PROBLEM 9.

4
KNOWN: Form of the Nusselt number correlation for natural convection and fluid properties. FIND: Expression for figure of merit FN and values for air, water and a dielectric liquid. PROPERTIES: Prescribed. Air: k = 0.026 W/mK, = 0.0035 K , = 1.5 10 m /s, Pr = 0.70. -4 -1 -6 2 Water: k = 0.600 W/mK, = 2.7 10 K , = 10 m /s, Pr = 5.0. Dielectric liquid: k = 0.064 -1 -6 2 W/mK, = 0.0014 K , = 10 m /s, Pr = 25 ANALYSIS: With Nu L ~ R a n , the convection coefficient may be expressed as
-1 -5 2

h~

n k gTL3

gTL3 L

kn n n

The figure of merit is therefore

FN =

k n

n n

<

and for the three fluids, with n = 0.33 and = / Pr ,

FN W s 2 / 3 / m7 / 3 K 4 / 3

Air 5.8

Water Dielectric 663 209

<

Water is clearly the superior heat transfer fluid, while air is the least effective.
COMMENTS: The figure of merit indicates that heat transfer is enhanced by fluids of large k, large and small values of and .