Continuous Assessment – 2

(Report Writing Skill)

A TECHNICAL REPORT
on

HEAT TRANSFER(PC- ME501)

ARDHENDU SAHA(12000721109)

Section: ME - 2
Date of Submission:27.08.2022

Department of Mechanical Engineering

DR. B. C. ROY ENGINEERING COLLEGE

Jemua road, Fuljhore, Durgapur-713206 (West Bengal), India.
PREFACE
The sole purpose of the Report is to gain knowledge about the physical significance of
Nusselt Number, Prandtl Number and Raynolds Number. And also to Derive 1-
Dimensional Heat Conduction Equation In A Plane Wall. At the end of the report we will
be able understand a bit better about the significance of those numbers, as well as the
Derivation of the Equation.

Nusselt calculates the transference of heat relative to Pure Conduction. Pnadtl represents
how big is the Viscous Boundary Layer relative to the Thermal Boundary Layer. And The
Raynolds determines if the flow is Laminar or Turbulent.
CONTENTS
● Introduction

● The physical significances of Nusselt number, Prandtl Number and

Reynolds number.

● Derivation of 1-Dimensional heat conduction equation in a plane wall

● Conclusion

● Reference
INTRODUCTION
The Nusselt number is the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer across a
boundary. The convection and conduction heat flows are parallel to each other and to the
surface normal of the boundary surface, and are all perpendicular to the mean fluid flow in
the simple case.

The Prandtl number is an example of a dimensionless number that is an intrinsic

property of a fluid. Fluids with small Prandtl numbers are free-flowing liquids with high
thermal conductivity and are therefore a good choice for heat conducting liquids.

The Reynolds number is the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces within a fluid which
is subjected to relative internal movement due to different fluid velocities. A region
where these forces change behavior is known as a boundary layer, such as the bounding
surface in the interior of a pipe.

We shall consider steady one-dimensional heat conduction. By steady we mean that

temperatures are constant with time; as the result, the heat flow is also constant with time. By
one dimensional we mean that temperature is a function of a single dimension or spatial
coordinate.

The basis of conduction heat transfer is Fourier’s law. Fourier’s law provides the definition
of thermal conductivity and forms the basis of many methods of determining its value.
Fourier’s law, as the basic rate equation of the conduction process, when combined with the
principle of conservation of energy, also forms the basis for the analysis of most conduction
problems. A general statement of this law is as follows: One-dimensional, steady-state heat
flow between two isothermal surfaces is proportional to the temperature gradient causing the
heat flow and the area normal to the direction of the heat flow.
PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF NUSSELT NUMBER:
We can understand Nusselt Number in two contexts.

1. It is the ratio of heat transferred by convection to the heat transferred by conduction.

It shows how much is the heat is transferred due to fluid motion as compared to the heat
transferred by fluid by the process of conduction . Always do remember the formula hL/K
which we get from Nusselt Number, K is the conductivity of fluid. Unlike Biot No.
2. We can also understand Nusselt Number like it is the ratio of conduction resistance
offered by fluid if it were stable to the convection resistance offered by fluid. Remember it is
always greater than one in case of fluids.

where h is the convective heat

transfer coefficient of the flow, L is
the characteristic length, and k is
the thermal conductivity of the
fluid.

● Selection of the
characteristic length should
be in the direction of growth
(or thickness) of the
boundary layer; some
examples of characteristic
length are: the outer diameter of a cylinder in (external) cross flow
(perpendicular to the cylinder axis), the length of a vertical plate undergoing
natural convection, or the diameter of a sphere. For complex shapes, the length
may be defined as the volume of the fluid body divided by the surface area.

● The thermal conductivity of the fluid is typically (but not always) evaluated at
the film temperature, which for engineering purposes may be calculated as the
mean-average of the bulk fluid temperature and wall surface temperature.
PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PRANDTL NUMBER:

The significance of Prandtl number in heat transfer are as follows:

1. The number gives the relationship between kinematic viscosity and thermal diffusivity
of the fluid.

2. In the case of boundary layer flow, the Prandtl number relates the velocity boundary
layer thickness and thermal boundary layer thickness.

3. The smaller value of the Prandtl number indicates, the rate of thermal diffusion is
higher than momentum diffusion. And in this case, δth > δH.

4. The higher value of the Prandtl number indicates the rate of thermal diffusion is lower
than the rate of momentum diffusion. In this case. δth < δH

where:

ν is momentum diffusivity (kinematic

viscosity) [m2/s]

α is thermal diffusivity [m2/s]

μ is dynamic viscosity [N.s/m2]

k is thermal conductivity [W/m.K]

cp is specific heat [J/kg.K]

ρ is density [kg/m3]

In comparison to the Reynolds number, the

Prandtl number is not dependent on the
geometry of an object involved in the problem
but is dependent solely on the fluid and the
fluid state. The Prandtl number is often found
in property tables alongside other properties
such as viscosity and thermal conductivity.
PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF REYNOLDS NUMBER:

It is the ratio of inertia forces to viscous forces in the velocity boundary layer. It is used in
forced convection and approximated as:

Where u is the upstream velocity (equivalent to the free-stream velocity u∞ for a flat plate),
Lcis the characteristic length of the geometry, and v=μρ is the kinematic viscosity of the
fluid. For a flat plate, the characteristic length is the distance x from the leading edge. Note
that kinematic viscosity has the unit m2/s, which is identical to the unit of thermal diffusivity,
and can be viewed as viscous diffusivity or diffusivity for momentum.

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the surface geometry, surface
roughness, free-stream velocity, surface temperature, and type of fluid, among other things.
After exhaustive experiments in the 1880s, Osborn Reynolds discovered that the flow regime
depends mainly on the ratio of the
inertia forces to viscous forces in the
fluid. This ratio is called the Reynolds
Laminar flow
number, which is a dimensionless
quantity, and is expressed for external
flow. The Reynolds number at which
the flow becomes turbulent is called the
critical Reynolds number. The value of Turbulent flow
the critical Reynolds number is different
for different geometries. For flow over a
flat plate, the generally accepted value
of the critical Reynolds number is
Turbulent flow (observed with an electric spark)

where xcr is the distance from the leading edge of the plate at which transition from laminar
to turbulent flow occurs. The value of Recr may change substantially, however, depending on
the level of turbulence in the free stream.
Derivation of 1-Dimensional heat conduction equation in a
plane wall:

Let us consider a volume element of thickness ∆x and having an area A normal to the
coordinate axis x, as shown in the figure.

The energy balance equation for this volume element is given by:

….... (1)

The net rate of heat gain by the element by conduction is given by,

The rate of energy generation in the element

having a volume A∆x is given by,

where g˙ = ˙g(x,t) is the rate of energy

generation per unit volume.
The rate of increase of internal energy of the
internal energy of the
volume element resulting from the change of temperature with unit
time is given by,

(Note: Internal energy change is mCV ∆T; but for liquids and solids, CP ≈ CV ).

to be continued..
Substituting for the quantities in Eqn.(1), and rearranging, we get:

As ∆x → 0,

(from the definition of derivative)

And, Therefore, the above equation becomes

…..(2)

This is the general equation for one dimensional heat conduction.

CONCLUSION
We thereby now know the Physical Signifance of Nusselt number, Prandtl Number and
Reynolds number. And there by understand bit better about them. We also know the Formulas
and Figures Related to those.

Also we can now derive the one-dimensional heat condition equation in a plane wall. And
now will be able to make a good use of it in our calculations.
REFERENCE
BOOKS:
• Frank P.Incopera, David P Dewitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer,

• Heat and Mass Transfer by P.K.Nag

WEBSITE:
Heat transfer - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Heat_transfer