Heat Transfer to Solids in a Flowing Fluid

The heat transfer is dependent on:

1. Geometry of the body.
2. The position or orientation of the body (parallel, perpendicular to
flow).
3. Proximity of other bodies.
The heat transfer coefficient varies across the surface of the object.
But the average heat transfer coefficient can be determined from
an equation of the form:
1/ 3
Re Pr
Re
Pr
where: is the Nusselt number,
, are constants
is the Reynolds number
is the Prandtl number

m
Nu
Nu
N CN N
hD
N
k
C m
N
N
=
Flow Parallel to a Flat Plate
L
0.5 1/ 3 5
Re, Pr Re, Pr
Re
For heat transfer along the entire length of the surface, ,
for laminar flow:
0.664 3 10 0.7
where the Reynolds number is computed from
For turbulent
Nu L L
L
N N N N N
Lv
N

= < >
=
5
Re, Pr
0.8 1/ 3
Re, Pr
flow, 3 10 0.7
0.0366
L
Nu L
N N
N N N
> >
=
Use fluid properties at average film temperature
= (Ave. temp. of Wall + Ave. temp. of fluid)/2
Flow Perpendicular to a Single Cylinder
D
Re
1/ 3
Re Pr
m
Nu
Dv
N
N CN N

=
=
Use properties at the film
temperature. Velocity is
free field velocity of fluid.
Flow Past a Single Sphere
Re
0.5 1/ 3
Re Pr
Re Pr
2.0 0.60
1 70, 000 0.6 400
Nu
Dv
N
N N N
N N

=
= +
< < < <
Use properties at film temperature.
Flow Thru Tube Banks
Very important for heat
exchanger design!
Flow around the first bank
is essentially the same as
for a single tube. For
subsequent rows, flow
depends on the tube bank
arrangement. The
convection coefficient of a
row increases with
increasing row number
until about the 5
th
row, after
which there is little change.
For aligned tubes, the front
row shields the back rows,
particularly for short
distances between tubes.
In general, heat transfer is
encouraged by the
staggered arrangement.
Flow Thru Tube Banks
In-Line Tubes Staggered Tubes
'
Tube spacing parallel to flow.
Tube spacing normal to flow.
Diagonal tube spacing for staggered rows.
P
n
P
S
S
S
=
=
=
Flow Thru Tube Banks
max
max
Re
1/ 3
Re Pr
ratio of minimum flow area to total front area, between tubes
maximum velocity in tube banks.
n
n
n
n
m
Nu
S
S D
vS
v
S D
Dv
N
N CN N

= =

=
=
Only for more than ten rows. Tables are
available for non-equal ratios.
Flow Thru Tube Banks
Correction factors for banks of less than ten tubes.
Flow Thru Tube Banks
Procedure for solving tube bank problems:
Given: tube geometry, inlet temperature, tube surface temp., fluid
velocity.
1. Assume an outlet temperature.
2. Determine properties of the fluid at the average temperature.
3. Calculate max. velocity based on geometry.
4. Calculate Reynolds number based on max. velocity.
5. Determine average heat transfer coefficent.
6. Determine overall q from total area of all tubes using
temperature difference between tube wall and average fluid
temperature.
7. Determine mass flow rate from:
8. Use to determine temperature drop.
9. Continue until guessed = calculated.
open area
t t
m vA A = =
P
q mC T = A
Heat Transfer for Flow in Packed Beds
2/ 3
' 0.35
Re Re
'
2.876 0.3023
where: is the void fraction
is the superficial velocity based on the cross section
of the empty container in m/s

P
H
f P
C h
J
k N C v N
v

c c

c
| |
= = +
|
\ .
'
Re
' '
is called the Colburn J factor
where the subscript means the property is evaluated at the
film temperature. All other properties are at the bulk flow temp.
H
P
f
J
D G
N
G v
f

=
=
Convective Heat Transfer
Natural convection occurs when a quiescent fluid is
exposed to a hot or cold surface.
If the surface is hot, the fluid next to the surface will be
heated, its temperature will increase and its density will
decrease. Due to the decreased density of the fluid next to
the surface, it will rise due to buoyancy.
If the surface is cold, then the temperature of the fluid will be
colder than the bulk fluid, its density will decrease and will
fall due to buoyancy.
Convective Heat Transfer
Convective Heat Transfer
Typical chemical engineering problems involving convective heat
transfer:
1. If a hot fluid is transported thru a pipe from process A to process
B, how much will its temperature drop?
2. If a hot fluid is stored in a storage vessel, how much will the
temperature drop each day?
3. What are the convective heat losses from my process unit, i.e.,
distillation column?
4. If a hot solid is cooled in the open, how long will it take to cool
the solid to room temperature?
Convective Heat Transfer
Natural convection heat transfer involves an additional
dimensionless parameter called the Grashof number. The Grashof
number represents the buoyancy force.
3 2
r
2
where: is the characteristic length, i.e. length of a heated plate
is the density of the fluid, at the film temperature.
is the coefficient of volumetri
f
G
f
L g T
N
L
|

|
A
=
c expansion.
is the temperature difference between surface and bulk fluid
is the fluid viscosity, evaluated at the film temperature
Remember:
2
wall bulk
film
T
T T
T

A
+
=
Convective Heat Transfer
The volumetric expansion coefficient is defined as:
-1
1
where: is the volume
is the temperature
is the volumetric expansion coefficient, (deg)
dV
V dT
V
T
|
|
| |

|
\ .
Ethyl alcohol: 112 x 10
-5
/deg. C
Methyl alcohol: 120
Benzene: 124
Glycerin: 51
Air: 3
Convective Heat Transfer
2
For ideal gases
1
1 1
But and
and it follows that
1
For an ideal gas, and it follows that
1
g
dV
V dT
d
V d
d
dT
P
R T
T
|

|
| |

|
\ .
| |
= =
|
\ .
| |
=
|
\ .
=
=
Ideal gas only
True for any material
Convective Heat Transfer
Most natural convection geometries are represented by the
equation:
( )
Pr
m
Nu Gr
N a N N =
The physical properties are evaluated at the film temperature.
For vertical and horizontal plates and cylinders use Table 4.7.1
(handout).
For horizontal plates the length, L, is used.
For cylinders L is replaced by D.
For horizontal rectangles the average of the two dimensions is
used.
For a horizontal circular disk, the diameter is multiplied by 0.9.
Simplified equations for various types of surfaces are provided in
Table 4.7-2 (handout).
Convective Heat Transfer
For natural convection at pressures other than 1 atm, the heat
transfer coefficients are multiplied by a correction factor:
4 9 1/ 2
Pr
9 2/ 3
Pr
For from 10 to 10 multiply by
For > 10 multiply by
where is in atmospheres.
Gr
Gr
N N P
N N P
P
4 9
Pr
3 3 3 o
The correlations in the tables apply mostly for
10 10
This generally holds for
4.7 m or 300 ft F
Gr
N N
L T K
< <
A <
Example - Convective Heat Transfer
4.7-2. A vertical cylinder 76.2 mm in diameter and 121.9 mm high is
maintained at 397.1 K at its surface. It loses heat by natural
convection to air at 294.2 K. Heat is lost from the sides and top
the bottom is insulated. Calculate the total heat loses neglecting
radiation.
Example - Convective Heat Transfer
Example - Convective Heat Transfer
Example - Convective Heat Transfer
Example - Convective Heat Transfer
Example - Convective Heat Transfer