Unit operation 4th Stage Lecture No.

Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer

Chapter 11, volume 1

In most of the unit operations encountered in the chemical and process industries, one or more
of the processes of;
- Momentum transfer
- Heat transfer , is/are involved
- and mass transfer
Thus, in the flow of a fluid under adiabatic conditions through a bed of granular
particles, a pressure gradient is set up in the direction of flow and a velocity gradient
develops approximately perpendicularly to the direction of motion in each fluid
stream; momentum transfer then takes place between the fluid elements which are
moving at different velocities.

If there is a temperature difference between the fluid and the pipe wall or the particles,
heat transfer will take place as well, and the convective component of the heat transfer
will be directly affected by the flow pattern of the fluid.

An example of a process of simultaneous momentum and heat transfer in which the

same fundamental mechanism is affecting both processes.
 Fractional distillation and
 gas absorption
are frequently carried out in a packed column in which the gas or vapour
stream rises counter-currently to a liquid.
The function of the packi ng in this case is to provide a large interfacial area
between the phases and to promote turbulence within the fluids. In a very
turbulent fluid, the rate of transfer per unit area of both momentum and mass
are high; and as the pressure drop raises the rates of transfer of both
momentum and mass increase together. In some cases, momentum, heat, and
mass transfer all occur simultaneously as, for example, in a water-cooling
tower, where transfer of sensible heat and evaporation both take place from the
surface of the water droplets.

When a fluid is flowing under streamline conditions over a surface, a forward

component of velocity is superimposed on the random distribution of velocities of the
4th Stage Unit Operations
molecules, and movement at right angles to the surface occurs only as a result of the random
motion of the molecules.

Thus if two adjacent layers of fluid are moving at different velocities

 there will be a tendency for

 the faster moving layer to be retarded and
 the slower moving layer to be accelerated by virtue of the continuous passage of
molecules in each direction,
 There will therefore be a net transfer of momentum from the fast to the slow moving
stream.
 Similarly, the molecular motion will tend to reduce any temperature gradient or any
concentration gradient if the fluid consists of a mixture of two or more components.
 At the boundary the effects of the molecular transfer are balanced by the drag forces at
the surface.

Types of Fluid Flow:

1. Laminar flow:
Laminar flow generally happens when dealing with small pipes and low flow velocities.
Laminar flow can be regarded as a series of liquid cylinders in the pipe, where the
deepest parts flow the fastest, and the cylinder touching the pipe isn't moving at all.

2. Turbulent flow:
In turbulent flow vortices, eddies and waves make the flow random. Turbulent flow
happens in general at high flow rates and with larger pipes.

3. Transitional flow:
Transitional flow is a mixture of laminar and turbulent flow, with turbulence in the
center of the pipe, and laminar flow near the edges.

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4th Stage Unit Operations

Laminar Flow Turbulent Flow

When a fluid flows under turbulent conditions over a surface, the flow can conveniently be
divided into three regions:

1. At the surface, the laminar sub-layer, in which the only motion at right angles to the
surface, is due to molecular diffusion. The resistance to transfer of momentum, heat and
mass concentrated in this region and can be reduced by increasing the Reynolds
number.

2. Next, the buffer layer, in which molecular diffusion and eddy motion are of
comparable magnitude (50% sub-layer + 50% turbulent core).

3. Finally, over the greater part of the fluid, the turbulent region in which eddy motion is
large compared with molecular diffusion.

In addition to momentum, both heat and mass can be transferred either by molecular diffusion
alone or by molecular diffusion combined with eddy diffusion. Because the effects of eddy
diffusion are generally far greater than those of the molecular diffusion, the main resistance
to transfer will lie in the region where only molecular diffusion is occurring.

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4th Stage Unit Operations

Transfer by Molecular Diffusion

(In laminar sub-layer)

1. Momentum Transfer:
When the flow characteristics of the fluid are Newtonian, the shear stress ( ) in
a fluid is proportional to the velocity gradient and to the viscosity. Thus:

( )
( )

Where:

( )

is a measure of the rate of transfer of momentum per unit area at right angles to the
surface
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4th Stage Unit Operations

( ) ( )

( )

The negative sign indicates that momentum is transferred from the fast- to the slow-moving
fluid and the shear stress acts in such a direction as to oppose the motion of the fluid.

2. Heat Transfer:
The heat transferred per unit time through a unit area at a distance ( y ) from the
surface is given by :

( )
( ) ( )

Where:

( )

( )

( )

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4th Stage Unit Operations

3. Mass transfer:
The rate of diffusion of a component (A) in a mixture is proportional to its
concentration gradient.

( )

Where:

( )

( )

( )

Viscosity:

If a fluid is flowing past a wall, the velocity of the fluid is zero at the wall. Suppose the
fluid flows with no cross mixing (low velocity or laminar flow) through the opening between
two planes:

F-Force
Velocity, u y

Viscosity: is the property of a fluid which gives rise to forces that resist the relative
movement of adjacent layers in the fluid. These viscous forces arise from forces existing
between the molecules in the fluid. These forces are called ‘shear forces’.

( )

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4th Stage Unit Operations

Where:

( )( ) ( )( )
⁄

( )

Reynolds number (Re):

Reynolds number is a dimensionless quantity that is used to help predict similar flow
patterns in different fluid flow situations. The Reynolds number is also defined as
the ratio of momentum forces to viscous forces and consequently quantifies the relative
importance of these two types of forces for given flow conditions.

Where:

( )

( )

( ) ( )

( ) ( )

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4th Stage Unit Operations

For flow in a pipe:

For flow over a flat plate:

Thermal conductivity:
Thermal conductivity: is the property of a material to conduct heat. It is evaluated
primarily in terms of Fourier's Law for heat conduction. Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate
across materials of low thermal conductivity than across materials of high thermal
conductivity. Correspondingly, materials of high thermal conductivity are widely used in heat
sink applications and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation.

( )
( )

Where:

( )

( )

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4th Stage Unit Operations
Prandtl number (Pr):
Prandtl number is a dimensionless number defined as the ratio of momentum
diffusivity (kinematic viscosity) to thermal diffusivity. That is, the Prandtl number is given as:

⁄
⁄

Diffusivity:
Diffusivity is a proportionality constant between the molar flux due to molecular
diffusion and the gradient in the concentration of the species (or the driving force for
diffusion). Diffusion coefficient is generally prescribed for a given pair of species. For a
multi-component system, it is prescribed for each pair of species in the system. The higher the
diffusivity (of one substance with respect to another), the faster they diffuse into each other.

Where:

( )

Schmidt number (Sc):

Schmidt number is a dimensionless number defined as the ratio of momentum
diffusivity (kinematic viscosity) to the diffusivity of mass transfer. That is, the Schmidt
number is given as:

Eddy Transfer:
A fluid in turbulent flow is characterized by the presence of circulating or eddy currents, and
these are responsible for fluid mixing which, in turn, gives rise to momentum, heat or mass
transfer when there is an appropriate gradient of the property. For turbulent motion, Prandtl
& Taylor have define the mixing length ( ) as the mean distance which a fluid in an eddy
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4th Stage Unit Operations
travels at right angles to the direction of flow before it can be considered to have lost its
identity and to be assimilated by the fluid at this position.

By using the same reasoning as was used for molecular diffusion it was shown that the eddy
kinematic viscosity (E) which controls momentum transfer in a turbulent fluid is proportional
to the product of the mixing length ( ) and the eddy velocity( ).
Then for isotropic turbulence:

( )

| | ( )

| | ( )

Putting the proportionality constant equal to unity, gives:

| | ( )

The rate of momentum transfer due to the eddy motion is given by:

( )
( )

Substituting Eq.(4) into Eq.(5), gives:

( )
| | ( )

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4th Stage Unit Operations
Since the mechanism of transference of momentum, heat and mass by eddies is similar, the
eddy thermal diffusivity ( ) and the eddy diffusivity ( ) will both be proportional to the
product the mixing length ( ) and the mean eddy velocity (E). Thus:

| | ( )

| | ( )

The eddy transfer of heat:

( ) ( )
| | ( )

And similarity for eddy mass transfer:

| | ( )

In the neighborhood of a surface will be (+ve) and when molecular and eddy transport
both contribute,

( )
( ) ( ) ( )

( )
( ) ( )( ) ( )

( ) ( )( ) ( )

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4th Stage Unit Operations

Equations 11, 12 and 13 describe the buffer region. Table 1 summarized the momentum, heat
and mass transfer at molecular and eddy motions.

Table 1 summarized the momentum, heat and mass transfer at molecular and eddy motions.
Molecular Molecular and eddy Eddy transfer
processes only transfer together predominating
Momentum ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
transfer
Heat transfer ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )

Mass transfer
( )

The essential similarity between the three processes is that the rates of transfer of momentum,
heat and mass are all proportional to the concentration gradient of these quantities. In the case
of gasses the proportionality constants all of which have the dimensions
( )
all have a physical significance.

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