6.

4 Thermal Boundary Layer

A consequence of heat transfer between the surface and fluid.

The thermal study is very important for the further evaporation in the container.
We suppose that the incident air flow is at a uniform temperature, and that the surface is
maintained in a temperature Tp also uniform but different from the air temperature T0.
A region of the flow characterized by temperature gradients and heat fluxes.
A region between the surface and the free stream whose thickness 1 increases in the flow
direction.
Why does increase in the flow direction?
Manifested by a surface heat flux qs and a convection heat transfer coefficient h .
If (Ts-T) is constant, how do and h vary in the flow direction?

Consider flow over an isothermal flat plate as shown below:

Due to the difference in temperature between the fluid in the free stream and the surface
of the plate, temperature gradient develops in the fluid as shown.

The region of fluid in which the temperature gradient exists is called the thermal
boundary layer.

The thermal boundary layer thickness, t, is typically defined as the value of y for which
the ratio [(Ts-T)/(Ts-T)] = 0.99. t increases with distance from the leading edge.

The condition in the thermal boundary layer determines the convection heat transfer
coefficient. This is illustrated below.

At any location x on the plate, there is no fluid motion and energy transfer occurs only by
conduction. Therefore, the local heat flux is obtained from Fouriers law as
qs k f

T
y y 0

(3)

where kf = thermal conductivity of fluid.

Recall the Newtons law of cooling,

qs h T s T

(4)

Combining (3) & (4), we obtain

k f T y
y 0
h
T s T

(5)
T y

Since (Ts-T) is constant while t increases with x,

Therefore, q''s and h decrease with increasing x.

Prandtl Number

y 0

decreases with increasing x.

The Prandtl number is a parameter that relates the thicknesses of the velocity and thermal
boundary layers and is given by:

where is the kinematic viscosity, is the thermal diffusivity, is the fluid density, is the fluid
thermal conductivity, and cp is the fluid heat capacity at constant pressure.
The kinematic viscosity of a fluid reveals information about the rate at which momentum may
diffuse through the fluid because of molecular motion. Thermal diffusivity reveals information
about the diffusion of heat in the fluid. Thus the ratio of these two quantities expresses the
relative magnitudes of diffusion of momentum and heat in the fluid.