ME 330

Heat and Mass Transfer

Convection: Internal Flow

Chap 8: (Cengel)

1
 INTERNAL FORCED
CONVECTION
Difference Between External and Internal Flows:
▪In external flow:
▪ The fluid has a free surface
▪ Thus the boundary layer over the surface is free to
grow indefinitely.
▪In internal flow:
▪ The fluid is completely confined by the inner
surfaces of the tube
▪ Thus there is a limit on how much the boundary
layer can grow.
▪ In contrast to free stream values, mean velocity and
mean temperature are considered for analysis 2
 INTERNAL FORCED
CONVECTION
• Hydrodynamic Considerations
➢Flow Conditions
➢The Mean Velocity
➢Velocity Profile in the Fully Developed (FD) Region
➢Pressure Gradient and Friction Factor in FD Flow
• Thermal Considerations
➢The Mean Temperature
➢Newton’s Law of Cooling
➢Fully Developed Conditions
3
 INTERNAL FORCED CONVECTION
Applications
• Most fluids, especially liquids, are transported in circular pipes
because circular cross section can withstand large pressure
differences b/w inside and outside without undergoing distortion.
• For fixed surface area, circular tubes give most Heat Transfer for
least pressure drop, so these are popular.
• Non circular cross sections are used where pressure differences are
relatively small, e.g. heating/cooling systems of buildings.
Model for Analysis
Flow temperature rises due to friction b/w fluid layers, but is ignored
Friction results in pressure drop.
Fluid properties at a given cross section are uniform.
4
 INTERNAL FORCED CONVECTION
Cross Section and Nomenclature

PIPE: Circular cross section,

liquid flow
DUCT: Non-circular cross
section, gas flow
TUBE: Circular cross
section, small diameter

5
 MEAN VELOCITY AND MEAN
TEMPERATURE
The fluid velocity in a tube changes from zero at the surface to a
maximum at the tube center.
It is convenient to work with an average or mean velocity Vm,
which remains constant for incompressible flow when the cross
sectional area of the tube is constant.
The value of the mean velocity Vm in a tube is determined from
the conservation of mass principle, thus:
(8-1)

Mean velocity for incompressible flow in a circular tube of

radius R can be expressed as:

(8-2)
6
 MEAN VELOCITY AND MEAN
TEMPERATURE
Mean temperature Tm:
▪ Unlike the mean velocity, the mean temperature Tm will change
in the flow direction whenever the fluid is heated or cooled.
▪ The value of the mean temperature Tm is determined from the
conservation of energy principle stated as follows:
“The energy transported by the fluid through a cross section in
actual flow must be equal to the energy that would be transported
through the same cross section if the fluid were at a constant
temperature Tm”

(8-3)

7
 MEAN VELOCITY AND MEAN
TEMPERATURE
Then the mean temperature of a fluid with constant density and
specific heat flowing in a circular pipe of radius R can be
expressed as:

(8-4)

Note that the mean temperature Tm of a fluid changes during

heating or cooling.
Also, the fluid properties in internal flow are usually evaluated
at the bulk mean fluid temperature (Tb), which is the arithmetic
average of the mean temperatures at the inlet (i) and the exit (e).
That is, Tb = (Tm,i + Tm,e)/2.

8
 INTERNAL FORCED CONVECTION

Laminar and Turbulent Flow Through Pipes

Flow in a pipe can be laminar or turbulent depending

upon flow conditions.
Flow is laminar at low velocities especially when highly
viscous fluids such as oils flow in small diameters tubes
or narrow passages.
Reynold No is the governing parameter to decide whether
the flow is Laminar or Turbulent!

9
 Reynolds Number
Pipe Flow: Most flows encountered in
pipe are turbulent
Reynolds No. for flow in tubes is:
ReD = (Um D/) = (Um D/) (8-5)

Where Um = mean fluid velocity

D = Tube diameter
/=  = Kinematic viscosity
Non-circular tubes: Re, Nu and Cf all are based on hydraulic
diameter (Dh); Dh = 4 Ac/p (8-6)
Ac = Cross sectional area ; p = perimeter
Note that for circular tubes, Dh = 4 Ac/p = [4D2 /4]/(D) = D
10
 Reynolds Number (Cont’d)
• ReD may also be represented in terms of mass flow rate using
continuity equation.
• We have for a circular tube:
 um Di   Di2 
Re D = and m =  um A =  um  
  4 
 4m 
or um =  2 
  Di 

Thus
 Di 4m 4m
Re D =  =
  Di  Di
2

11
 Reynolds Number (Cont’d)
• Remember that ReD also depends upon: degree of disturbance of
the flow by:
(i) Surface roughness (ii) Pipe vibrations (iii) Fluctuations in the flow

Thus precise values of Re defining the type of flow may not

be obtained.
In general, flow is:
Laminar : Re < 2300
Transitional: 2300  Re  10000
Turbulent: Re > 10000

12
 Boundary Layer Development in a Circular Pipe

• Consider a laminar flow through a tube of diameter D.

• Fluid enters the tube with uniform velocity Um.
• As the fluid flows through tube:
▪ Particles in contact with the surface retard due to viscous
effects
▪ BL develops along the flow length.
• Development of BL occurs at the expense of shrinking the
flow region and concludes the BL merger at the center line.
13
 Boundary Layer Development (Cont’d)

• Hydrodynamic Entry Length (Lh): The distance at which

the merger of the boundary layers occur.
• Fully developed flow: Beyond hydrodynamic entry length
the effects of viscosity are extended over the entire cross
section; the flow is called fully developed.

14
 Boundary Layer Development (Cont’d)

• Velocity Profile is:

(i) Parabolic in fully developed region for laminar.
(ii) Flatter for turbulent flow due to turbulent mixing in
radial direction.

15
Velocity and Thermal BL: Comparison

(The fluid in the tube is being cooled)

16
Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths
The hydrodynamic entry length is usually taken to be the
distance from the tube entrance where the friction coefficient
reaches within about 2 percent of the fully developed value.
In laminar flow, the hydrodynamic and thermal entry lengths
are given approximately as:
(8-11)
(8-12)

For Re = 20, the hydrodynamic entry length is about the size

of the diameter, but increases linearly with the velocity.
In the limiting case of Re = 2300, the hydrodynamic entry
length is 115D.

17
 Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths
In turbulent flow due to intense mixing
the hydrodynamic and thermal entry
lengths are of about the same size and
independent of the Prandtl number.
The friction factor and the heat
transfer coefficient remain constant in
fully developed laminar or turbulent
flow since the velocity and normalized
temperature profiles do not vary in the
flow direction.
The hydrodynamic entry length for
turbulent flow can be determined
from: (8-13)

18
 Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths

▪ The hydrodynamic entry length is:

▪ Much shorter in turbulent flow
▪ Its dependence on the Reynolds number is weaker.
▪ It is 11D at Re =10,000, and increases to 43D at Re = 105.
▪ In practice, it is generally agreed that the entrance effects are
confined within a tube length of 10 diameters
▪ The hydrodynamic and thermal entry lengths are approximately
taken to be:
(8-14)

19
 Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths

The variation of local

Nusselt number along
a tube in turbulent
flow for both uniform
surface temperature
and uniform surface
heat flux is shown
The range of
Reynolds numbers is
also depicted.

20
 Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths
Observations :
▪ The Nusselt numbers
and thus the convection
heat transfer coefficients
are much higher in the
entrance region.
▪ The Nusselt number
reaches a constant value
at a distance of less than
10 diameters
▪ Thus the flow can be
assumed to be fully
developed for x > 10D.

21
 Hydrodynamic and Thermal Entry Lengths
The Nusselt numbers for the
uniform surface temperature
and uniform surface heat
flux conditions are identical
in the fully developed
regions.
These are nearly identical in
the entrance regions.
Therefore, Nusselt number
is insensitive to the type of
thermal boundary condition.
The turbulent flow correlations can be used for either type of
boundary condition.
22
GENERAL APPROACH FOR ANALYSIS
• The tubes used in practice in forced
convection are usually several times the length
of either entrance region
• Thus the flow through the tubes is often
assumed to be fully developed for the entire
length of the tube.
• This simplistic approach gives reasonable
results for long tubes and conservative results
for short ones.

23
 GENERAL THERMAL ANALYSIS
Consider conservation of energy equation for the steady flow of
a fluid in a tube in the absence of work interaction
Q − W = H
Q = mc p T = mc p (Te − Ti )
… (8-15)

Note that the temperature of a fluid

flowing in a tube shall remain
constant in the absence of any energy The heat transfer to a fluid flowing
interactions through the wall of the in a tube is equal to the increase
in the energy of the fluid
tube.

24
 GENERAL THERMAL ANALYSIS
The thermal conditions at the surface:
These can usually be approximated with reasonable accuracy to
be:
Constant surface temperature (Ts = constant): This condition
occurs when phase change process occurs at the outer surface of
the tube. 
Constant surface heat flux (qs = constant). It is realized when
the tube is subjected to radiation or electric resistance heating
uniformly from all directions.
Surface heat flux is expressed as: qs = hx (Ts − Tm ) (8-16)

Here hx is the local heat transfer coefficient and Ts and Tm are the
surface and the mean fluid temperatures at that location.
25
 GENERAL THERMAL ANALYSIS
▪ Note that the mean fluid temperature (Tm) of a
fluid flowing in a tube must change during heating
or cooling.
▪ Therefore, when hx = h = constant:
▪ The surface temperature Ts must change when
qs = constant, and
▪ The surface heat flux q·s must change when
Ts = constant.
▪ Thus we may have either Ts = constant or q·s = constant
at the surface of a tube at one time and not the both
simultaneously!

26
 Constant Surface Heat Flux (q·s = constant)
In this case, the rate of heat transfer
can also be expressed as:
Q = qs As = mc p (Te − Ti ) … (8-17)
Then the mean fluid temperature at
the tube exit becomes:
qs As
Te = Ti + … (8-18)
mc p
Note that in the case of constant surface
heat flux, the mean fluid temperature
increases linearly in the flow direction
since the surface area increases linearly
in the flow direction
27
 Constant Surface Heat Flux (q·s = constant)
The surface temperature in the case can be determined from:

… (8-19)

In the fully developed region, the

surface temperature Ts will also
increase linearly in the flow
direction since h is constant and
thus (Ts – Tm) = constant provided
fluid properties remain constant
during flow

28
 Constant Surface Heat Flux (q·s = constant)
The slope of the Tm:
On a T-x diagram it can be determined
by applying the steady-flow energy
balance to a tube slice of thickness dx as
shown.

… (8-20)
where p is the perimeter of the tube.
Since both q·s and h are constants, the
differentiation of above Eqn with respect
to x gives:
… (8-21)

29
 Constant Surface Heat Flux (q·s = constant)
Also, the requirement that the dimensionless temperature
profile remains unchanged in the fully developed region gives
(for Ts –Tm = const):

… (8-22)
Combining Eqs. 20, 21, and 22 gives:

… (8-23)

Conclusion: In fully developed flow in a tube subjected to

constant surface heat flux, the temperature gradient is
independent of x and thus the shape of the temperature profile
does not change along the tube.

30
 Constant Surface Heat Flux (q·s = constant)
For a circular tube:
perimeter and

Eqn (8-23) becomes: (8-24)

Note that:
In the fully developed region of
a tube subjected to constant
surface heat flux, the shape of
the temperature profile remains
unchanged and the temperature
gradient is independent of x.
31
Constant Surface Temperature (Ts = constant)
From Newton’s law of cooling: (8-25)

In the (Ts = constant) case, Tave can be expressed approximately by

the Arithmetic Mean Temperature Difference (Tam) as:

(8-26)
where Tb =(Ti + Te)/2 is the Bulk Mean Fluid Temperature

The above definition of Tm assumes that the mean fluid

temperature varies linearly along the tube, which is hardly ever the
case when Ts = constant.
So, we need a better way to evaluate Tave.

32
 Constant Surface Temperature (Ts = constant)
Consider the heating of a fluid in a tube of
constant cross section whose inner surface is
maintained at a constant temperature of Ts.
Tm will increase in the flow direction as a
result of heat transfer.
The energy balance on a differential control volume shown gives:

(8-27)
Note that:
dAs = pdx, (p is the perimeter), and dTm = – d(Ts − Tm).
Since Ts is constant, the relation above can be rearranged as:
(8-28)

33
 Constant Surface Temperature (Ts = constant)
(8-28)

Integrating from x = 0 (Tm = Ti) to

x = L (Tm = Te) gives:

(8-29)

Solving for Te gives:

(8-30)

This relation can also be used to determine the mean fluid

temperature Tm(x) at any x by replacing As = pL by px.

Note that the temperature difference between the fluid and the
surface decays exponentially in the flow direction
34
 Constant Surface Temperature (Ts = constant)
The previous eqn can be re-arranged to get:
(8-31)

Putting it in the heat transfer eqn,

we can obtain: (8-32)

Where (8-33)

Note that: Ti = (Ts − Ti) and Te = (Ts − Te)

Caution: always use the Logarithmic Mean Temperature
Difference (Tln) when determining the convection heat transfer
in a tube whose surface is maintained at a constant temperature Ts.
35
Example 8-1 (p-430):

36
Example 8-1 (Cont’):

37
Problem 8-22 (p-452):
Cooling water available at 10°C is used to condense steam at 30°C in the
condenser of a power plant at a rate of 0.15 kg/s by circulating the cooling
water through a bank of 5-m-long 1.2-cm-internal-diameter thin copper tubes.

Water enters the tubes at a mean velocity of 4 m/s, and leaves at a temperature
of 24°C. The tubes are nearly isothermal at 30°C.

Determine the average heat transfer coefficient between the water and the
tubes, and the number of tubes needed to achieve the indicated heat transfer rate
in the condenser.
Steam, 30C
Steam is condensed by cooling water
flowing inside copper tubes. 24C
Water D = 1.2 cm

The average heat transfer coefficient 10C

4 m/s L=5m
and the number of tubes needed are to
be determined.
Problem 8-22 (p-452) cont’:

39
Problem 8-22 (p-452) cont’:

40
Problem 8-24 (p-452):
Combustion gases passing through a 3-cm-internal-diameter
circular tube are used to vaporize waste water at atmospheric
pressure. Hot gases enter the tube at 115 kPa and 250°C at a
mean velocity of 5 m/s, and leave at 150°C. If the average heat
transfer coefficient is 120 W/m2 °C and the inner surface
temperature of the tube is 110°C, determine :
a) The tube length and
b) The rate of evaporation of water.
Ts =110C

150C
Exh. gases D =3 cm
250C
5 m/s
L
41
Problem 8-24 (p-452) cont’:

42
Problem 8-24 (p-452) cont’:

43