Chapter 9

Forced Convection: Internal

Flows
(Material presented in this chapter are based on those in Chapter 8, Funda-
mentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, Fifth Edition by Incropera and DeWitt)
In the previous chapter, estimation of heat and mass transport coe-
cients from an object to the surrounding uid owing over the object was
discussed. Both analytical relations, wherever possible and empirical cor-
relations were derived. In this chapter, relations to obtain heat and mass
transport coecients from an object under internal ow conditions, that is,
when the uid ows in the inside of the object. For example, heat transport
from tube walls to uid when the ow of the uid is through a circular tube.
Just as in the case of external ows, the uid owing inside a tube will
result in the formation of boundary layer followed by a fully developed regime.
The ow conditions can either be laminar or turbulent conditions. Relations
and correlations to estimate heat transfer coecients during fully developed
regime and boundary layers under both laminar and turbulent conditions
will be considered.
9.1 Hydrodynamics
9.1.1 Flow conditions
Consider the case of a uid owing through a tube (Fig. 9.1) of internal
radius r
0
. Assume the uid to enter at a uniform velocity u. As the uid
141
142 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
makes contact with the internal surface of the tube, viscous eects becomes
important and a boundary layer will be formed. Note that the boundary
layer is formed all around the cylinder. After a certain critical distance x
fd,h
downstream, the inviscid region shrinks and the boundary layer merges at
the center of the tube. At this point the fully developed region starts. x
fd,h
denes the location where a fully developed hydrodynamic conditions start
and is called the hydrodynamic entry length.
Figure 9.1: Hydrodynamic boundary layer development under laminar ow
conditions in a tube.
The ow can be laminar or turbulent, which is characterized by the
Reynolds number for the circular tube
Re
D
=
u
m
D

(9.1)
where u
m
is the mean uid velocity over the tube cross-section and D is the
tube diameter. Note that the free stream velocity at the entry region cannot
be used as a meaning scaling for velocity of the uid inside the tube. In a fully
developed ow, the critical Re
D
corresponding to the onset of turbulence is
Re
D,c
2300. The transition to turbulence may begin in the boundary layer
itself.
Under laminar ow conditions (Re
D
2300), the hydrodynamic entry
length is given by
_
x
fd,h
D
_
lam
0.05Re
D
(9.2)
and that in turbulent conditions will be
10
_
x
fd,h
D
_
tur
60 (9.3)
9.1. HYDRODYNAMICS 143
9.1.2 Mean velocity
Typical velocity prole inside a tube is a parabolic prole across the cross-
section. As a result there is no well-dened free stream velocity that can be
used for scaling purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to dene a mean velocity
u
m
and the related mass ow rate is given by
m = A
c
u
m
(9.4)
which is a conserved property and hence can be expressed as
m =
_
Ac
u(r, x)dA
c
(9.5)
For an incompressible uid,
u
m
=
_
Ac
u(r, x)dA
c
A
c
=
2
r
2
0
r
0
_
0
u(r, x)rdr =
2
r
2
0
r
0
_
0
u(r, x)rdr (9.6)
Note that the Re
D
is given by Re
D
=
4 m
D
.
9.1.3 Velocity prole in fully developed region
Assume the uid to be incompressible. In a fully developed region, the radial
velocity is zero, that is, v = 0 and the axial velocity gradient is zero, that
is,
v
x
= 0. Therefore, the axial velocity component depends only on the
radial position, that is, u(x, r) = u(r), expression for which can be obtained
by solving the appropriate xdirection momemtum balance. Note that the
net momentum ux everywhere is zero in the fully developed region. As a
result, the momentum conservation is just a balance between the shear and
pressure forces in the ow. For an annular element in Fig. (9.2), the force
balance is

r
(2rdx)
_

r
(2rdx) +
d
dr
[
r
(2rdx)] dx
_
+ p(2rdr)
_
p(2rdr) +
d
dx
[p(2rdr)] dx
_
= 0 (9.7)
144 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
which, after introducing Newtons law of viscosity
r
=
du
dr
, reduces to

r
d
dr
(r
du
dr
) =
dP
dx
(9.8)
Figure 9.2: Force balance
As the axial pressure gradient is independent of r, Eq. (9.8) integrated
subject to the boundary conditions u(r
0
) = 0 (no slip) and
u
r
|
r=0
= 0 is
given by
u(r) =
1
4
_
dP
dx
_
r
2
0
_
1
_
r
r
0
_
2
_
(9.9)
which is a parabolic velocity prole. Note that in order to ensure a ow, the
pressure gradient must be negative.
The mean velocity can be obtained by substituting Eq. (9.9) into Eq.
(9.6) to obtain
u
m
=
r
2
0
8
dP
dx
(9.10)
Using Eq. (9.10), Eq. (9.9) can be written as
u(r)
u
m
= 2
_
1
_
r
r
0
_
2
_
(9.11)
9.1.4 Pressure gradients
In order to nd the pressure gradient or pressure drop across the ow, it is
useful to work with the friction factor. Friction factor is given by
f
D
dP
dx
u
2
m
/2
(9.12)
9.1. HYDRODYNAMICS 145
(Note that Eq. (9.12) is dierent from the Friction coecient.)
As
s
=
du
dr r=r
0
, the friction factor coecient
C
f
=
f
4
(9.13)
Using the expressions for Re
D
(Eq. 9.1) and for mean velocity prole (Eq.
9.10), for a fully developed laminar ow, the friction factor is given by
f =
64
Re
D
(9.14)
For a fully developed turbulent ow, the experimentally obtained corre-
lations for friction factor are
f = 0.316Re

1
4
D
Re
D
2 10
4
(9.15)
f = 0.184Re

1
5
D
Re
D
2 10
4
(9.16)
f = (0.79 ln Re
D
1.64)
2
3000 Re
D
5 10
6
(9.17)
and the corresponding friction factor chart is presented in Fig. (9.3).
Figure 9.3: Friction factor for fully developed ow in circular tubes.
As f and
dP
dx
is constant in the fully developed region, the pressure drop
p = p
1
p
2
associated with fully developed ow between points x
1
and x
2
146 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
may be expressed as
p =
p
2
_
p
1
= f
u
2
m
2D
x
2
_
x
1
dx = f
u
2
m
2D
(x
2
x
1
) (9.18)
9.2 Thermal considerations
Just like hydrodynamic boundary layer and fully developed regions, thermal
boundary layer and thermally fully developed regions will exist. The length
that separates these two is called the thermal entry length x
fd,t
where the
subscript t stands for thermal.
Figure (9.4) shows the boundary layer formation and fully developed re-
gion and the associated temperature prole in a heated circular tube under
either constant surface temperature or constant ux conditions. Under con-
Figure 9.4: Thermal boundary layer development in a heat circular tube with
temperature proles under constant surface temperature and constant ux
conditions.
stant surface temperature conditions, the uid next to the surface will attain
temperature as that of the surface itself and under constant ux conditions,
the temperature gradient at the surface will be related to the ux.
The thermal entry length under laminar ow conditions is given by
_
x
fd,t
D
_
lam
= 0.05Re
D
Pr (9.19)
and that under turbulent conditions is, to the rst approximation, given by
_
x
fd,t
D
_
tur
= 10 (9.20)
9.2. THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS 147
which is independent of Pr.
9.2.1 Mean temperature
Similar to the requirement of the denition of mean velocity under hydrody-
namic conditions, there is a need to dene the quantity mean temperature
T
m
to characterize the thermal fully developed region. The mean tempera-
ture at any cross-section signies the amount of thermal energy transported
by the uid as it is convected past the cross-section.
If m and C are the mass ow rate and specic heat of the uid, then the
rate of energy transported in terms of the mean temperature T
m
is given by

E
m
= mCT
m
(9.21)
which is equal to the cross-sectional averaged local energy transported, that
is,

E
m
= mCT
m
=
_
Ac
CTudA
c
(9.22)
From Eq. (9.22), the mean temperature is given by
T
m
=
1
mC
_
Ac
CTudA
c
(9.23)
and for a circular tube, after substituting the velocity prole from Eq. (9.11),
the mean temperature will be
T
m
=
2
u
m
r
2
0
r
0
_
0
Turdr (9.24)
9.2.2 Newtons law of cooling
Newtons law of cooling for internal ow through a circular tube can be
dened in terms of the mean temperature T
m
and is given by
q

s
= h(T
s
T
m
) (9.25)
where h is the local convection heat transfer coecient. Note that T
m
varies
with axial position as there will be heat transport from (cooling) or to (heat-
ing) the uid depending on the operating condition. Therefore,
dTm
dx
= 0
148 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
when heat transfer between the uid and surface occurs. The value of T
m
increases (decreases) with x is the uid receives (looses) heat from (to) the
surface.
9.2.3 Thermally fully developed conditions
Unlike under purely hydrodynamic fully developed conditions where
u
x
= 0,
in thermally fully developed conditions,
dTm
dx
= 0 and
u
r
= 0, that is, the
actual temperature prole T(r) is continuously changing with position x.
As a result it might appear that thermally fully developed conditions may
not be achieved. Therefore, there is a need to dene conditions that will
characterize the thermally fully developed conditions.
In the thermally fully developed boundary layer, although the radial tem-
perature proles changes with axial position, the actual shape of the tem-
perature prole does not change. The shape can be characterized by looking
into the non-dimensional temperature
T

=
T
s
T
T
s
T
m
(9.26)
The condition that the shape of the temperature prole being preserved in
the fully developed region requires

x
_
T
s
(x) T(x, r)
T
s
(x) T
m
(x)
_
fd,t
= 0 (9.27)
Note that the condition in Eq. (9.27) is valid for both constant surface tem-
perature (e.g. boiling or condensation occurring at the surface) and constant
surface ux conditions (e.g. electrical heating of the surface). Also, it is not
possible to have both boundary conditions to co-exist.
As the non-dimensionless temperature is independent of axial position,
the rst derivative of the T

with respect to r must also be independent of

x. Evaluating the
T

r
|
r=r
0
leads to

r
_
T
s
T
T
s
T
m
_
|
r=r
0
=
T
r
|
r=r
0
T
s
T
m
= f(x) (9.28)
The heat balance at the surface of the tube, based on Fouriers law at the
surface and Newtons law of cooling is given by
h
k
=
T
r
|
r=r
0
T
s
T
m
(9.29)
9.2. THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS 149

h
k
= f(x) (9.30)
Therefore, in the thermally fully developed ow of a uid with constant
properties, the local convection coecient is a constant and independent of
x.
Note that Eq. (9.30) is not satised in the entrance region as h varies
with x in the boundary layer, that is, till the thermal entry length x
fd,t
. At
the entry point, that is, x = 0, heat transfer coecient is very large and
gradually decreases and becomes constant at the thermally fully developed
region as shown in Fig. (9.5).
Figure 9.5: Axial variation of the heat transfer coecient during ow through
a tube.
150 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
Case I: Constant ux condition
Under constant ux condition, in the thermally fully developed regime under
laminar ow conditions, as T
m
is a mean temperature and is only a function
of the axial position, the surface temperature gradient must be equal to the
mean temperature gradient in the axial direction, that is,
dT
s
dx
|
fd,t
=
dT
m
dx
|
fd,t
(9.31)
The variation of T

can be written as

x
_
T
s
(x) T(x, r)
T
s
(x) T
m
(x)
_
fd,t
=
1
T
s
(x) T
m
(x)
T
x
+
T
s
T
(T
x
(x) T
m
(x))
2
dT
m
dx
+
T T
m
(T
s
T
m
)
2
dT
s
dx
= 0 (9.32)
From Eq. (9.32), it can be inferred that
T
x
=
T
s
T
T
s
T
m
dT
m
dx

T
s
T
T
s
T
m
dT
s
dx
+
dT
s
dx
=
dT
m
dx
|
fd,t
(9.33)
as for constant ux case, no shape change condition requires
dTs
dx
|
fd,t
=
dTm
dx
|
fd,t
. Under constant surface ux conditions, axial temperature gradient
is independent of the radial location.
Case II: Constant surface temperature
At constant surface temperature, that is,
dTs
dx
= 0,
T
x
=
T
s
T
T
s
T
m
dT
m
dx
|
fd,t
(9.34)
Under constant surface temperature conditions, the axial temperature gradi-
ent depends on the radial co-ordinate.
9.2. THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS 151
9.2.4 Variation of mean temperature
The axial dependence of the temperature of the uid inside the tube under
thermally fully developed conditions is related to the axial mean temperature
prole. Axial mean temperature prole can be obtained from the energy
balance. (Note that the balance will include transport of energy in both
boundary layer and fully developed regions.)
Consider an elemental volume dx in the tube(see Fig. 9.6) in which a
uid is owing at a mass ow rate of m and the heat transported to the uid
from the surface is dq
conv
, where P is the perimeter. The energy balance in
that element is
dq
conv
+ m(C
v
T
m
+Pv)
_
m(C
v
T
m
+Pv) + m
d
dx
(C
v
T
m
+Pv)dx
_
= 0
(9.35)
where, v = 1/ is the specic volume. Assuming ideal gas behavior for the
uid and constant specic heat capacity, Eq. (9.35) can be re-written as
dq
conv
= md[C
v
T
m
+RT
m
] = mC
p
dT
m
(9.36)
Figure 9.6: Energy balance for the mean temperatures
If q

s
= h(T
s
T
m
) is the surface ux, where h is the convection heat
transfer coecient, and P is the tube perimeter, then dq
conv
= q

s
Pdx and
Eq. (9.36) will become
dT
m
dx
=
q

s
P
mC
P
=
Ph
mC
P
(T
s
T
m
) (9.37)
152 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
When T
s
> T
m
then heat is transferred to the uid and hence T
m
increases
with x. When T
s
< T
m
then heat is transferred from the uid and hence T
m
decreases with x.
Case I: Constant surface ux
Under constant surface ux conditions,
q

s
P
mC
P
= f(x). Therefore, integration
of Eq. (9.37) leads to
T
m
(x) = T
m,i
+
q

s
P
mC
P
x (9.38)
The temperature prole is shown in Fig. (9.7a). As seen in Fig. (9.7a), in
the fully developed region, the temperature dierence between the wall and
the mean temperature remains constant as the axial surface temperature
gradient is equal to the axial mean temperature gradient (Eq. 9.31).
Case II: Constant surface temperature
Under constant surface temperature conditions, the appropriate form of the
mean temperature balance is
dT
m
dx
=
Ph
mC
P
(T
s
T
m
) (9.39)
Figure 9.7: Axial mean temperature prole for (a) Constant surface heat ux
(b) Constant surface temperature.
9.2. THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS 153
Assuming T = T
s
T
m
, Eq. (9.39) can be re-written as

d(T)
dx
=
Ph
mC
P
T (9.40)
If the length of the tube is L and T
m
(x = 0) = T
m,i
and T
m
(x = L) =
T
m,o
, integration of Eq. (9.40) leads to
ln
_
T
o
T
i
_
=
PL
mC
P
L
_
0
h
L
dx =
PL

h
mC
P

T
o
T
i
= exp
_

PL

h
mC
P
_
(9.41)
where

h =
L
_
0
h
L
dx is the average heat transfer coecient for the whole tube
of length L which includes both the boundary layer and the fully developed
regions.
Therefore,
T
s
T
m,o
T
s
T
m,i
= exp
_

PL

h
mC
P
_
(9.42)
and in general the mean temperature at any position x can be written as
T
s
T
m
(x)
T
s
T
m,i
= exp
_

Px

h
mC
P
_
(9.43)
The overall energy balance is
q
conv
= mC
p
(T
m,o
T
m,i
) = mC
P
(T
i
T
o
) (9.44)
where T
m,o
and T
m,i
are the inlet and outlet mean temperatures.
Using Eqs (9.42) and (9.44), the total heat transfer is
q
conv
=

hPL(T
o
T
i
)
ln
_
To
T
i
_ =

hA
s
T
lmtd
(9.45)
where, T
lmtd
=
ToT
i
ln

To
T
i

is the log-mean temperature dierence and A

s
is
the curved surface area of the tube. Log-mean temperature dierence is an
important quantity and provides an estimate of the net temperature gradient
across the tube.
The temperature prole is shown in Fig. (9.7a).
154 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
Overall heat transfer coecient
Suppose consider the case where the wall of the tube is nite and oers certain
resistance to heat transfer and instead of a constant surface temperature
condition, a uid is owing outside the tube at temperature T

. Then the
temperature dierence ratio (similar to Eq. (9.42)) can be written as
T
o
T
i
=
T

T
m,o
T

T
m,i
= exp
_

UA
s
mC
P
_
(9.46)
where

U is the overall heat transfer coecient that includes the conductivity
of the wall as well. From Eq. (9.46), the overall resistance to heat transfer
for this system can be identied as
R
tot
=
1

UA
s
(9.47)
9.2.5 Heat transfer coecient during laminar ow in
circular tubes
The heat transfer coecients during laminar ow in circular tubes, it is
necessary to nd the temperature prole of the uid in the tube. In the
thermally fully developed region also, the boundary layer approximation that
v = 0 and
d
2
T
dx
2
= 0 are valid. Assume viscous dissipation to be zero. The
energy balance (Eq. 7.22) in cylindrical coordinates for ow of uid inside
the tube is given by
u
T
x
=

r

r
_
r
T
r
_
(9.48)
where is the thermal diusivity.
Case I: Constant surface ux
Under constant surface ux conditions, using Eq. (9.31) for axial temperature
gradient and Eq. (9.11) for velocity prole in Eq. (9.48) leads to

r
_
r
T
r
_
= 2u
m
_
dT
m
dx
_
_
1
_
r
r
0
_
2
_
(9.49)
(Note that T
m
(x) varies linearly with x and
dTm
dx
= constant.)
9.2. THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS 155
The solution of Eq. (9.49) subject to the boundary conditions
T
r
|
r=0
= 0; T(r = r
0
) = T
s
(x) (9.50)
is
T(r, x) = T
s
(x)
2u
m
r
2
0

_
dT
m
dx
_
_
3
16
+
1
16
_
r
r
0
_
4

1
4
_
r
r
0
_
2
_
(9.51)
The mean temperature obtained by cross-section average of T(r, x) is
T
m
(x) = T
s
(x)
11
48
_
u
m
r
2
0

__
dT
m
dx
_
(9.52)
Substituting Eq. (9.37), m = u
m
_
D
2
4
_
and P = D, the mean tem-
perature is given by
T
m
(x) = T
s
(x)
11
48
q

s
D
k
(9.53)
Using Newtons law of cooling (Eq. 9.25) in Eq. (9.53), the heat transfer
coecient can be expressed as
h =
48
11
k
D
(9.54)
and Nu number (based on tube diameter) is given by
Nu
D
=
hD
k
=
48
11
= 4.36 (9.55)
In the thermally fully developed laminar region, under constant surface
ux conditions, the Nu number is constant and independent of Re and Pr.
Note that the thermal conductivity is evaluated at the mean temperature.
Case II: Constant surface temperature
The method elucidated for constant surface ux condition can be extended
to the constant surface temperature case as well. The model equation will
be

r
_
r
T
r
_
= 2u
m
_
dT
m
dx
_
_
1
_
r
r
0
_
2
_
T
s
T
T
s
T
m
(9.56)
solving which the Nu number is found to be
Nu
D
= 3.66 (9.57)
Note that the thermal conductivity is evaluated at the mean temperature.
156 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
9.2.6 Entry region
In the entry region, the temperature balance in given by Eq. (9.48). In this
case, both velocity and temperature are functions of both axial and radial
coordinates. Obtaining closed form solution in this case is very dicult.
Under constant surface temperature conditions, the average heat transfer
coecient can be obtained from the correlation
Nu
D
= 3.66 +
0.0668(D/L)Re
D
Pr
1 + 0.04[(D/L)Re
D
Pr]
2
3
(9.58)
where Nu
D
=

hD
k
. This correlation presumes a certain thermal entry length
and therefore is not valid under all conditions.
For combined entry length, that is, when both velocity and thermal entry
length exists, the suitable correlation is the Sieder-Tate correlation given by
Nu
D
= 1.86
_
Re
D
Pr
L/D
_1
3
_

s
_
0.14
(9.59)
which is valid for constant surface temperature, 0.48 < Pr < 16, 700, and
0.0044 <

s
< 9.75. Note that all properties, except
s
are evaluated at the
average temperature

T
m
= (
T
m,i
+Tm,o
)
/2.
Sieder-Tate correlation (Eq. 9.59) is generally valid for
_
[Re
D
Pr/(L/D)]
1/3
(/
s
)
0.14
_
2 (9.60)
When
_
[Re
D
Pr/(L/D)]
1/3
(/
s
)
0.14
_
< 2 fully developed conditions exist in
the whole tube and Eq. (9.57) provides a good approximation of the Nu
D
.
9.2.7 Turbulent ow in circular tubes
Analysis of turbulent ow are much more involved and the analytical ex-
pressions under these conditions are not available. Therefore, the transport
coecients under turbulent ow conditions can be obtained using empirical
correlations.
Expression for local Nusselt number for fully developed (hydrodynami-
cally and thermally) turbulent ow in a circular tube can be obtained using
Chilton-Colburn analogy of the form (Eq. 7.72)
C
f
2
=
f
8
= StPr
2
3
=
Nu
D
Re
D
Pr
Pr
2
3
(9.61)
9.3. CONVECTION MASS TRANSFER 157
Using the friction factor expression Eq. (9.17), Colburn equation
Nu
D
= 0.023Re
4
5
D
Pr
1
3
(9.62)
Another correlation to estimate heat transfer coecients that is often
used is the Dittus-Boelter equation given by
Nu
D
= 0.023Re
4
5
D
Pr
n
(9.63)
where n = 0.4 for heating the uid, that is, T
s
> T
m
and 0.3 for cooling
T
s
< T
m
. Dittus-Boelter equation is valid for 0.7 Pr 160, Re
D
10, 000,
and
L
D
10.
For large property variations during the heat transport, Sieder-Tate cor-
relation given by
Nu
D
= 0.027Re
4
5
D
Pr
1
3
_

s
_
0.14
(9.64)
may be used. Equation (9.64) is valid for 0.7 Pr 16, 700, Re
D
10, 000,
and
L
D
10.
Generally, Eqs (9.63) and (9.64) can be used for both constant surface
temperature and constant surface ux conditions.
9.2.8 Non-circular tubes
The tubes that are used in heat transfer equipments need not necessarily be
circular. Non-circular tubes are also used in several engineering applications.
In these cases, the eective or hydraulic diameter dened as the ratio of ow
cross-sectional area and the wetted perimeter has to be used for calculating
parameters such as Re
D
and Nu
D
.
For turbulent ow, most of the correlations for circular tubes are valid.
However, under laminar conditions, the circular tube expressions are less ac-
curate and the Nu
D
values for various geometries are available (see Incropera
and DeWitt).
9.3 Convection mass transfer
A typical example for convection mass transfer is mass transfer of a species
from the uid owing in a tube through the membrane at the wall of the
tube. The analysis for such problems are similar to heat transfer problems.
158 CHAPTER 9. FORCED CONVECTION: INTERNAL FLOWS
Similar to mean temperature, mean density of a species A is dened as

m
=
2
u
m
r
2
0
r
0
_
0

A
urdr (9.65)
The rate of mass transport from uid to the tube walls is given by
n
A
=

h
m
A
s

A,lmtd
(9.66)
where,
A,lmtd
is the log mean concentration dierence given by

A,lmtd
=

A,o

A,i
ln
_

A,o

A,i
_ (9.67)
The mean density dependence on axial position x is given by

A,s

A,m
(x)

A,s

A,m,i
= exp
_

h
m
P
m
x
_
(9.68)
Similar to convection heat transport coecients, convection mass trans-
port coecients for a fully developed laminar ow can be estimated from the
Sh
D
which is given by
Sh
D
= 3.66 (9.69)
and for fully developed turbulent ow Sh
D
is given by the mass transfer
analog of the Dittus-Boelter equation
Sh
D
= 0.023Re
4
5
D
Sc
0.4
(9.70)