ME 315 HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER

Dr. Mubashir Ali Siddiqui

Mechanical Engineering Department
NED University of Engineering & Technology
Karachi, Pakistan

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These are NOT Notes. It is the material covered in the class. For in depth
and comprehensive understanding of the topic, students MUST consult
book(s) or other related material. Students relying on these slides ONLY
may face serious difficulties during midterm, quizzes, viva-voce, final
and other forms of examinations.

Chapter 9
FREE CONVECTION

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 Free Convection
The motion that results from the continual replacement of the
heated air in the vicinity of the object by the cooler air nearby is
called a natural convection current, and the heat transfer that is
enhanced as a result of this natural convection current is called
natural convection heat transfer.

In the absence of natural convection currents, heat transfer from

the object to the air surrounding it would be by conduction only,
and the rate of heat transfer from the object would be much
lower.

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 Buoyant Force
Rise of warm (higher temperature) air due to density difference
Buoyancy Force - The upward force exerted by a fluid on a body
completely or partially immersed in it
The buoyancy force is caused by density differences
between the heated (or cooled) fluid adjacent to
the surface and the fluid surrounding it, and is
proportional to this density difference and the volume
occupied by the warmer fluid.
When two bodies in contact (solid–solid, solid–fluid,
or fluid–fluid) move relative to each other,
a friction force develops at the contact surface in the
direction opposite to that of the motion.
This opposing force slows down the fluid and thus
reduces the flow rate of the fluid.
There is no gravity in space, and thus there can be no natural
convection heat transfer in a spacecraft.
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 Coefficient of Expansion
Volume Expansion Coefficient (β)- a property that represents the
variation of the density of a fluid with temperature at constant
pressure.

Large value of β for a fluid means a large change in density with

temperature.

1 𝜌∞ − 𝜌
𝛽=−
𝜌 𝑇∞ − 𝑇
1
𝛽 = ; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠
𝑇

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 Natural Convection Over Vertical Surfaces
As in forced convection, the thickness of the
boundary layer increases in the flow direction.
Unlike forced convection, however, the fluid
velocity is zero at the outer edge of the velocity
boundary layer as well as at the surface of the
plate. This is expected since the fluid beyond the
boundary layer is motionless. Thus, the fluid
velocity increases with distance from the
surface, reaches a maximum, and gradually
decreases to zero at a distance sufficiently far
from the surface. At the surface, the fluid
temperature is equal to the plate temperature,
and gradually decreases to the temperature of
the surrounding fluid at a distance sufficiently
far from the surface. In the case of cold surfaces,
the shape of velocity and temperature profiles
remains the same but their direction is reversed.
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 Grashof Number 𝐺𝑟 =
𝑔𝛽 𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇∞ 𝐿3
Flow regime in forced convection is 𝜈2
governed by the dimensionless Reynolds
number, which represents the ratio of
inertial forces to viscous forces acting on
the fluid.

The flow regime in natural convection is

governed by Grashof number, which
represents the ratio of the buoyancy force
to the viscous force acting on the fluid.

As such, Gr provides the main criterion in

determining whether the fluid flow is
laminar or turbulent in natural convection.
For vertical plates, e.g., the critical Gr is Gr is a measure of the relative
observed to be about 109. Therefore, the magnitudes of the buoyancy
flow regime on a vertical plate becomes force and the opposing viscous
turbulent at Gr > 109. force acting on the fluid.

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 NATURAL CONVECTION OVER SURFACES
ℎ𝐿𝑐 𝑛
𝑁𝑢 = = 𝐶 𝐺𝑟𝑃𝑟 = 𝐶𝑅𝑎𝑛
𝑘
𝐴𝑠
𝐿𝑐 =
𝑝

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 𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝐹 = 𝑔 𝜌∞ − 𝜌
Difference between Buoyant
Force and Gravity Inclined Plates
This force can be resolved into
two components:
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹 cos 𝜃
𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹 sin 𝜃

The force that drives the motion

is reduced, resulting in weaker
convection currents, and lower
heat transfer rate relative to the
vertical plate case.
On upper surface Fy initiates
upward motion in addition to the
parallel motion along the plate, Natural convection flows on
and thus the boundary layer the upper and lower surfaces
breaks up and forms plumes, as of an inclined hot plate
shown.
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 Air flow through a 15 m long rectangular heating duct that is 0.75 m
wide and 0.3 m high maintain the outer duct surface at 45 oC. If the
duct is uninsulated and exposed to still air at 15 oC, what is the heat
loss from the duct?

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