

• The flow regime in natural convection is

governed by the Grashof number GrL

g β (Ts − T∞ ) L3c
GrL =
ν2 Viscous
force
Buoyancy force
GrL=
Viscous force

Buoyancy
GrL>109 flow is turbulent force

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Equation of Motion and the Grashof

Number
• Consider a vertical hot flat plate g
immersed in a quiescent fluid body.
• Assumptions:
– steady,
– laminar,
– two-dimensional,
– Newtonian fluid, and
– constant properties, except the density
difference ρ-ρ∞ (Boussinesq
approximation).

Natural Convection over Surfaces

• Natural convection heat transfer on a surface depends on
– geometry,
– orientation,
– variation of temperature on the surface, and
– thermophysical properties of the fluid.
• The simple empirical correlations for the average
Nusselt number in natural convection are of the form
hL n
Nu = c = C ⋅ ( GrL ⋅ Pr ) = C ⋅ RaLn
k
• Where RaL is the Rayleigh number
g β (Ts − T∞ ) L3c
RaL = GrL ⋅ Pr = 2
Pr
ν

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• The values of the constants C and n depend on the

geometry of the surface and the flow regime (which
depend on the Rayleigh number).
• All fluid properties are to be evaluated at the film
temperature Tf=(Ts+T∞).
• The Nusselt number relations for the constant surface
temperature and constant surface heat flux cases are
nearly identical.
• The relations for uniform heat flux is valid when the
plate midpoint temperature TL/2 is used for Ts in the
evaluation of the film temperature.
• Thus for uniform heat flux:
hL q&s L
Nu = =
k ( )
k TL 2 − T∞

Simple relations for the average Nusselt number

for various geometries are given in Table:

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Problem:
A glass-door firescreen, used to reduce exfiltration of room air
through a chimney, has a height of 0.71 m and a width of 1.02
m and reaches a temperature of 232oC. If the room temperature
is 23oC, estimate the convection heat rate from the fireplace to
the room.

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Problem:
A thin vertical panel L = 3 m high and w = 1.5 m wide is
thermally insulated on one side and exposed to a solar radiation
flux of qs = 750 W/m2 on the other side. The exposed surface
has an absorptivity of αs = 0.8 for solar radiation. Assuming that
the energy absorbed by the plate is dissipated by free
convection into the surrounding quiescent air at atmospheric
pressure and T = 300K, calculate the surface temperature of the
panel..

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Problem 2:

Consider a 0.6-m x 0.6-m thin square plate

in a room at 30°C. One side of the plate is
maintained at a temperature of 90°C, while
the other side is insulated, as shown in
Figure.

Determine the rate of heat transfer from the

plate by natural convection if the plate is
(a) vertical, (b) horizontal with hot surface
facing up, and (c) horizontal with hot
surface facing down.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

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Problem:
A 6-m-long section of an 8-cm-diameter horizontal hot water pipe
shown in Figure passes through a large room whose temperature is
20°C. If the outer surface temperature of the pipe is 70°C,
determine the rate of heat loss from the pipe by natural convection.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

Natural Convection from Finned Surfaces

• Natural convection flow through a channel formed by
two parallel plates is commonly encountered in
practice.
• Long Surface
– fully developed channel flow.
• Short surface or large spacing
– natural convection from two
independent plates in a quiescent
medium.

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• The recommended relation for the average Nusselt

number for vertical isothermal parallel plates is
−0.5
hS  576 2.873 
Nu = = +  (9-31)
k  ( Ras S L )2 ( Ras S L )0.5 
 
• Closely packed fins
– greater surface area
– smaller heat transfer coefficient.
• Widely spaced fins
– higher heat transfer coefficient
– smaller surface area.
• Optimum fin spacing for a vertical heat sink
0.25
 S 3L  L
Sopt = 2.714   = 2.714 (9-32)
 Ras  RaL0.25

It can be shown by combining the three equations above

that when S = Sopt, the Nusselt number is a constant and its
value is 1.307,

The rate of heat transfer by natural convection from the

fins can be determined from

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Natural Convection Cooling of Vertical PCBs

Arrays of printed circuit boards used in electronic systems

can often be modeled as parallel plates subjected to uniform
heat flux .

The plate temperature in this case increases with height,

reaching a maximum at the upper edge of the board.

The modified Rayleigh number for uniform heat flux on

both plates is expressed as

The Nusselt number at the upper edge of the plate where

maximum temperature occurs is determined from

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Problem:

A 12-cm-wide and 18-cm-high vertical hot surface in 30°C air

is to be cooled by a heat sink with equally spaced fins of
rectangular profile (Figure). The fins are 0.1 cm thick and 18
cm long in the vertical direction and have a height of 2.4 cm
from the base. Determine the optimum fin spacing and the rate
of heat transfer by natural convection from the heat sink if the
base temperature is 90°C.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

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In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

In solids, atoms are bound to each other by a series of

bonds, analogous to springs as shown.

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Natural Convection Inside Enclosures

• In a vertical enclosure, the fluid adjacent to the hotter
surface rises and the fluid adjacent to the
cooler one falls, setting off a rotationary
motion within the enclosure that enhances
heat transfer through the enclosure.
• Heat transfer through a horizontal enclosure
– hotter plate is at the top ─ no convection
currents (Nu=1).
– hotter plate is at the bottom
• Ra<1708 no convection currents (Nu=1).
• 3x105>Ra>1708 Bénard Cells.
• Ra>3x105 turbulent flow.

Nusselt Number Correlations for Enclosures

• Simple power-law type relations in the form of

Nu = C ⋅ RaLn
where C and n are constants, are sufficiently accurate,
but they are usually applicable to a narrow range of
Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers and aspect ratios.
• Numerous correlations are widely available for
– horizontal rectangular enclosures,
– inclined rectangular enclosures,
– vertical rectangular enclosures,
– concentric cylinders,
– concentric spheres.

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Vertical Rectangular Enclosures

For vertical enclosures , Catton (1978, Ref. 7) recommends

these two correlations due to Berkovsky and Polevikov (1977),

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Problem:
The vertical 0.8-m-high, 2-m-wide double-pane window
shown in Figure consists of two sheets of glass separated by
a 2-cm air gap at atmospheric pressure. If the glass surface
temperatures across the air gap are measured to be 20°C and
0°C, determine the rate of heat transfer through the window.

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Combined Natural and Forced Convection

• Heat transfer coefficients in forced convection are
typically much higher than in natural convection.
• The error involved in ignoring natural convection may
be considerable at low velocities.
• Nusselt Number:
– Forced convection (flat plate, laminar flow):
Nuforced convection ∝ Re1 2
– Natural convection (vertical plate, laminar flow):
Nunatural convection ∝ Gr1 4
• Therefore, the parameter Gr/Re2 represents the
importance of natural convection relative to forced
convection.

• Gr/Re2<0.1
– natural convection is negligible.
• Gr/Re2>10
– forced convection is negligible.
• 0.1<Gr/Re2<10
– forced and natural convection are not negligible.
• Natural convection may help or hurt forced convection
heat transfer
depending on the
relative directions
of buoyancy-induced
and the forced
convection motions.

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Nusselt Number for Combined Natural and

Forced Convection
• A review of experimental data suggests a
Nusselt number correlation of the form
1n
( n
Nucombined = Nuforced n
± Nunatural ) (9-66)

• Nuforced and Nunatural are determined from the

correlations for pure forced and pure natural
convection, respectively.

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