Lecture Series 1

Convection Heat Transfer

The Thermal Management Team of AT&A

Stuart Brogden--TMT Supervisor

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the people, skills, and tools to
Kevin Parker--Staff Engineer effectively utilize thermal
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Raleigh, NC
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John Richter--Staff Engineer analysis to help make
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 Questions You Might Be Asking?

What is convection?

What is Forced Convection? What is Natural Convection?

Is turbulent flow better than laminar flow?

How do I calculate a heat transfer coefficient?

What IN THE WORLD does an understanding

of convection have to do with =SE= Design?
 Lecture Outline

I. Fundamentals of Convection

II. Forced vs. Natural Convection

III. Practical convection notes for designing =SE=

equipment

IV. Bus bar example problem

V. Engineering calculators

VI. Final questions

 Fundamentals
Convection Heat Transfer:
• Convection is at the interface between fluid mechanics and heat
transfer.
• Convection is the rate of heat transfer due to fluid diffusion
(random molecular motion) and bulk fluid motion (advection) over
a surface.

Newton’s Law of Cooling: q"  h(Tsurface  T )

• q” is the heat flux or heat flow per unit area (W/m2).

• h is the heat transfer coefficient or film coefficient and has the units
(W/m2-K) or (W/in2-C).
• h is a function of the temperature, geometry, velocity, and fluid properties.
• Tsurface is the temperature of the surface (K or oC).
• T is the temperature of the bulk or freestream fluid (K or oC).
 Fundamentals

• L. Prandtl in 1904 first recognized that the flow about a solid body can be
divided into two regions: a very thin layer in the neighborhood of the body
(boundary layer) where friction plays an essential role and the remaining
region outside this layer, where friction may be neglected.

• Fluid layer “stuck” to wall @ y = 0

• Velocity Boundary Layer
Fluid velocity, u = 0 (no slip)

• Thermal Boundary layer (Ts > T)

Fluid Temp = Wall Temp
Heat is transferred from wall to
fluid by conduction!

• For a gas t  
 Fundamentals

T
T kf
q"  k f  h(Ts  T ) OR y y 0
y h
y 0 (Ts  T )
• Starting from the leading edge the BL grows (y increases) as you move along
the plate. Therefore the heat flux (q”) and the heat transfer coefficient (h) must
decrease. In other words, the thicker the BL the lower the heat transfer.

Busbar Geometry Busbar -Vertical Busbar - Horizontal


 = 7/10”
havg = 4.1 W/m2-C


 = 4/10”
havg = 7.8 W/m2-C
 Fundamentals
Laminar vs. Turbulent
• First step in any convection problem is to determine whether the BL is
laminar or turbulent.

• 3 Regions: laminar sublayer, buffer layer, and turbulent layer.

• Flat plate - Reynolds No., Rex = uxc/ = 5 x 105
• Turbulent flow enhances the transfer of momentum and energy and therefore
increases the heat transfer coefficient.
 Fundamentals

The fundamental problem of convection is to calculate “h”

• Calculate from BL Theory

• Calculate from empirical correlations

• Calculate by numerical simulation or physical experiments

Average Heat Transfer coefficient

q   q" dAs   h(Ts  T )dAs  (Ts  T )  hdAs

As As As

1
havg 
As  hdA
As
s
 Method of Calculating Heat Transfer Coefficients

1. Recognize the flow geometry, determine characteristic length (L)

2. Calculate Tf by Tf = (Ts + T )/ 2

3. Evaluate the fluid properties at Tf

4. Calculate Pr = Cp /k, Re = uL/ or Ra = g(Ts-T)PrL3/2

5. Choose the appropriate correlation for h

 Flat Plate Empirical Equations
Forced Convection:

• Convection of heat due to fluid motion caused by external means (fan,

pump, wind)
• Typical Range: 15-120 W/m2K for air
• Characteristic Length (L) is the plate length

• Flat Plate - Laminar (ReL < 5x105 ) :

havgL
NuL ,avg   0.664 Re1L/ 2 Pr1/ 3
k
Re = uL/
• Flat Plate - Turbulent (ReL > 5x105 ):

havgL
NuL ,avg   (0.037 Re 4L/ 5  871) Pr1/ 3
k
 Vertical Plate Empirical Equations
Natural (Free) Convection:

• Convection of heat due to fluid motion caused by buoyant forces (hot air rises)
• Typical range: 1-15 W/m2K
• Characteristic Length (L) is plate length

g (Ts  T ) Pr L3
Ra L 
2

•Laminar and Turbulent (10-1 < RaL < 1012, transition at 109):

2
havg L  0.387 Ra 1/ 6

NuL ,avg   0.825  L

k  [1  (0.492 / Pr) 9 / 16 8 / 27
] 
 Practical Considerations For Design
Natural (Free) Convection:
1. Short enclosures produce little “draft” / Tall enclosures produce good “draft”.
2. Avoid “clutter” around critical parts (driving force for flow is small)
3. Locate exit vents at top (preferably on the top) and inlets at bottom
4. Radiation heat transfer is often critical!
5. High altitudes will reduce air density and  reduce heat transfer.
6. Turbulent flow enhances heat transfer. Rough surfaces can help transition flow.
7. Orient critical parts to maximize convection (ex. Vertical vs. Horizontal).
8. Baffles can be used to effectively direct air to hot components.

Forced Convection:
1. Forced convection flow should be in same direction as buoyancy flow.
2. A Blowing system produces more turbulence, a positive pressure inside
enclosure, and lower operation temperatures for fans.
3. Exhausting system allows more control of inlet air to direct to critical parts
and can eliminate recirculation of hot air in the enclosure.
4. High altitudes reduce fan effectiveness.
5. Incoming flow direction and location can cause a “short circuit” flow to the
exhaust. Can be fixed with baffles.
 •Steady-state
•Adiabatic at the ends
Example Problem: How much current can this •Negligible Q at thin edges
bus bar carry? •Ignore radiation
Surf 2 Does the amount of current •Cu mat’l negligible temp
gradient through thickness
depend on the length?
n n n
Surf 1 N E in  N E gen - N E out  Etst  E st
n n

Ts=105 °C T=50°C  E gen -  E out  0

N N
L=20” As
I 2 R  qconv1  qconv2

I 2 R  h1 As (Ts  T )  h2 As (Ts  T )

I 2 R  2hAs T

W=2” 2hAs T Acs 2hAs T tW 2hLWT

e L I  
t=.25” R R e L e L
ACS
 e   e,0 (Ts  T@ 20C )   e, 0 2thT
I W

NO?
Calculating h: Tf = (Ts + T )/ 2 = 77.5°C = 350.7K

Constants Air Properties @ T=350K

g = 9.81 m/s2 Pr = 0.700  = 20.92 x 10-6 m2/s
 = 0.995 kg/m3 k = 0.03 W/m-K
Laminar Natural Convection: k  [1  (0.492 / Pr) 9 /16 ]8 / 27 
g NuL ,avg   0.825  
Ra  * T * L * Pr (for air)
3
h L 
avg 0.387 Ra 1/ 6
L

2 2
1
 (expansion coeff.)  for ideal gas
T

Ra = 3.232 x 108 havg= 5.1 W/m2K

Laminar Forced Convection: havgL

NuL ,avg   0.664 Re1L/ 2 Pr1/ 3
uL uL k
Re   u  3 m/s
 
Re = 72,849 havg= 9.4 W/m2K

Example Problem: How much current can this
bus bar carry?
Does the amount of current
depend on the length?
•Steady-state
•Adiabatic at the ends
•Negligible q at top and bot
•Ignore radiation
•Cu mat’l negligible temp
gradient through thickness

2thT
I W
Ts=105 °C T=50°C 
L=20” As
hnat’l conv = 5.1 W/m2K

hforced conv= 9.4 W/m2K Inat’l conv = 631 A

Cu@105C = 2.31x10-8 -m

W=2” Iforced conv= 856 A

t=.25”
 Engineering Calculators
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Eng. Reference Material
– Natural Convection Calculator
– Busbar Rating Calculator
– Others
Questions?