Mechanical Engineering Dep. Dr. Eng.

Kamel Guedri Heat Transfer: Lab Manual

EXPERIMENT #5
NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER:
FLAT PLATE, FINNED PLATE, AND PIN FINS

OBJECTIVE
Heat transfer by natural convection occurs in many situations, and so it is important to
understand it and be able to successfully model it. Studying natural convection for
various geometries is the subject of this experiment.

INTRODUCTION
Heat transfer by simultaneous conduction and convection whether free or forced forms
the basis of most industrial heat exchangers and related equipment. Using the
instrumentation provided, free convective heat transfer coefficients may be determined
for, a flat surface, a finned plate, and an array of fins.

THEORY
With the convection coefficient known, a dimensionless representation of the results can
be made. A dimensionless graph could apply to any flat plate, not just to the one of this
experiment. The dimensionless ratios of significance for this experiment are the Nusselt
number Nu, the Rayleigh number Ra and the Prandtl number Pr:

(1)
( )
(2)

(3)

where L = plate length in vertical direction

k = thermal conductivity of air
g = gravitational acceleration
β = 1/T∞ = coefficient of thermal expansion
α = thermal diffusivity of air = k/ρc

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Mechanical Engineering Dep. Dr. Eng. Kamel Guedri Heat Transfer: Lab Manual

ν = kinematic viscosity of air

APPARATUS
Consider a heated flat plate oriented vertically and transferring heat by only one of its
surfaces to the surrounding air. Air near the plate becomes warm and its density
decreases. Buoyant forces within the air act to move this less dense air upward, and it is
replaced with cooler air. The motion of the air is due to the presence of the heated plate,
and so we call this a natural convection problem. Figures 1 and 2 presented the apparatus
used in this experiment and its sketch, respectively.

Figure 1: The apparatus used in this experiment.

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Mechanical Engineering Dep. Dr. Eng. Kamel Guedri Heat Transfer: Lab Manual

Figure 2: Schematic of the apparatus used in this experiment.

It consists of a rectangular duct that is held in the vertical direction. Flow straighteners
are at the bottom of the duct, and an electrically operated fan is located at the top. Air
flow is upward through the system. Along the front of the duct is a viewing window
made of clear plastic. Behind the viewing window is an opening into which a heated
model can be placed, as indicated in Figure 3. In this experiment, the heated model is a
flat plate. When installed, the flat plate is heated by an internal resistance heater, and the
energy to the heater is controlled by a rheostat. The back and sides surrounding the
heated flat plate are well insulated so that all energy from the rheostat is transferred to the
air by the front face of the plate. Other models that could be used are a finned plate, or a
plate that has pin fins attached.

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Mechanical Engineering Dep. Dr. Eng. Kamel Guedri Heat Transfer: Lab Manual

Figure 3: Heated models and duct.

The apparatus is instrumented with thermocouples at selected locations. There is a

thermocouple located upstream of the viewing window, and one placed within the heated
model that gives a reading of the surface temperature. There is also provision for
measuring the air velocity within the duct.

PROCEDURE
1. Insert the flat plate model into the duct and turn the rheostat to a wattage of 5 W.
(Note that if the plate temperature exceeds 100 °C, a safety switch will turn the
heater off.).
2. Allow the system to reach steady state.
3. Take readings of ambient temperature T∞, and plate surface temperature Tw.
4. Repeat this procedure for wattages of 2, 3, 4, and 6 W. Measure the physical
dimensions of the flat plate.

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Mechanical Engineering Dep. Dr. Eng. Kamel Guedri Heat Transfer: Lab Manual

RESULTS
1. Construct a graph of power (vertical axis) as a function of temperature difference,
Tw - T∞. The convection equation for heat transfer from a flat plate to surrounding
air is q = hA(Tw - T∞) where A is the area of the plate in contact with the air. Using
this equation and the data obtained, determine an average value for the convection
coefficient, h.

2. Using the data obtained in this experiment, calculate Nusselt number Nu,
Rayleigh number Ra and Prandtl number Pr. Graph Nusselt number (vertical
axis) versus Rayleigh number using the data.

RAW DATA TABLES

Table 1: Raw Data for Experiment #5

q 2 3 4 5 6
(W)
Tw - T∞
(°C)

ASSIGNED READING:
Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer; Incropera and DeWitt; App. A.

SAFETY GUIDELINES:
1. If the plate temperature exceeds 100 °C, a safety switch will turn the heater off.

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