Chapter 7

INTERNAL FORCED
CONVECTION
 Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
• Obtain average velocity and temperature from a knowledge of
velocity and temperature profiles
• Have a visual understanding of different flow regions, and
calculate hydrodynamic and thermal entry lengths
• Analyze heating and cooling of a fluid flowing in a tube under
constant surface temperature and constant surface heat flux
conditions, and work with the LMTD
• Obtain analytic relations for the velocity profile, pressure drop,
friction factor, and Nusselt number in fully developed laminar
flow
• Determine the friction factor and Nusselt number in fully
developed turbulent flow, and calculate the pressure drop and
heat transfer rate.
 RECALL
• External flow definition
• External flow boundary
• Laminar vs turbulent
Average Velocity and Temperature
The Entrance Region
 General Thermal Analysis

Must change during

heating/cooling

Can be approximated
as constant
Constant surface heat flux, qs
Constant surface temperature, Ts

Number of
transfer
unit,
NTU
Laminar flow in tubes
Pressure drop

Dynamic pressure
Temperature profile and Nusselt number
 Noncircular tubes

• Refer Table 8.1 for Nu and f values.

Entrance region
 Turbulent flow in tubes
• Most correlations for the friction and heat transfer
coefficients in turbulent flow are based on experimental
studies because of the difficulty in dealing with turbulent
flow theoretically.
• Smooth tubes, friction factor can be determined using first 1
Petukhov equation, and Nusselt number through Chilton- 2
Coulburn analogy.
• For fully developed turbulent flow in smooth tubes, use
Dittus-Boelter
3 equation. More complex but more accurate
correlation is given by second Petukhov
4 equation, but for
lower Re < 104, use Gnielinski
5 equation.
• Moody
6 chart presents the Darcy friction factor for pipe flow
as a function of the Reynolds number and relative
roughness.
• These correlation are also applicable to the noncircular
tubes but using Dh = 4Ac/p
Flow through tube annulus
 Summary
• What is the physical significance of the number of transfer units NTU = hA/m·Cp?
What do small and large NTU values tell about a heat transfer system?
• What does the logarithmic mean temperature difference represent for flow in a tube
whose surface temperature is constant? Why do we use the logarithmic mean
temperature instead of the arithmetic mean temperature?
• How is the thermal entry length defined for flow in a tube? In what region is the
flow in a tube fully developed?
• Consider laminar forced convection in a circular tube. Will the heat flux be higher
near the inlet of the tube or near the exit? Why? What about turbulent flow?
• In the fully developed region of flow in a circular tube, will the velocity profile
change in the flow direction? How about the temperature profile?
• Consider the flow of oil in a tube. How will the hydrodynamic and thermal entry
lengths compare if the flow is laminar? How would they compare if the flow were
turbulent?
• What do the mean velocity m and the mean temperature Tm represent in flow
through circular tubes of constant diameter?
• Consider fluid flow in a tube whose surface temperature remains constant. What is
the appropriate temperature difference for use in Newton’s law of cooling with an
average heat transfer coefficient?
• How does surface roughness affect the heat transfer in a tube if the fluid flow is
turbulent? What would your response be if the flow in the tube were laminar?