Internal Flow:

General Considerations
Chapter 8
Sections 8.1 through 8.3

Entrance Conditions

Entrance Conditions
Must distinguish between entrance and fully developed regions.
Hydrodynamic Effects: Assume laminar flow with uniform velocity profile at
inlet of a circular tube.

Velocity boundary layer develops on surface of tube and thickens with increasing x.
Inviscid region of uniform velocity shrinks as boundary layer grows.
Does the centerline velocity change with increasing x? If so, how does it change?
Subsequent to boundary layer merger at the centerline, the velocity profile
becomes parabolic and invariant with x. The flow is then said to be
hydrodynamically fully developed.
How would the fully developed velocity profile differ for turbulent flow?

Entrance Conditions (cont)

Thermal Effects: Assume laminar flow with uniform temperature, T r ,0 Ti , at

inlet of circular tube with uniform surface temperature, Ts Ti , or heat flux, qs .

Thermal boundary layer develops on surface of tube and thickens with increasing x.
Isothermal core shrinks as boundary layer grows.
Subsequent to boundary layer merger, dimensionless forms of the temperature
profile for Ts and qs become independent of x. Conditions are then said to be
thermally fully developed.
Is the temperature profile invariant with x in the fully developed region?

Entrance Conditions (cont)

For uniform surface temperature, what may be said about the change
in the temperature profile with increasing x?
For uniform surface heat flux, what may be said about the change in the
temperature profile with increasing x?
How do temperature profiles differ for laminar and turbulent flow?

Mean Quantities

The Mean Velocity and Temperature

Absence of well-defined free stream conditions, as in external flow, and hence a
reference velocity u or temperature T , dictates the use of a crosssectional mean velocity um and temperature Tm for internal flow.
Linkage of mean velocity to mass flow rate:
g

m um Ac
or,
m Ac u r , x d Ac
g

Hence,
um

Ac u r , x d Ac

Ac

For incompressible flow in a circular tube of radius ro ,

2 ro
um o u r , x r dr
ro2

Mean Quantities (cont)

Linkage of mean temperature to thermal energy transport associated with flow

through a cross section:
g
t

E Ac ucT dAc mcTm

Hence,
Tm

Ac ucT dAc
g

mc

For incompressible, constant-property flow in a circular tube,

2
Tm
um ro2

ro

u x, r T x, r r dr
0

Newtons Law of Cooling for the Local Heat Flux:

qs h Ts Tm
What is the essential difference between use of Tm for internal flow and T
for external flow?

Entry Lengths

Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths

Entry lengths depend on whether the flow is laminar or turbulent, which, in turn,
depend on Reynolds number.
Re D

um Dh

The hydraulic diameter is defined as

Dh

4 Ac
P

in which case,
g

u D
4m
Re D m h

P
For a circular tube,
g

u D
4m
Re D m

Entry Lengths (cont)

Onset of turbulence occurs at a critical Reynolds number of

Re D ,c 2300
Fully turbulent conditions exist for
Re D 10,000
Hydrodynamic Entry Length
Laminar Flow: x fd , h / D 0.05Re D
Turbulent Flow: 10 x fd , h / D 60

Thermal Entry Length

Laminar Flow:

fd , t

/ D 0.05 Re D Pr

Turbulent Flow: 10 x fd ,t / D 60

For laminar flow, how do hydrodynamic and thermal entry lengths compare for a gas?
An oil? A liquid metal?

Fully Developed Flow

Fully Developed Conditions

Assuming steady flow and constant properties, hydrodynamic conditions, including

the velocity profile, are invariant in the fully developed region.
What may be said about the variation of the mean velocity with distance from the
tube entrance for steady, constant property flow?
The pressure drop may be determined from knowledge of the friction factor
f, where,
f

dp / dx D

um2 / 2

Laminar flow in a circular tube:

f

64
Re D

Turbulent flow in a smooth circular tube:

f 0.790 1n Re D 1.64

Fully Developed Flow (cont)

Turbulent flow in a roughened circular tube:

Pressure drop for fully developed flow from x1 to x2:

um2
p p1 p2 f
x2 x1
2D
and power requirement
g

pm
P p

Fully Developed Flow (cont)

Requirement for fully developed thermal conditions:

Ts x T r , x

x Ts x Tm x

0
fd , t

Effect on the local convection coefficient:

T / r r r
Ts T
o

f x

r Ts Tm r r
Ts Tm
o
Hence, assuming constant properties,
qs / k
h
f x
Ts Tm k
h f x
Variation of h in entrance and fully developed regions:

Mean Temperature

Determination of the Mean Temperature

Determination of Tm x is an essential feature of an internal flow analysis.
Determination begins with an energy balance for a differential control volume.

dqconv m d cTm p mc p dTm

g

Why is the second equality in the foregoing expression considered to be approximate?

Integrating from the tube inlet to outlet,
qconv mc p Tm ,o Tm ,i
g

(1)

Mean Temperature (cont)

A differential equation from which Tm x may be determined is obtained by

substituting for dq conv qs P dx h Ts Tm P dx.
dTm qsP
P

h Ts Tm
g
g
dx mc
mcp
p

Special Case: Uniform Surface Heat Flux

dTm qsP

f x
g
dx mc
p
Tm x Tm ,i

qs P
g

mcp

Why does the surface temperature vary with x as shown in the figure?
In principle, what value does Ts assume at x=0?
Total heat rate:
qconv qs PL

Mean Temperature (cont)

Special Case: Uniform Surface Temperature

From Eq. (2), with T Ts Tm

d T
d Tm
P

h T
g
dx
dx
mcp

Integrating from x=0 to any downstream location,

Ts Tm x
Px
exp
hx
g

Ts Tm ,i
m
c
p

1 x
hx o hx dx
x
Overall Conditions:

To Ts Tm , o
PL

exp
g

Ti Ts Tm,i
mc
p

qconv h As Tl m
Tl m

h
A
h exp s
g

mc

To Ti
1n To / Ti

Mean Temperature (cont)

Special Case: Uniform External Fluid Temperature

To T Tm , o
U
A
1
s

exp
exp
g

Ti T Tm ,i
m
c
mc
R
p
p tot

T
q UAs Tl m l m
Rtot
Tl m Eq. (3) with Ts replaced by T .
Note: Replacement of T by Ts,o if outer surface temperature is uniform.

Problem: Water Flow Through Pipe in Furnace

Problem 8.17: Estimate temperature of water emerging from a thin-walled

tube heated by walls and air of a furnace. Inner and outer
convection coefficients are known.

T oo = 7 0 0 K
= 5 0 W /m 2 -K

T oo

A ir

c v ,o

ra d

fu r

= 700 K

W a te r

c v ,o

T
T

R
t

m = 5 k g /s
T

m ,i

= 300 K

D = 0 .2 5 m , L = 8 m ,

= 1

m ,o

fu r

c v,i

= T oo

ra d

Problem: Water Flow Through Pipe in Furnace (cont)

SCHEMATIC:
h

T oo = 7 0 0 K
= 5 0 W /m 2 -K

T oo

A ir

c v ,o

ra d

fu r

= 700 K

W a te r

c v ,o

T
T

R
t

m = 5 k g /s
T

m ,i

= 300 K

D = 0 .2 5 m , L = 8 m ,

= 1

m ,o

fu r

c v,i

= T oo

ra d

Problem: Water Flow Through Pipe in Furnace (cont)