Forced and Free Convection Heat Transfer

Objectives:
1- Demonstration of the influence of the input power in the heat transfer.
Determination of the combined effect of heat transmission by forced convection
and radiation.
2- Demonstration of the combined effect of heat transfer by radiation and convection
on the surface of a cylinder. Determination of the combined effect of heat transfer
by free convection and radiation.

Theory:
Heat is power in movement due to a difference of temperatures. If there is a temperature
difference in a medium or among several mediums, a heat transfer is produced. There are
three different types of heat transfer processes or modes: conduction, convection and
radiation.

Convection: It is the mode of heat transfer between a surface and a fluid in movement at
different temperatures. It is the consequence of the superposition of two physical
phenomena, the power transported by the random movement of the molecules (diffusion)
and the power transported by the microscopic movement of the fluid (a great number of
molecules moving in group).

We can divide the heat transfer by convection into forced convection and natural
convection.

Forced convection happens when the flow is caused by external elements, such as a fan, a
pump or the wind.

Natural convection happens when the flow is influenced by buoyancy forces, which are
the result of differences of density caused by temperature variations in the flux.

the heat transfer rate by convention between a surface and a fluid is given by the cooling
Newton’s law, whose expression is:

q = A h (T s - T∞)

Where:

q = heat transfer rate (w)

h = heat transfer coefficient by convection (w/m2 k)

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A = heat transfer area (m2)

Ts = temperature on the surface (K)

T∞ = temperature in the flux (K)

Radiation: The thermal radiation is energy given out by a medium (solid, liquid or gas)
with a specific temperature. The emission is attributed to changes in the configurations of
the electrons in the atoms and in the molecules.

The radiation energy is transported by electromagnetic waves, without the necessary

presence of a medium. In fact, the radiation energy transfer is more efficient under
vacuum conditions.

A blackbody is an ideal surface which absorbs all incident radiation, emits the maximum
energy possible for a temperature and wave longitude given and emits the same in any
direction.

The heat transfer rate by radiation from a gray surface, obtained from the Stefan-
Boltzmann’s law, is:

Where

q = heat transfer rate by radiation from a gray surface (W)

= emissivity of the gray surface

= Stefan-Boltzman constant ( = 5.67*10-8 W/m2 k4)

A = area of the gray surface (m2)

Ts = temperature of the gray surface (K)

Tsur = temperature of surroundings (K)

The previous equation can be expressed in a linear form:

qr = A hr (T s - T∞)

By means of the introduction of the radiation coefficient hr,

in the case which Tsur = T∞ then,

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 ( )

The use of hr allows expressing formally the combined heat flow from the surface as:

q = qc + qr = A (hc + hr) (Ts – T∞) = A hcr (Ts – T∞)

Where hcr is the combined coefficient of heat transfer.

Nusselt number:

Forced convection

The Reynolds’ number (Re) determines the nature of the flux of the fluid:

= Density of the fluid (kg/m3)

V = velocity of the fluid (m/s)

D = characteristic dimension (m)

= dynamic viscosity (kg/m s)

The number of Prandtl (Pr) defines the relation between the temperature and velocity
distributions:

Pr =

Cp = calorific capacity (J/kg K)

= dynamic viscosity (kg/m s)

K = thermal conductivity (W/m K)

Nu is a function of the Re, the Pr and the dimensional geometry.

NuD = f ( ReD, Pr, dimensional geometry)

Where:

D = characteristic dimension (m)

h = coefficient of the film (W/m2 K)

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K = thermal conductivity (W/m K)

Theoretical nusselt number for forced convection case:

( )

0.7 < Pr < 500

1 < ReD < 106

n = 0.37 Pr 10

n = 0.36 Pr > 10

Properties at except Pr∞ at T∞ and Prs at Ts.

The critical Reynolds number for the beginning of the turbulence in external flux is:

ReD critical = 2*105

ReD C m

1 – 40 0.75 0.4

40 – 1000 0.51 0.5

103 – 2 x 105 0.26 0.6

2 x 105 – 106 0.076 0.7

Free convection.

In the case of free convection, the Nusselt number depends on two principal factors: the
number of Prandtl (Pr) and the number of Grashof (Gr),

g = acceleration of gravity (m/s2)

= coefficient of thermal expansion (K-1). For an ideal gas: , T in (K).

Ts = surface temperature (K)

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T∞ = room temperature (K)

D = characteristic dimension (m)

= kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

Grashof number gives us the relation between the buoyancy and the shearing stress.

The higher the number of Grasshof is, the more intense the free movement of the fluid
will be.

The relation between the forced convection and the free convection is given by the
expression:

, free convection is disregarded against the forced convection.

, forced convection is disregarded against the free convection..

Theoretical nusselt number for free convection case:

Rayleigh (Ra) number is usually used for the empirical correlations of natural convection:

Properties at

For the free convection case the transition Ra number is 109 (Ra > 109 is Turbulent).

Apparatus:

Convection unit

The convection unit is mainly composed of two elements:

Centrifugal fan and pool chamber. It allows generating the air current, forced or natural,
required in order to carry out an experiment. It has a connection with the interface in
order to regulate the airflow.

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Vertical Conduct. It is used to guide the flux to the cylinder. In the upper part of the
conduct, the unit of radiation is set up, which is isolated from the outside and from the
walls of the conduct. On the other hand, the inner part of the conduct is treated with a
coating resistant to high temperatures. It guaranties an emissivity close to the unit. Inside
the conduct, from the bottom to the top, we can find a temperature sensor, (it measures
the inlet air temperature), an anemometer (to control the airflow) and another temperature
sensor (to measure the outlet air temperature).

Radiation unit

The radiation unit consists of a horizontal cylinder of conducting material and treated
with a coating resistant to high temperatures, which guaranties an emissivity close to the
unit, and a thermocouple lodged in the surface of the cylinder. The set can turn around its
horizontal axis.

Figure 1: The Apparatus.

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Data and results:

Part one: Forced Convection:

Procedure:

1. Check that the sensors are connected to the console

2. Turn on the console.
3. Turn on the fan and fix flow to 60 m3/h.
4. Turn on the heater and fix the power to 10 W.
5. Wait approximately 10 minutes in order to reach stable working conditions.
6. Record the temperature measurements in Table (1).
7. Repeat for higher heater powers.
Table 1: Data for part one.

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3

ST1(°C )

ST2(°C )

ST0(°C )

SC1(m3/h) 60 60 60

Qrs ( W) 10 15 20

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Table 2: Results for part one.

Test 1 Test2 Test3

hrc (W/m2 .k)

hr (W/m2 .k)

hc (W/m2 .k)

NuD exp

Pr

ReD

NuD teo

Part Two: Free Convection:

Repeat the steps in the forced convection case but turn off the fan this time.

Table 3: Data for part two.

Test 1 Test 2

ST1(°C )

ST2(°C )

ST0(°C )

Qrs ( W) 5 10

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Table 4: Results for part two.

Test 1 Test2

hrc (W/m2 .k)

hr (W/m2 .k)

hc (W/m2 .k)

NuD exp

Pr

GrD/

NuD teo

Calculations:

Qrs = Qrc + Qp

Where:

Qp = heat losses (W), if we consider Qp = 0 then Qrs = Qrc

Qrs: Heater Power (W).

-Combined radiation – convection coefficient hrc:

Qrc =A hcr (Ts – T∞) …. Find hrc

Ts is ST0 (Cylinder external surface temperature) and T∞ is ST1 (Air inlet temperature)

A =3.73 10-3 m2 (cylindrical area heater)

-Radiation coefficient hr:

( ) ,

-Convection coefficient hc

hc = hrc – hr

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-Experimental Nusselt number (NuD exp)

, find K at

-Find Prandtl number at

-Reynolds number (ReD) [forced convection case]

= 0.016 m.

Find and at

[In the free convection case, find Grashof number and then Rayleigh number]

, D = 0.016 m /

-Find theoretical Nusselt number for the forced and free convection case.

Table 5: Table of dry air properties.

T (ºC) Cp x 106 x106 k x 103 Pr

(W/mºC)
(kJ/kgºC) (kg/m3) (kg /ms) (m2/s)

0 1.0057 1.2923 17.20 13.31 24.08 0.718

10 1.0058 1.2467 17.69 14.19 24.87 0.716

20 1.0061 1.2042 18.17 15.09 25.64 0.713

30 1.0064 1.1644 18.65 16.01 26.01 0.712

40 1.0068 1.1273 19.11 16.96 27.10 0.710

50 1.0074 1.0924 19.57 17.92 27.81 0.709

60 1.0080 1.0596 20.03 18.90 28.52 0.708

70 1.0087 1.0287 20.47 19.90 29.22 0.707

80 1.0095 0.9996 20.92 20.92 29.91 0.706

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90 1.0130 0.9721 21.35 21.96 30.59 0.705

100 1.0113 0.9460 21.78 23.02 31.27 0.704

110 1.0123 0.9213 22.20 24.10 31.94 0.704

120 1.0134 0.8979 22.62 25.19 32.61 0.703

130 1.0146 0.8756 23.03 26.31 33.28 0.702

140 1.0159 0.8544 23.44 27.44 33.94 0.702

150 1.0172 0.8342 23.84 28.58 34.59 0.701

160 1.0186 0.8150 24.24 29.75 32.25 0.701

170 1.0201 0.7966 24.63 30.93 35.89 0.700

180 1.0217 0.7790 25.03 32.13 36.54 0.700

190 1.0233 0.7622 25.41 33.34 37.18 0.699

200 1.0520 0.7461 25.79 34.57 37.81 0.699

210 1.0268 0.7306 26.17 35.82 38.45 0.699

220 1.0286 0.7158 26.54 37.08 39.08 0.699

230 1.0305 0.7016 26.91 38.36 39.71 0.698

240 1.0324 0.6879 27.27 39.65 40.33 0.698

250 1.0344 0.6748 27.64 40.96 40.95 0.698

260 1.0365 0.6621 27.99 42.28 41.57 0.698

270 1.0386 0.6499 28.35 43.62 42.18 0.698

280 1.0407 0.6382 28.70 44.97 42.79 0.698

290 1.0429 0.6268 29.05 46.34 43.40 0.698

300 1.0452 0.6159 29.39 47.72 44.01 0.698

310 1.0475 0.6053 29.73 49.12 44.61 0.698

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