Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering The National University of Singapore

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

of SINGAPORE
Chemical Engineering Process Lab I
SEMESTER 4
Experiment H2
Forced Convection Heat Transfer
Name :
Metric No. :
Group :
Date of Expt. :
Demonstrator’s :
signature
GRADE :
Objectives:
• To determine heat transfer coefficients in forced convection external flows.
Apparatus
Blower, metal spheres (d=50mm), electrical heater, chart recorder, thermocouple, air velocity meter.
Theory
The transient heat transfer processes such as cooling of a solid sphere are normally
multidimensional in nature because of the temperature within the body is a function of time and at
least one space dimension. However, approximate analysis can be obtained if the Biot number (h
(V/A)/k) is small. Under this condition, the variation of temperature with the spatial co-ordinates
will be very small, such that the temperature can be taken as a function of time only. This type of
analysis is called the lumped-heat-capacity method.
The cooling of a solid sphere initially at a uniform temperature, T i is considered now. The solid
sphere is cooled by blowing air over it. If we consider the resistance to heat transfer by conduction
within the body is small compared with the convective resistance at the surface, then an energy
balance gives the following equation (1).
dT
q = h A s (T - T ∞ ) = -c s ρ V (1)
dt
Equation (1) when integrated, gives the following equation:

T − T∞  − h As t 
= exp   (2)
Ti − T∞  ρV c 
 s 
The equation (2) can also be written as

 T − T∞ 
ln 
 Ti − T∞  = − 3 / k (3)
αt h ro
ro2
The rate of heat dissipation from the surface over a length of time τ is given by the following
equation :(2)
  − h As τ 
Q c = ρ V c s (T i - T ∞ ) 1 − exp 
 (4)
  ρ V c s 
The maximum amount of heat that can be dissipated from the surface is
(Q c ) max = Q max = ρ V c s (T i - T ∞ )
and hence the fractional heat loss is given by the following equation:
 1 h 2α τ 
= 1 − exp  − 
Qc
(5)
Qmax  Bi k 2 
 
where
h (V / A) 1 h ro
Bi= =
k 3 k
• Validity of lumped-heat-capacity method
The lumped-heat-capacity method yields reasonable estimates when the following condition is met:
h (V / A)
a. Biot number, Bi = < 0.1 (6)
k
b. Compare the h r o /k value obtained from the plot of ln (T - T ∞ )/(T i - T ∞ ) against αt/r o 2 with that
obtained from the Heisler temperature charts. A good agreement indicates a reasonable
approximation of the analysis.
• Convection heat transfer coefficient
Equation (3) shows that the slope of straight line obtained by drawing the variation of ln
 T − T∞ 
  with α t/r o 2 is -3 h r o /k.
 i
T − T ∞ 
Hence, for each of these spheres, the heat transfer coefficient can be calculated by knowing the
slope of the straight line. The heat transfer coefficient can also be calculated by using the following
empirical equation: (2)
µ ∞ 0.25
Nu = 2 + (0.4 Re0.5 + 0.06 Re2/3) Pr0.4 ( ) (7)
µi
where 3.5 ≤ Re ≤ 7.06 × 104 ; 0.71 ≤ Pr ≤ 380
Experiment Procedure
The metal spheres are heated to a temperature of about 160 o C. The heating should be carried out
slowly to ensure uniform temperature inside the spheres. Start the motor of the blower and set the
speed controller. Place one sphere in the wind tunnel and start recording the sphere temperature.
The cooling is carried out until the temperature of the sphere is about 5 o C higher than the room
temperature. Record the air flow rate in the wind tunnel. Repeat the cooling with the remaining two
spheres. Repeat the experiment with a different motor speed.
Tabulation and Calculations:
Material of the sphere:

Room Temperature:
Plot the ln (T-T ∞ )/(T i -T ∞ ) vs. αt/r o 2 and determine the slope.
Check the Validity of lumped-heat-capacity method.
Determine the empirical heat transfer coefficient by using the equation (7).
Compare your experimental results with that obtained from the Heisler Chart.
Results and Discussions:
Conclusions:
References
1. Holman J P (1997) Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill
2. Thomas, L.C. (1980), Fundamentals of Heat Transfer, Prentice Hall.
3. Welty, J. R., Wicks, C. E., Wilson, R. E., & Rorrer, G. L. (2008). Fundamentals of Momentum,
Heat and Mass Transfer (5th Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
LIST OF DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
A surface area of the sphere

h(V / As )
Bi Biot number =
ks
C f specific heat of fluid
c s specific heat of solid
g acceleration due to gravity
h average heat transfer coefficient
k f thermal conductivity of the fluid
k s thermal conductivity of the material of the sphere
h (2ro )
Nu average Nusselt number =
kf
Pr Prandtl number, µ c f /k f
Q c Convective heat transfer from the surface of the sphere
U ρ (2ro )
Re Reynolds number,
µ
ro radius of sphere
T Temperature
Ti Temperature of the sphere at the commencement of cooling
T∞ Ambient temperature
t time
U velocity
V volume
α thermal diffusivity of the material of the sphere = ks/ρ c s
µi viscosity of fluid at the commencement of cooling
µ ∞ viscosity of fluid at ambient temperature
ρ density
Thermal Diffusivity Values of Solid Metals

αb = 3.412 × 10-5 m 2/s
α Al = 8.418 × 10-5 m2/s
αST = 1.474 × 10-5 m2/s
Properties of materials at 20 oC
ρ (kg/m3) C p (KJ/kg oC) k(w/m oC)

Aluminium 2.707 0.896 204
Carbon
steel (C=0.5%) 7.833 0.465 54
Brass
(70% Cu, 30% Zn) 8.522 0.385 111

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Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Chemical Engineering Process Lab I

Forced Convection Heat Transfer

• To determine heat transfer coefficients in forced convection external flows.

Equation (1) when integrated, gives the following equation:

The equation (2) can also be written as

• Convection heat transfer coefficient

Tabulation and Calculations:

Material of the sphere:

1. Holman J P (1997) Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill

2. Thomas, L.C. (1980), Fundamentals of Heat Transfer, Prentice Hall.

LIST OF DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS

A surface area of the sphere

Thermal Diffusivity Values of Solid Metals

ρ (kg/m3) C p (KJ/kg oC) k(w/m oC)

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