External Forced Convection Problems
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Uzair KhanExternal Forced Convection Problems
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Uzair Khan- Problem Sheet #2
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Powered by AIBoundary layer development in external forced convection is significantly affected by flow conditions such as velocity, plate temperature, and fluid properties. Laminar flow or turbulent flow regimes alter the boundary layer thickness and dynamics. For instance, in Q8, a faster flow (35 m/s) and a maintained plate temperature lead to different boundary layer thicknesses depending on whether it develops from the leading edge (16.5 mm) or from a transition point (9.9 mm).
The heat loss from a plate in airflow conditions depends on factors such as the plate dimensions, the temperature difference between the plate and the ambient, the airflow speed, and the convective heat transfer coefficient. For instance, in Q4, a 20-cm-square plate heated to 350 K and exposed to a 20 m/s airflow at 1 atm and 300 K loses heat at a rate of 425.7 W .
Determining skin friction drag on a cylinder in a wind tunnel requires calculating Reynolds number to ensure the correct regime (laminar or turbulent), along with consideration of surface roughness and fluid properties such as viscosity and density. For a cylinder 1m long and 60 cm in diameter at 4.5 m/s airspeed, the pressure being atmospheric and temperature at 50°C, the skin friction drag is found to be 5.70 x 10^-2 N .
For air at 27°C flowing over a flat plate at 2 m/s, the boundary-layer thickness can be determined using the formula for a laminar boundary layer on a flat plate. At a distance of x from the leading edge, the boundary-layer thickness δ can be calculated using the relation δ = 5.0*(x/Rec)^(1/2), where Rec is the Reynolds number at x. At 20 cm, δ = 0.00582 m, and at 40 cm, δ = 0.00823 m .
External flow conditions such as air temperature, pressure, and material properties like the thermal conductivity and surface temperature of the disc, influence the estimation of heat transfer rates. For a stainless steel compressor disc rotating in air at 400°C and 5 bar, analyzing flow at the outer radius and considering surface temperature gives insights into the heat transfer rate at both the center and outer surface, influenced by turbulent conditions (ReD = 1.12x10^7).
The Nusselt number provides a measure of the convective heat transfer relative to the conductive heat transfer across a boundary. A higher Nusselt number indicates more effective convective heat transfer. For a 1 kW radiator at 80°C dissipating heat into a 20°C room, with given parameters and assuming black body radiation, the Nusselt number for convection is calculated as 249, describing an effective convective process .
For a 1.0-kW heater constructed of a glass plate, the average temperature difference along the plate can be calculated using energy balance and convective heat transfer equations. The given conditions include a plate size of 60 cm by 60 cm and airstream conditions at 27°C. Using these parameters, the average temperature difference is 243°C .
Engineers must place the pitot tube outside the boundary layer, which requires understanding of boundary layer development and thickness at the location of measurement. The pitot tube needs to be placed at a distance where the boundary layer thickness ensures the tube is outside of it; in the provided example, this distance is found to be greater than 2.15 x 10^-3 m from the undercarriage .
The drag force on a flat plate can be computed using the analogy between fluid friction and heat transfer, often referred to as Reynolds analogy. This method estimates the relation between shear stress and convective heat transfer, where the drag force is analogous to the heat transfer rate. For the first 40 cm of the plate in Q2, the calculated drag force is 5.44 mN .
The Prandtl number (Pr) denotes the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal diffusivity and plays a crucial role in characterizing heat transfer in convection processes. It helps determine the relative thicknesses of the velocity and thermal boundary layers. In specific formulations, like in Q12, Pr is used along with the local Reynolds number to calculate local and average Nusselt numbers, reflecting the effectiveness of heat transfer relative to fluid flow properties .