Fundamentals of Convection

Objectives
To understand
• Physical mechanism of convection
• Classification of Fluid Flows
• Concept of boundary layer, development of velocity and
thermal boundary layers during flow over surfaces
• Dimensionless Reynolds, Prandtl, and Nusselt numbers,
Physical Mechanism of Convection
• Conduction and convection are similar in that both
mechanisms require the presence of a material medium.
• But they are different in that convection requires the
presence of fluid motion.
• Heat transfer through a liquid or gas can be by conduction or
convection, depending on the presence of any bulk fluid
motion.
• The fluid motion enhances heat transfer, since it brings
warmer and cooler fluid particles into contact
 Convection
• Two mechanism of convection
1. Diffusion: (conduction) due to random
molecular motion
2. Advection: due to bulk fluid movement of fluid
• Modes of convective heat transfer
1. Free (natural) Convection
It is due to flow caused by buoyancy forces
2. Forced Convection
It is due to the flow caused by some external
means
 Newton’s law of cooling
• The rate of convection heat transfer is observed to be proportional to
the temperature difference and is expressed by Newton’s law of
cooling as
• The convection heat transfer coefficient h depends on the several of
the mentioned variables, and thus is difficult to determine.
q conv h Ts  T  2
(W/m ) (1)
• Convection heat transfer “h” strongly depends on the fluid properties
(significant parameters)
– dynamic viscosity m,
– thermal conductivity k,
– density r, and
– specific heat cp, as well as the
– fluid velocity V.
• It also depends on the geometry and the roughness of the solid surface.
• h natural convection <h forced convection <h phase change
 Classification of Fluid Flows
• Viscous versus inviscid regions of flow
• Internal versus external flow
• Compressible versus incompressible flow
• Natural (or unforced) versus forced flow
• Steady versus unsteady flow
• One, two, and three-dimensional flows
• Laminar versus turbulent flow
• Viscous and inviscid flow:
 Flow in which frictional effects are significant called viscous effect (near B.L)
and where viscous effects are negligible are called inviscid flow( far from B.L).
• Internal and external flow:
 The flow of an unbounded fluid over a surface such as a plate, wire or pipe is
external and flow in confined channel such as in a pipe or duct is called internal
flow.
• Compressible an incompressible flow
 If the density of fluid remains constant throughout , it is incompressible flow
(no relation of P and ρ) otherwise compressible.
• Steady and unsteady flow
 No change at a point with time called steady otherwise unsteady.
 Transient flow term is used for developing flows.
• Uniform and non-uniform flow
 No change with location is uniform flow otherwise non-uniform flow.
• One, two & three dimensional flow
 Cartesian coordinates V(x,y,z)
 Cylindrical coordinates V(r,θ,z)
 Laminar and Turbulent Flows
• Laminar flow ─ the flow is characterized by
smooth streamlines and highly-ordered
motion.
• Turbulent flow ─ the flow is
characterized by velocity
fluctuations and
highly-disordered motion.
• The transition from laminar
to turbulent flow does not
occur suddenly.
• The velocity profile in turbulent flow is much fuller than that in
laminar flow, with a sharp drop near the surface.
• The turbulent boundary layer can be considered to consist of
four regions:
– Viscous sublayer
– Buffer layer
– Overlap layer
– Turbulent layer
• The intense mixing in turbulent flow enhances heat and
momentum transfer, which increases the friction force on the
surface and the convection heat transfer rate.
• Fluid in motion comes to a complete stop at the surface and
assumes a zero velocity relative to the surface (no-slip).
• The no-slip condition is responsible for the development of
the velocity profile.
• The flow region adjacent
to the wall in which the
viscous effects (and thus
the velocity gradients) are
significant is called the
boundary layer.
• An implication of the no-slip condition is that heat transfer
from the solid surface to the fluid layer adjacent to the
surface is by pure conduction
 Velocity Boundary Layer
• Consider the parallel flow of a fluid over a flat plate.
• x-coordinate: along the plate surface
• y-coordinate: from the surface in the normal direction.
• The fluid approaches the plate in the x-direction with a uniform
velocity V.
• Because of the no-slip condition V(y=0)=0.
• The presence of the plate is felt up to d.
• Beyond d the free-stream velocity remains essentially unchanged.
• The fluid velocity, u, varies from 0 at y=0 to nearly V at y=d.
 Velocity Boundary Layer
• The region of the flow above the plate bounded by d
is called the velocity boundary layer.
• d is typically defined as
the distance y from the
surface at which
u=0.99V.
• The hypothetical line of
u=0.99V divides the flow over a plate into two
regions:
– the boundary layer region, and
– the irrotational flow region.(inviscid region)
 Surface Shear Stress
• Consider the flow of a fluid over the surface of a plate.
• The fluid layer in contact with the surface tries to drag the
plate along via friction, exerting a friction force on it.
• Friction force per unit area is called shear stress, and is
denoted by t.
• Experimental studies indicate that the shear stress for most
fluids is proportional to the velocity gradient.
• The shear stress at the wall surface for these fluids is
expressed as
u (8)
 s  (N/m 2 )
y y 0
• The fluids that that obey the linear relationship above are
called Newtonian fluids.
• The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to
deformation.
 Thermal Boundary Layer
• Like the velocity a thermal boundary layer develops when a
fluid at a specified temperature flows over a surface that is
at a different temperature.
• Consider the flow of a fluid
at a uniform temperature of
T∞ over an isothermal flat
plate at temperature Ts.
• The fluid particles in the
layer adjacent assume the surface temperature Ts.
• A temperature profile develops that ranges from Ts at the
surface to T∞ sufficiently far from the surface.
• The thermal boundary layer ─ the flow region over the
surface in which the temperature variation in the direction
normal to the surface is significant.
• The thickness of the thermal boundary layer dt at any
location along the surface is defined as the distance
from the surface at which the temperature difference
T(y=dt)-Ts= 0.99(T∞-Ts).
• The thickness of the thermal boundary layer
increases in the flow direction.
• The convection heat transfer rate anywhere along
the surface is directly related to the temperature
gradient at that location.
 The Nusselt Number
• It is common practice to nondimensionalize the governing
equations into dimension less number to reduce total
variables. hLc
Nu 
k (4)
• Heat flux through the fluid layer by convection and by
conduction can be expressed as, respectively:

q conv hT (5) T

q cond k (6)
L
• Taking their ratio gives
q conv hT hL
   Nu (7)
q cond k T / L k
• The Nusselt number represents the enhancement of heat
transfer through a fluid layer as a result of convection relative
to conduction across the same fluid layer.
• Nu=1 pure conduction.
 Prandtl Number
• The relative thickness of the velocity and the
thermal boundary layers is best described by the
dimensionless parameter Prandtl number, defined
as
Molecular diffusivity of momentum   c p
Pr    (6-12)
Molecular diffusivity of heat  k

• Heat diffuses very quickly in liquid metals (Pr«1) and

very slowly in oils (Pr»1).
• Consequently the thermal boundary layer is much
thicker for liquid metals and much thinner for oils
relative to the velocity boundary layer.
 Reynolds Number
• The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the
surface geometry, surface roughness, flow velocity, surface
temperature, and type of fluid.
• The flow regime depends mainly on the ratio of the inertia
forces to viscous forces in the fluid.
• This ratio is called the Reynolds number, which is expressed for
external flow as
Inertia forces VLc VLc
Re    (6-13)
Viscous forces  
• At large Reynolds numbers (turbulent flow) the inertia forces are
large relative to the viscous forces.
• At small or moderate Reynolds numbers (laminar flow), the
viscous forces are large enough to suppress these fluctuations
and to keep the fluid “inline.”
• Critical Reynolds number ─ the Reynolds number at which the
flow becomes turbulent.
 Reynolds Number
• The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the
surface geometry, surface roughness, flow velocity, surface
temperature, and type of fluid.
• The flow regime depends mainly on the ratio of the inertia
forces to viscous forces in the fluid.
• This ratio is called the Reynolds number, which is expressed for
external flow as
Inertia forces VLc VLc
Re    (6-13)
Viscous forces  
• At large Reynolds numbers (turbulent flow) the inertia forces are
large relative to the viscous forces.
• At small or moderate Reynolds numbers (laminar flow), the
viscous forces are large enough to suppress these fluctuations
and to keep the fluid “inline.”
• Critical Reynolds number ─ the Reynolds number at which the
flow becomes turbulent.