Experiment 4

Aim: Determination of the combined (radiation and convection) heat transfer (Qr +Qc) from
a horizontal cylinder in a natural convection over a wide range of power input and
corresponding surface temperature

Apparatus: Apparatus number H112D is used

Theory:

If a cylinder of diameter D and heated length L is at a temperature Ts that is above that of the
surrounding air Ta then the air immediately adjacent to the cylinder will start to warm. This
will reduce its density and the air will flow upward due to buoyancy. In the absence of any
outside influence such as draughts etc. this will set up a flow process where cooler air flows
in from adjacent to the cylinder, is warmed and flows upward from the cylinder. The buoyant
flow process will transfer heat to the air and is referred to as natural convective heat transfer.
At relatively low cylinder temperatures convection will be the predominant heat transfer
method though some heat will also be transferred due to radiation to the surroundings. If the
cylinder surface temperature is raised further then the flow of air due to and causing
convective heat transfer will increase but a greater proportion of heat will be lost from the
surface due to radiation. The proportion lost due to radiation will depend upon the surface
temperature of the cylinder, the emissivity of the cylinder, the emissivity of the immediate
surroundings and the ambient temperature of the surroundings.
From the above simple analysis the heat lost due to natural convection, Qc can be determined
from

Where hc = Overall heat transfer coefficient. due to natural convection.

As= Heated surface area of the cylinder
Similarly the radiant component may be determined from

Where hr = Overall heat transfer coefficient due to radiation convection

As= Heated surface area of the cylinder

If the overall heat transfer coefficients in each case can be determined then the total heat
transfer from the cylinder Q tot may be determined from

For the radiation component the overall heat transfer coefficient may be determined from

Where σ = Stefan Boltzmann Constant = 5.67 x 10-8 W/mK

ξ = Emissivity of surface
F= View or shape factor that depends upon the surrounding geometry relative to the
heat emitting body.

For the natural convection from the cylinder there are various equations of varying
complexity.
The equation below is from a standard text book on heat transfer.
Observations:

Sample V I T1 T2 T1(K) T2(K)

1 80 0.138 27.4 191.5 300.55 464.65
2 120 0.198 27.4 308.4 300.55 581.55
3 160 0.258 27.4 421 300.55 694.15
4 185 0.308 27.4 495.3 300.55 768.45

Calculations:

Sample Q input hr hc Qr Qc Qtot

- W W/m^2K W/m^2K W W W
1 11.04 12.622 14.94 4.55681 5.39364 9.95045
2 23.76 20.3613 17.0903 12.5874 10.5652 23.1526
3 41.28 30.6568 18.5925 26.5464 16.0996 42.646
4 56.98 39.2042 19.4139 40.3561 19.9843 60.3403

Graph:

Variation of Radiant and Convective heat transfer coefficients hr and hc

with Surface Temperature
45
40
35
hr, hc W/m^2K 30
25
20 Radiation
15 Convection
10
5
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Surface Temperature T2(K)

Conclusion:

We see that the total heat lost by calculation – Q total is comparable to the heat input Q input.

The differences can be attributed to instrument errors, conduction losses and the fact that the
non-dimensional correlations are typically only a close “approximation” to the conditions on
a specific geometric situation.