Lab Manual

FORCED CONVECTION

Heat Transfer Laboratory

Department of Mechanical Engineering
National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur
AIM: To determine convective heat transfer coefficient in forced convection
FORCED CONVECTION: When the motion of the fluid is induced by some
external means such as a pump or blower, the heat transfer process is known as
“Forced Convection”.
Newton‟s law of cooling in convective heat transfer is given by
Q= hAΔT

DESCRIPTION OF THE APPARATUS: The apparatus is a compact bench-mounting

frame that connects to a suitable electrical supply. It has a vertical duct assembly and a main
control panel with electrical controls and displays. The vertical duct allows air to pass over
the heat transfer surface using a removable variable speed electric fan at the top of the duct.
A fixed thermocouple probe measures the inlet air temperature in the duct. A movable
thermocouple probe in a traversing mechanism allows measurement of the temperature
distribution across the duct at the outlet. This allows finding the bulk outlet temperature for
the more advanced calculations. An anemometer measures air velocity in the duct.
PROCEDURE:
 Switch on the MCB and then console on the switch to activate the control panel.
 Switch on the blower unit first and adjust the flow of air.

 Switch on the heater and set the wattage (say 20 W) using the heater
regulator.

 Move the duct traverse probe so it reads zero. Take readings of the
temperatures across the duct using the traverse in equal intervals. Stop
when on reaching 74 mm.
 Wait for a reasonable time to allow temperatures to reach steady state.
 Repeat the experiment for different values of power input to the heater
and blower airflow rates.
OBSERVATION TABLE:

S Air velocity, Power input, Q (W) Air temperature, °C Surface

No. ms-1 Temperature °C

Tin Tout Ts
1 2.0 10 27.7 28.1 57.7
2 2.5 27.6 28.0 57.3
3 3.0 27.8 28.3 53.5
4 2.0 20 28.4 29.2 83.8
5 2.5 28.1 28.5 81.2
6 3.0 27.9 28.7 74.7

CALCULATIONS:

Logarithmic temperature difference, ΔTm = (Tout - Tin)/ln((Ts - Tout)/( Ts – Tin))

Heat transfer coefficient, h = Q/(A ΔTm)
Area of heated surface, A = 0.106 x 0.106 m2 = 0.0112 m2
Nusselt Number, Nu = hL/K
Length of the heated surface, L = 0.106 m
K = Thermal conductivity of air at (Tout + Tin)/2

RESULT:

S Air velocity, Power input, Q (W) Heat transfer Nusselt Number,

No. (ms-1) coefficient, h (W/m2- Nu
K)

1
2
3
4

1. Show the variation of heat transfer coefficient with power input for two velocities in a
single plot.

2. Show the variation of Nusselt number with power input for two velocities in a single
plot.

PRECAUTIONS:
 Check all the electrical connections.
 Do not run the equipment if the voltage is below 180V.
 Do not obstruct the flow of air while the experiment is going on.
 Make sure that the heater regulator is at the minimum position before
switching on theconsole.