SKMM 3443 – HEAT TRANSFER

Chapter 7(9)
NATURAL CONVECTION

Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Nazri B KAMSAH

Department of Thermo-Fluid
School of Mechanical Engineering

Semester II, 2018-2019

NATURAL CONVECTION

Physical Mechanism

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Volume Expansion Coefficient

Fluid property that represents variation of density with
temperature, at a constant pressure.

For an ideal gas,

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The Grashof Number

Flow regime in natural convection is governed by the Grashof
number,

For vertical plates, the critical Gr is about 109.

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Mixed Convection
GrL2
Each mode is governed by
Re L

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Nusselt Number
The average Nu is given by

where RaL is Rayleigh number, defined as ratio of buoyancy

forces and products of thermal and momentum diffusivities, i.e.

Note: Fluid properties are to be evaluated at the film

temperature

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Heat Transfer Rate

The rate of heat transfer from a solid surface at a uniform
temperature Ts to the surrounding fluid is obtained from

where As is surface area and h is the average heat transfer

coefficient on the surface.

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Horizontal Plates
If hot surface is facing
upward, the heated fluid
rises freely, inducing strong
natural convection currents
and thus effective heat
transfer.
If the hot surface is facing
downward, the plate blocks
the heated fluid that tends
to rise, impeding heat
transfer.
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Then the natural convection Nusselt number can be determined from

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9-22 A 0.5-m-long thin vertical plate is subjected to uniform

heat flux on one side, while the other side is exposed to cool
air at 5°C. The plate surface has an emissivity of 0.73, and its
midpoint temperature is 55°C. Determine the heat flux
subjected on the plate surface.

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Properties The film temperature is, Tf = (TL/2 + T∞)/2 = (55 + 5)°C/2 = 30°C.
The properties of air are k = 0.02588 W/m∙K, ν = 1.608 . 10−5 m2/s, Pr =
0.7282 (Table A-15), and β = 1/Tf = 1/303 K = 0.0033 K−1.

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Discussion Natural convection contributes to about 54% of the 500 W/m2

heat flux. For constant surface heat flux, the plate midpoint temperature is
used instead of the surface temperature in the evaluation of the fluid
properties.
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9-32 A 50-cm x 50-cm circuit board that contains 121 square

chips on one side is to be cooled by combined natural
convection and radiation in a room at 25°C. Each chip
dissipates 0.18 W of power, and the emissivity of the chip
surfaces is 0.7. The heat transfer from the back side of the
board is negligible. Temperature of the surrounding surfaces
is the same as the air temperature of the room. Determine the
surface temperature of the chips when the circuit board is
positioned horizontally with (a) chips facing up and (b) chips
facing down. Evaluate air properties at a film temperature of
30°C.

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Analysis The solution of this problem requires a trial-and-error approach

since the surface temperature which is unknown. We “guess” the surface
temperature to be 35oC for the evaluation of the properties and h. The
characteristic length for both cases is determined from

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Considering both natural convection and radiation, total rate of heat loss

which is sufficiently close to the assumed value. Therefore, there is no need to

repeat calculations.

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which is sufficiently close to the assumed value of 35oC in the evaluation of

properties and h. Therefore, there is no need to repeat calculations.
Discussion The assumed film temperature of Tf = 30°C is an appropriate
assumption, since the determined Ts = 38.3°C would give a film temperature of
Tf = 31.7°C. Otherwise, Ts would have to be solved iteratively.

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9-40 A can of engine oil with a length of 150 mm and a

diameter of 100 mm is placed vertically in the trunk of a car.
In a hot summer day, the temperature in the trunk is 43°C. If
the surface temperature of the can is 17°C, determine heat
transfer rate from the can surface. Neglect the heat transfer
from the ends of the can.

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Properties The properties of air at Tf = (Ts + T∞)/2 = 30°C are k = 0.02588

W/m∙K, v = 1.608 . 10−5 m2/s, Pr = 0.7282 (Table A-15). Also, β = 1/Tf = 0.0033
K-1.

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9-41 Flue gases from an incinerator are released to

atmosphere using a stack that is 0.6 m in diameter and 10.0 m
high. The outer surface of the stack is at 40°C and the
surrounding air is at 10°C. Determine the rate of heat transfer
from the stack assuming (a) there is no wind and (b) when
the stack is exposed to 20 km/h winds.

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(b) When the stack is exposed to 20 km/h winds, the heat transfer will be by
forced convection. We have flow of air over a cylinder and the heat transfer
rate is determined as follows:

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9-50 A 10-m-long section of a 6-cm-diameter horizontal hot

water pipe passes through a large room whose temperature is
27°C. If the temperature and the emissivity of the outer
surface of the pipe are 73°C and 0.8, respectively, determine
the rate of heat loss from the pipe (a) by natural convection,
and (b) by radiation.

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Properties The properties of air at 1 atm and the film temperature of

(Ts+Tamb)/2 = (73+27)/2 = 50oC are (Table A-15)

Analysis (a) The characteristic length in this case is the outer diameter of the
pipe, Lc = D = 0.06 m. Then,

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9-59 Hot water is being transported in a horizontal pipe (k =

0.15 W/m K, Di = 2.5 cm, Do = 4.5 cm), where the pipe inner
surface temperature is at 100°C. A length of 2 m of the pipe
outer surface is exposed to cool air at 12°C. Assuming that the
properties of air can be evaluated at 40°C and 1 atm pressure,
determine the outer surface temperature of the pipe. Is 40°C
an appropriate film temperature for evaluation of the air
properties?

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Properties The properties of air at the assumed Tf = 40°C are k = 0.02662

W/m∙K, ν = 1.702 . 10−5 m2/s, Pr = 0.7255 (Table A-15), and β = 1/Tf = 1/ 313
K.
Analysis With the assumption that Tf = 40°C, the pipe outer surface
temperature is estimated as

The Nusselt number relation for horizontal cylinder is

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Thus, the rate of heat transfer balance for conduction through the pipe wall
and natural convection on the outer surface i

Discussion The assumed film temperature of Tf = 40°C is an appropriate

assumption, since the determined Ts,o = 67.3°C would give a film temperature
of Tf = 39.7°C. Otherwise, Ts,o would have to be solved iteratively.

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9-67 The water in a 40-L tank is to be heated from 15°C to

45°C by a 6-cm-diameter spherical heater whose surface
temperature is maintained at 85°C. Determine how long the
heater should be kept on.

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Properties Using the average temperature for water (15+45)/2=30oC as the

fluid temperature, the properties of water at the film temperature of
(Ts+Tam)/2 = (85+30)/2 = 57.5oC are (Table A-9)

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Analysis The characteristic length in this case is Lc = D = 0.06 m. Then,

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9-68 A 2-m-diameter thin-walled stainless steel spherical

tank is filled with chemicals undergoing a reaction. The
reaction releases heat through the tank, where the tank outer
surface temperature is 50°C and is exposed to air at 20°C. The
stainless steel surface of the tank has an emissivity of 0.35.
Determine the rate of heat release from the chemical reaction
inside the tank. Is the given emissivity value reasonable for a
stainless steel surface? What is the contribution of natural
convection to the overall rate of heat loss at the tank surface?

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Properties The properties of air at Tf = (Ts + Tam)/2 = (50 + 20)/ 2 = 35°C are
k = 0.02625 W/m∙K, ν = 1.655 × 10−5 m2/s, Pr = 0.7268 (Table A-15), and β =
1/Tf = 1/308 K. The emissivity of the tank is given as ε = 0.35.

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Discussion At the tank surface, natural convection contributed to about 50%

of the 1737 W heat loss. From Table A-18, the emissivity value of 0.35 is a
suitable value for lightly oxidized stainless steel surface.

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9-69 A hot liquid is filled in a spherical tank with an inner

diameter of 3 m and a wall thickness of 3 cm. The tank wall is
made of a material with a thermal conductivity of 0.15
W/m∙K. The hot liquid in the tank causes the inner surface
temperature to be 100°C, while the tank outer surface is
exposed to air at 20°C and has an emissivity of 0.35.
Determine the outer surface temperature of the tank. Assume
that the properties of air can be evaluated at 40°C and 1 atm
pressure. Is this a good assumption?

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Properties Properties of air at assumed Tf = 40°C are k = 0.02662 W/m∙K, ν =

1.702x10−5 m2/s, Pr = 0.7255 (Table A-15), and β = 1/Tf = 1/313 K. Thermal
conductivity and emissivity of the tank: ksph = 0.15 W/m∙K and ε = 0.35,
respectively.
Analysis With the assumption that Tf = 40°C, the tank outer surface
temperature is estimated as

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The assumed film temperature Tf = 40°C is an appropriate assumption, since

the determined Ts,o = 61.1°C would give a film temperature of Tf = 40.6°C.
Otherwise, Ts,o would have to be solved iteratively.
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