Convective heat transfers

Heat transfer is by convection when fluid flows across a surface and carries thermal energy away. If the flow of fluid over the body is due to density differences caused by temperature gradients, we speak of free or natural convection. If the fluid is pumped, we speak of forced convection. Fluid mechanics plays a very important role in convective heat transfer. 

Newton s law of cooling (1701) relates the rate of heat transfer gto the temperature difference the surface area of the solid 

The dimensions of h are [FL r 0 ], and this quantity is usually determined experimentally. 

Material Density (gcm-3) Melting point (°Q Themial condnctivity, /t(WmiKi) 

For free convective heat transfer, heat is transferred from a heated body to a fluid. The change in density of the fluid gives rise to a vertical buoyant effect that causes the fluid to rise relative to the body. Thus, fluid flow due to buoyancy replaces forced fluid flow due to a pressure difference. Values of h for free convection are much lower than values for forced convection. The subject of free convection heat transfer is very complex and highly empirical. 

Convective heat transfer is considerably more difficult to analyze than conductive heat transfer in a stationary material. This is simply due to the fact that more terms have to be carried in the energy equation (Eq. 5.5) that has to be solved in order to find the temperature distribution. Many practical problems encountered in polymer processing are described by equations that do not allow simple analytical solutions. In many cases, therefore, one has to use numerical techniques to obtain solutions to the problem. 

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The heat-transfer coefficient of most interest is that between the bed and a wall or tube. This heat-transfer coefficient, is made up of three components. To obtain the overall dense bed-to-boiling water heat-transfer coefficient, the additional resistances of the tube wall and inside-tube-waH-to-boiling-water must be added. Generally, the conductive heat transfer from particles to the surface, the convective heat transfer... 

Fundamental models correctly predict that for Group A particles, the conductive heat transfer is much greater than the convective heat transfer. For Group B and D particles, the gas convective heat transfer predominates as the particle surface area decreases. Figure 11 demonstrates how heat transfer varies with pressure and velocity for the different types of particles (23). As superficial velocity increases, there is a sudden jump in the heat-transfer coefficient as gas velocity exceeds and the bed becomes fluidized. 

Nusselt surface transfer—convection heat transfer at boundary... 

There is ordinarily no measurable convection in cells of diameter less than about 4 mm (143). Theoretical arguments have been in general agreement with this work (151,191). Since most available cellular polymers have cell diameters smaller than 4 mm, convection heat transfer can be ignored with good justification. Studies of radiant heat transfer through cellular polymers have been made (143,151,191,196,197). 

Consequendy, convective heat transfer determines the intensity of warming up and ignition. In addition, convective heat transfer also plays an important part in the overall dame-to-surface transmission. The reaction of gases is greatiy accelerated by contact with hot surfaces and, whereas the reaction away from the walls may proceed slowly, reaction at the surface proceeds much more rapidly. 

From 760 to 960°C, circulating fans, normally without baffles, are used to improve temperature uniformity and overall heat transfer by adding some convection heat transfer. They create a directional movement of the air or atmosphere but not the positive flow past the heating elements to the work as in a convection furnace. Heating elements ate commonly chrome—nickel alloys in the forms described previously. Sheathed elements are limited to the very low end of the temperature range, whereas at the upper end silicon carbide resistors may be used. In this temperature range the selection of heating element materials, based on the combination of temperature and atmosphere, becomes critical (1). 

Convection Heat Transfer. Convective heat transfer occurs when heat is transferred from a soHd surface to a moving fluid owing to the temperature difference between the soHd and fluid. Convective heat transfer depends on several factors, such as temperature difference between soHd and fluid, fluid velocity, fluid thermal conductivity, turbulence level of the moving fluid, surface roughness of the soHd surface, etc. Owing to the complex nature of convective heat transfer, experimental tests are often needed to determine the convective heat-transfer performance of a given system. Such experimental data are often presented in the form of dimensionless correlations. 

Convective heat transfer is classified as forced convection and natural (or free) convection. The former results from the forced flow of fluid caused by an external means such as a pump, fan, blower, agitator, mixer, etc. In the natural convection, flow is caused by density difference resulting from a temperature gradient within the fluid. An example of the principle of natural convection is illustrated by a heated vertical plate in quiescent air. 

Table 2. Values of the Convective Heat-Transfer Coefficient ...

In the forced convection heat transfer, the heat-transfer coefficient, mainly depends on the fluid velocity because the contribution from natural convection is negligibly small. The dependence of the heat-transfer coefficient, on fluid velocity, which has been observed empirically (1—3), for laminar flow inside tubes, is h for turbulent flow inside tubes, h and for flow outside tubes, h. Flow may be classified as laminar or... 

Dimensionless Mumbers used in Convection Heat-Transfer Analysis. 

Correlations for Convective Heat Transfer. In the design or sizing of a heat exchanger, the heat-transfer coefficients on the inner and outer walls of the tube and the friction coefficient in the tube must be calculated. Summaries of the various correlations for convective heat-transfer coefficients for internal and external flows are given in Tables 3 and 4, respectively, in terms of the Nusselt number. In addition, the friction coefficient is given for the deterrnination of the pumping requirement. 

Table 3. Correlations for Convective Heat-Transfer and Friction Coefficients for Circular Tube Flow ...

The convective heat-transfer coefficient and friction factor for laminar flow in noncircular ducts can be calculated from empirically or analytically determined Nusselt numbers, as given in Table 5. For turbulent flow, the circular duct data with the use of the hydrauhc diameter, defined in equation 10, may be used. 

Effect of Uncertainties in Thermal Design Parameters. The parameters that are used ia the basic siting calculations of a heat exchanger iaclude heat-transfer coefficients tube dimensions, eg, tube diameter and wall thickness and physical properties, eg, thermal conductivity, density, viscosity, and specific heat. Nominal or mean values of these parameters are used ia the basic siting calculations. In reaUty, there are uncertainties ia these nominal values. For example, heat-transfer correlations from which one computes convective heat-transfer coefficients have data spreads around the mean values. Because heat-transfer tubes caimot be produced ia precise dimensions, tube wall thickness varies over a range of the mean value. In addition, the thermal conductivity of tube wall material cannot be measured exactiy, a dding to the uncertainty ia the design and performance calculations. 

The values of CJs are experimentally determined for all uncertain parameters. The larger the value of O, the larger the data spread, and the greater the level of uncertainty. This effect of data spread must be incorporated into the design of a heat exchanger. For example, consider the convective heat-transfer coefficient, where the probabiUty of the tme value of h falling below the mean value h is of concern. Or consider the effect of tube wall thickness, /, where a value of /greater than the mean value /is of concern. 

The effective thermal conductivity of a Hquid—soHd suspension has been reported to be (46) larger than that of a pure Hquid. The phenomenon was attributed to the microconvection around soHd particles, resulting in an increased convective heat-transfer coefficient. For example, a 30-fold increase in the effective thermal conductivity and a 10-fold increase in the heat-transfer coefficient were predicted for a 30% suspension of 1-mm particles in a 10-mm diameter pipe at an average velocity of 10 m/s (45). 

A manufacturing technology to produce very small encapsulated phase-change materials has been developed (47). These encapsulated phase-change materials were appHed in a convective heat-transfer test section, and a 50—100% higher heat-transfer coefficient was reported. 

To the extent that radiation contributes to droplet heatup, equation 28 gives a conservative estimate of the time requirements. The parameter ( ) reflects the dependence of the convective heat-transfer coefficient on the Reynolds number ... 

The mathematical formulation of forced convection heat transfer from fuel rods is well described in the Hterature. Notable are the Dittus-Boelter correlation (26,31) for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and gases, and the Jens-Lottes correlation (32) for boiling water reactors (BWRs) in nucleate boiling. 

Solution Polymerization. In this process an inert solvent is added to the reaction mass. The solvent adds its heat capacity and reduces the viscosity, faciUtating convective heat transfer. The solvent can also be refluxed to remove heat. On the other hand, the solvent wastes reactor space and reduces both rate and molecular weight as compared to bulk polymerisation. Additional technology is needed to separate the polymer product and to recover and store the solvent. Both batch and continuous processes are used. 

The term e/(e — 1), which appears in equations 1 and 2, was first developed to account for the sensible heat transferred by the diffusing vapor (1). The quantity S represents the group ratio of total transported energy to convective heat transfer. Thus it may be thought of as the fractional... 

Convection heat transfer is dependent largely on the relative velocity between the warm gas and the drying surface. Interest in pulse combustion heat sources anticipates that high frequency reversals of gas flow direction relative to wet material in dispersed-particle dryers can maintain higher gas velocities around the particles for longer periods than possible ia simple cocurrent dryers. This technique is thus expected to enhance heat- and mass-transfer performance. This is apart from the concept that mechanical stresses iaduced ia material by rapid directional reversals of gas flow promote particle deagglomeration, dispersion, and Hquid stream breakup iato fine droplets. Commercial appHcations are needed to confirm the economic value of pulse combustion for drying. 

Gas impingement from slots, orifices, and nozzles at 10—100 m/s velocities is used for drying sheets, films, coatings (qv), and thin slabs, and as a secondary heat source on dmm dryers and paper (qv) machine cans. The general relationship for convection heat transfer is (13,14) ... 

The lower Emit of applicability of the nucleate-boiling equations is from 0.1 to 0.2 of the maximum limit and depends upon the magnitude of natural-convection heat transfer for the liquid. The best method of determining the lower limit is to plot two curves one of h versus At for natural convection, the other ofh versus At for nucleate boiling. The intersection of these two cui ves may be considered the lower limit of apphcability of the equations. 

Convective Heat Transfer Eqnipment nsiug the trne convective mechanism when the heated particles are mixed with (and remain with) the cold particles is nsed so iufreqneutly that performance and sizing eqnatious are not available. Snch a device is the pebble heater as described by Norton (Chem. Metall. E/ig., Jiily 1946). For operation data, see Sec. 9. 

Convective heat transfer is often nsed as an adjnuct to other modes, particnlarly to the coudnctive mode. It is often more convenient to consider the agitative effecl a performance-improvement iuflneuce on the thermal diffnsivity factor Ot, modifying it to Ot, the effective valne. 

A pseudo-convective heat-transfer operation is one in which the heating gas (generally air) is passed over a bed of solids. Its nse is almost exchisively limited to drying operations (see Sec. 12, tray and shelf dryers). The operation, sometimes termed direct, is more aldu to the coudnctive mechanism. For this operation, Tsao and Wheelock [Chem. Eng., 74(13), 201 (1967)] predict the heat-transfer coefficient when radiative and conductive effects are absent by... 

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