Which number is used in forced convection?
The parameter of importance in forced convection is the Péclet number, which is the ratio of advection (movement by currents) and diffusion (movement from high to low concentrations) of heat. When the Peclet number is much greater than unity (1), advection dominates diffusion.
What is the primary driving force behind natural convection?
Buoyancy is what drives natural convection, where the pressure differential between air heated by heat sources and surrounding ambient air drives the hot air upwards and away from the heat source.
Which dimensionless number is used in forced convection for finding the flow pattern?
Nusselt number represents the enhancement of heat transfer through a fluid as a result of convection relative to conduction across the same fluid layer.
What are the various dimensionless numbers involved in natural convection heat transfer?
The Dimensionless numbers we will describe in this article are the most common numbers used in heat transfer:
- Reynolds Number.
- Nusselt Number.
- Prandtl Number.
- Grashof Number.
- Rayleigh Number.
What is the physical significance of Nusselt number?
A Nusselt number of value one represents heat transfer by pure conduction. A value between one and 10 is characteristic of slug flow or laminar flow. A larger Nusselt number corresponds to more active convection, with turbulent flow typically in the 100–1000 range.
What is the significance of Reynolds number?
The Reynolds number (Re) helps predict flow patterns in different fluid flow situations. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be dominated by laminar (sheet-like) flow, while at high Reynolds numbers flows tend to be turbulent.
What does Prandtl number tell us?
The Prandtl number is a dimensionless quantity that puts the viscosity of a fluid in correlation with the thermal conductivity. It therefore assesses the relation between momentum transport and thermal transport capacity of a fluid.
What makes a number dimensionless?
Save This Word! A number representing a property of a physical system, but not measured on a scale of physical units (as of time, mass, or distance). Drag coefficients and stress, for example, are measured as dimensionless numbers.