Natural Convection

• fluid moves under the influence of buoyant

forces arising from changes in density.

• In natural convection the velocity is zero at the

heated body (no-slip boundary condition),
increases rapidly in a thin boundary layer
adjacent to the body, and becomes zero again
far from the body.
The instrument often used in natural convection experiments is the Mach–Zehnder
interferometer, which gives a plot of isotherms in the fluid in the vicinity of a surface.
Horizontal Plates
Constant Heat Flux ( Horizontal Plates )
• Correlations ( Fujii and Imura )
Horizontal Plate with heated surface facing upward
Num = 0.13 ( GrL Pr ) 1/3 for GrL Pr < 2x108
Num = 0.16 ( GrL Pr ) 1/3 for 5x108 < GrL Pr < 1011

Horizontal Plate with heated surface facing

downward
Num = 0.58 ( GrL Pr ) 1/5 for 106 < GrL Pr < 1011
Constant Heat Flux ( Horizontal Plates )
• The physical properties are to be evaluated at a mean
temperature:
Tm = Tw – 0.25 ( Tw – T∞ )
• Thermal Expansion Coefficient ,
β at ( Tw + T∞ ) /2
• Grashop number
GrL = gβ(Tw - T∞ )L3
ν2
• Num = hm L = qw L
k (Tw – T∞)k
 FREE CONVECTION FROM
INCLINED SURFACES
• Extensive experiments have been conducted by Fujii and
Imura [44] for heated plates in water at various angles of
inclination. The angle that the plate makes with the vertical is
designated θ, with positive angles indicating that the heater
surface faces downward, as shown in Figure 7-7.
For the inclined plate facing downward with approximately
constant heat flux, the following correlation was obtained for the
average Nusselt number:
Assignment
• Consider a 60cm by 60cm electrically heated
plate with one of its surfaces thermally insulated
and the other surface dissipating heat by free
convection into atmospheric air at 30oC. The heat
flux over the surface of the plate is uniform and
results in a mean surface temperature of 50oC.
The plate is inclined, making an angle of 50o from
the vertical. Determined the heat loss from the
plate for the following cases a) heated surface
facing up, b)heated surface facing down
Assignment
• A sphere of diameter D = 5cm whose surface
is maintained at a uniform temperature of
120oC is submerged in quiescent water at
30oC. Determined the heat transfer rate by
free convection from the sphere to the water.