problems and how these balances lead to differential equations from which the temperature profiles may be calculated. Let us consider a flow system with the fluid flowing either in a conduit or around a solid object.
Suppose that the solid surface is warmer than the
fluid, so that heat is being transferred from the solid to the fluid.
Then the rate of heat flow across the solid-fluid
interface would be expected to depend on the area of the interface and on the temperature drop between the fluid and the solid. It is customary to define a proportionality factor h (the heat transfer coefficient) by in which Q is the heat flow into the fluid (J/hr or Btu/hr), A is a characteristic area, and T is a characteristic temperature difference
Note that h is not defined until the area A and the
temperature difference T have been specified. As an example of flow in conduits, we consider a fluid flowing through a circular tube of diameter D, in which there is a heated wall section of length L and varying inside surface temperature To(z), going from T01 to T02 Suppose that the bulk temperature Tb of the fluid (defined in Eq. 10.8-33 for fluids with constant and Cp) increases from Tb1 to Tb2 in the heated section. Then there are three conventional definitions of heat transfer coefficients for the fluid in the heated section: That is, h1 is based on the temperature difference T1 at the inlet, ha is based on the arithmetic mean Ta of the terminal temperature differences, and hln is based on the corresponding logarithmic mean temperature difference Tln.
For most calculations hln is preferable, because it is
less dependent on L/D than the other two. If the wall temperature distribution is initially unknown, or if the fluid properties change appreciably along the pipe, it is difficult to predict the heat transfer coefficients defined above. Under these conditions, it is customary to rewrite Eq. 14.1-2 in the differential form: Here dQ is the heat added to the fluid over a distance dz along the pipe, Tloc is the local temperature difference (at position z), and hloc is the local heat transfer coefficient. This equation is widely used in engineering design.
In previously equation we have set dA = Ddz,
which means that hloc and Tloc are the mean values for the shaded area dA in previous figure. As an example of flow around submerged objects, consider a fluid flowing around a sphere of radius R, whose surface temperature is maintained at a uniform value To. Suppose that the fluid approaches the sphere with a uniform temperature T. Then we may define a mean heat transfer coefficient, hm for the entire surface of the sphere by the relation A local coefficient can also be defined for submerged objects
Let us emphasize that the definitions of A and T
must be made clear before h is defined. Keep in mind, also, that h is not a constant characteristic of the fluid medium.
the heat transfer coefficient depends in a
complicated way on many variables, including the fluid properties (k, , , Cp) the system geometry, and the flow velocity. In the calculation of heat transfer rates between two fluid streams separated by one or more solid layers, it is convenient to use an overall heat transfer coefficient, U0 which expresses the combined effect of the series of resistances through which the heat flows.
We give here a definition of U0 and show how to
calculate it in the special case of heat exchange between two coaxial streams with bulk temperatures Th ("hot") and Tc ("cold), separated by a cylindrical tube of inside diameter Do and outside diameter D1: This equation is restricted to thermal resistances connected in series.