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In thermodynamics, the heat transfer coefficient or film coefficient, or film effectiveness, is the proportionality constant between the heat flux and the thermodynamic driving force for the flow of heat (i.e., the temperature difference, ΔT ). It is used in calculating the heat transfer, typically by convection or phase transition between a ...
In fluid mechanics, the Rayleigh number (Ra, after Lord Rayleigh [1]) for a fluid is a dimensionless number associated with buoyancy -driven flow, also known as free (or natural) convection. [2][3][4] It characterises the fluid's flow regime: [5] a value in a certain lower range denotes laminar flow; a value in a higher range, turbulent flow.
A hot, less-dense material at the bottom moves upwards, and likewise, cold material from the top moves downwards. Convection (or convective heat transfer) is the transfer of heat from one place to another due to the movement of fluid. Although often discussed as a distinct method of heat transfer, convective heat transfer involves the combined ...
Nusselt number. In thermal fluid dynamics, the Nusselt number (Nu, after Wilhelm Nusselt [1]: 336 ) is the ratio of total heat transfer to conductive heat transfer at a boundary in a fluid. Total heat transfer combines conduction and convection. Convection includes both advection (fluid motion) and diffusion (conduction).
The lumped capacitance solution that follows assumes a constant heat transfer coefficient, as would be the case in forced convection. For free convection, the lumped capacitance model can be solved with a heat transfer coefficient that varies with temperature difference. [8]
The ratio of the Grashof number to the square of the Reynolds number may be used to determine if forced or free convection may be neglected for a system, or if there's a combination of the two. This characteristic ratio is known as the Richardson number (Ri). If the ratio is much less than one, then free convection may be ignored.
Natural or free convection is a function of Grashof and Prandtl numbers. The complexities of free convection heat transfer make it necessary to mainly use empirical relations from experimental data. [12] Heat transfer is analyzed in packed beds, nuclear reactors and heat exchangers.
Dimensionless numbers (or characteristic numbers) have an important role in analyzing the behavior of fluids and their flow as well as in other transport phenomena. [1] They include the Reynolds and the Mach numbers, which describe as ratios the relative magnitude of fluid and physical system characteristics, such as density, viscosity, speed of sound, and flow speed.