1st Semester, A.Y.

2018 – 2019

ME 452 – Heat Transfer

Heat Transfer Modes – Convection (Physical Mechanisms of Convection & Natural

Convection)

a) Nusselt Number

Nusselt number is a dimensionless number used in the study of forced convection

which gives a measure of the ratio of the total heat transfer to conductive heat transfer and is
equal to the heat-transfer coefficient times the characteristic length divided by the thermal
conductivity.

q̇ conv h∆T hL
= = =Nu
q̇cond k ∆T / L k

where k is the thermal conductivity of the fluid and L is the characteristic length. The larger
the Nusselt number, the more effective the convection. A Nusselt number of Nu = 1 for a fluid
layer represents heat transfer across the layer by pure conduction.

b) Prandtl Number

Prandtl number is a dimensionless number used in the study of forced and free
convection, equal to the dynamic viscosity times the specific heat at constant pressure
divided by the thermal conductivity. The reciprocal of Prandtl number is called the Stanton
number (St).

Molecular diffusivity of momentum ν μ/ ρ μc

= = = p =Pr
Molecular diffusivity of heat α k/ ρcp k

where α is termed as thermal diffusivity which represents how fast heat diffuses through a
material. A material that has high thermal conductivity or a low heat capacity will obviously
have a large thermal diffusivity, the faster the propagation of heat into the medium. A small
value of thermal diffusivity means that heat is mostly absorbed by the material and a small
amount of heat is conducted further.

Low Prandtl number is due to the high thermal conductivity of the fluids thus fluids
with a very Prandtl number is suited as coolants in applications where large amounts of heat
must be removed from a relatively small space, as in nuclear reactor.

c) Reynolds Number

Reynold number is a dimensionless number which is significant in the design of a

model of any system in which the effect of viscosity is important in controlling the velocities
or the flow pattern of a fluid; equal to the product of density, or velocity and characteristic
length divided by the fluid viscosity.

Inertiaforces VL ρVL
= = =ℜ
Viscous forces ν μ
where V is the upstream velocity (equivalent to the free-stream velocity for a flat plate).
 If the Reynolds number is below about 2100, the flow is said to be laminar, also called
streamline or viscous flow. If the Reynolds number is greater than about 10,000 (greater
than 3000 for less viscous fluids and gases), the fluid is said to be turbulent.

d) Grashof Number

Grashof number is a dimensionless number used in the study of the free convection of
a fluid caused by a hot body. It is equal to the product of the fluid’s coefficient of thermal
expansion, the temperature difference between the hot body and the fluid, the cube of the
typical dimension of the body and the square of the fluid’s density divided by the square of
the fluid’s dynamic viscosity.

gβ (T s−T ∞ ) L3 ρ2 gβ (T s−T ∞ )L3

= =Gr
ν2 μ2
where:

g = gravitational acceleration, m/s2

β = coefficient of volume expansion, 1/K ( β = 1/T for ideal gases)

Ts = temperature of the surface, ℃

T ∞ = temperature of the fluid sufficiently far from the surface, ℃

Natural Convection Over Surfaces

Natural convection heat transfer on a surface depends on the geometry of the surface
as well as its orientation. It also depends on the variation of temperature on the surface and
the thermophysical properties of the fluid involved.

The simple empirical correlations for the average Nusselt number in natural
convection are of the form:

hL
Nu = = C( GrPr )n=C Ran
k
where Ra is the Rayleigh number, which is the product of the Grashof number, which
describes the relationship between buoyancy and viscosity within the fluid, and the Prandtl
number, which describes the relationship between momentum diffusivity and thermal
diffusivity.

gβ (T s−T ∞ ) L3 gβ (T s−T ∞ ) L3
Ra = GrPr = Pr =
ν2 να
The values of the constants C and n depend on the geometry of the surface and the
flow regime, which is characterized by the range of the Rayleigh number. The value of n is
usually ¼ for laminar flow and 1/3 for turbulent flow. The value of the constant C is
normally less than 1.

Simple relations for the average Nusselt number for various geometries are given in
the table below (Table 1), together with the sketches of the geometries. Also given in this table
are the characteristic lengths of the geometries and the ranges of Rayleigh number in which
the relation is applicable. All fluid properties are to be evaluated at the film temperature Tf =
½ (T s−T ∞ ).

Also, during calculation, the properties of air at 1 atm pressure can be found on the
Table 2.
Problem Exercises

1. A 6-m-long section of an 8-cm-diameter horizontal hot-water pipe passes through a

large room whose temperature is 20℃ . If the outer surface temperature of the pipe is
70℃ , determine the rate of heat loss from the pipe by natural convection.
2. Consider a 0.6-m by 0.6-m thin square plate in a room at 30 ℃ . One side of the plate
is maintained at a temperature of 90℃ , while the other side is insulated. 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.

Table 1. Empirical correlations for the average Nusselt number for natural convection over
surfaces. (Refer to Heat and Mass Transfer by Cengel and Ghajar, p. 542)
Table 2. Properties of air at 1 atm pressure (Refer to Heat and Mass Transfer by Cengel and
Ghajar, p. 926)