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A larger Nusselt number corresponds to more active convection, with turbulent flow typically in the 100–1000 range. [2] A similar non-dimensional property is the Biot number, which concerns thermal conductivity for a solid body rather than a fluid. The mass transfer analogue of the Nusselt number is the Sherwood number.
In convective heat transfer, the Churchill–Bernstein equation is used to estimate the surface averaged Nusselt number for a cylinder in cross flow at various velocities. [1] The need for the equation arises from the inability to solve the Navier–Stokes equations in the turbulent flow regime, even for a Newtonian fluid .
The Sherwood number (Sh) (also called the mass transfer Nusselt number) is a dimensionless number used in mass-transfer operation. It represents the ratio of the total mass transfer rate ( convection + diffusion) to the rate of diffusive mass transport, [ 1 ] and is named in honor of Thomas Kilgore Sherwood .
The heat transfer coefficient is often calculated from the Nusselt number (a dimensionless number). There are also online calculators available specifically for Heat-transfer fluid applications. Experimental assessment of the heat transfer coefficient poses some challenges especially when small fluxes are to be measured (e.g. < 0.2 W/cm 2 ).
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.
The relative magnitudes of the Grashof number and the square of the Reynolds number determine which form of convection dominates. If G r / R e 2 ≫ 1 {\displaystyle {\rm {Gr/Re^{2}\gg 1}}} , forced convection may be neglected, whereas if G r / R e 2 ≪ 1 {\displaystyle {\rm {Gr/Re^{2}\ll 1}}} , natural convection may be neglected.
The Nusselt number is most useful in determining the convective heat transfer coefficient, whereas the Biot number is used in unsteady problems. This is a typical exam question. The " k {\displaystyle k} " in the Biot numer is of a solid, that in the Nusselt number of a fluid.
In the situation of laminar flow in circular tubes, several dimensionless numbers are used such as Nusselt number, Reynolds number, and Prandtl number. The commonly used equation is =. 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 ...