Compiled by Dr.

Sumanta Banerjee, Mechanical Engineering Department

INTRODUCTION TO CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER

INTRODUCTION: It is well known that a hot plate of metal will cool faster when placed in front of a fan than when
exposed to still air. We infer that the heat energy is convected away, and we call the process convection heat transfer. The
term convection provides the reader with an intuitive notion concerning the heat-transfer process. However, this intuitive
notion must be expanded to enable one to carry out adequate analytical treatment of the problem. For example, we know
that the velocity (magnitude) at which the air blows over the hot plate has a perceptible influence on the heat-transfer rate.
But does it influence the cooling (rate) in a linear way? That is, if the velocity is doubled, will the heat-transfer rate double?
We should equally expect that the heat transfer rate might be different if we cooled the plate with water instead of air; but,
again, how much difference would there be? These questions may be answered with the aid of some basic analyses
presented in the course of our study. To start with, we sketch the physical mechanism of convection heat transfer and
show its relation to the conduction process.
Consider the heated plate, as shown in Fig. 1. The temperature of
the plate is , and the temperature of the fluid is . The
velocity profile of the flow will appear as shown in Fig. 1, being
reduced to zero value at the plate surface as a result of viscous
action. Since the velocity of the fluid layer at the wall, relative to
the wall, will be zero, the heat energy must be transferred only by
conduction at that point. Thus, we might compute the heat
transfer rate, using the Fouriers conduction equation =
. (1.1), with and being the thermal conductivity of
Figure 1: Convection heat transfer from a plate

the fluid and the fluid temperature gradient at the wall.

The following questions then arise. If the heat energy flows by conduction in this layer, why do we speak of convection heat
transfer? Also, what is the need to consider the velocity of the fluid? The answer to both these questions is that the
temperature gradient is dependent on the rate at which the fluid carries the heat away. A high velocity (of flow) produces a
large temperature gradient, and so on. In other words, the temperature gradient at the wall depends on the flow field, and
we must develop analytical expressions that relate the two quantities. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that the
physical mechanism of heat transfer at the wall is a conduction process.
(
) . (1.2) called the
To express the overall effect of convection, we use another relation =

) between
Newtons law of cooling. Here, the heat-transfer rate is related to the overall temperature difference (

the wall and fluid and the wall surface area . The quantity is called the convection heat-transfer coefficient, and Eqn.
(1.2) is the defining equation. It may be noted that is not a material property (unlike thermal conductivity). An analytical
calculation of may be made for some systems, as subsequent studies shall reveal. For complex situations, however,
must be determined experimentally. The heat-transfer coefficient is sometimes called the film conductance because of its
relation to the conduction process within the thin stationary layer of fluid at the wall surface. From Eqn. (1.2), we note that
the SI units of are in watts per square meter per Celsius degree when the heat energy flow is measured in watts.
In view of the foregoing discussion, we may anticipate that convection heat transfer will have a dependence on the
viscosity of the fluid, in addition to its dependence on the thermal properties of the fluid (namely, thermal conductivity,
specific heat, density). This is expected because viscosity influences the velocity profile and, correspondingly, the thermal
energy-transfer rate in the region near the wall.
If a heated plate is exposed to ambient room air without an external source of motion, a movement of the air mass
would be experienced as a result of the density gradients near the plate. We call this natural (free) convection as opposed
to forced convection, which is experienced in the case of the fan blowing air over a plate. Boiling and condensation
phenomena are also grouped under the general subject of convection heat transfer. The approximate ranges of convection
heat-transfer coefficients are indicated in Table 1 for an estimate of values that are encountered in engineering practice.
HEAT TRANSFER (MECH 3102)

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Compiled by Dr. Sumanta Banerjee, Mechanical Engineering Department

Table 1: Approximate values of convection heat transfer coefficients

HEAT TRANSFER (MECH 3102)

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