ABSTRACT

Forced convection is one whereby fluid movement is generated by an external force in this case
being the fan. Air temperature and velocity can be measured in the in the duct as the fan at the
bottom of the duct forces air for convection into the duct. It was found out that temperature
decreases as the air velocity in the duct increases hence showing the inverse proportionality of
the two parameters. The experiment concluded by stating that heat transfer rate in the duct
increases as the velocity of air increased showing that indeed forced convection is a method of
heat transfer.

Objectives
 To demonstrate the relationship between power input and surface temperature in forced
convection
 To demonstrate the relationship between velocity and surface temperature in forced
convection.

1
INTRODUCTION
Heat transfer by convection occurs due to macroscopic movement of fluid molecules in the
form of circulating currents. Heat transfer by conduction and convection form a basis of most
industrial heat exchangers and related equipment. There are two types of convection namely,
Forced convection and Natural convection. Forced convection is the transfer of heat due to
movement in the fluid resulting from many other forces, such as a fan or pump and Natural
convection is when heat is carried by the circulation of fluids due to buoyancy from density
changes induced by heating itself (Anon., 2017).
Equipment and how it works

Figure 1 Forced convection unit

The measurement and prediction of heat transfer coefficients for forced convection is achieved
in apparatus by studying the temperature profiles and heat flux in an air duct associated flat
and extended transfer surfaces. In the vertical duct the air temperature and velocity can readily
measured and 3 different modules of heated solid surfaces of known dimensions can be
exposed to the air stream. A fan situated at the bottom of the duct provides the air stream for
forced convection experiments. The equipment has a centrifugal fan equipped with a 120 mm
× 120 mm vertical rectangular duct into which a flat plate, pinned or finned heat exchanger
may be installed. Each exchanger incorporates 2 × 100 W electric heating elements with
thermostatic protection against overheating. The temperature at the base of the exchanger is
monitored by a thermocouple with connecting lead. An upward flow of air may be generated
in the duct with the fan mounted at the bottom. Air velocity in the duct, whether natural or
forced is measured by an anemometer. The air speed in the pipe may be controlled by varying
the aperture degree of the damper on the suction of the fan. The thermocouples of the
equipment allow measurement of the inlet and outlet air temperatures together with surfaces of
exchanger pins in 5 different positions. The operating temperature for the thermocouple placed
at the base of the exchanger should not go beyond 100 ℃.

2
Theory
Heat transfer usually occurs in 3 ways, convection, conduction and radiation. The experiment
is based on convection which is the movement of fluid particles due to a temperature gradient.
Convection is either forced or natural, whereby the forced convection happens by mechanical
means and natural convections happens due to differences in pressure and density at different
temperatures. (Webb, 1995)
The first law of thermodynamics calculates the heat transfer rate (Q) as
𝑄 = 𝑚 ∗ ΔH
If the gas is a perfect gas the first equation becomes
𝑄 = 𝑚 ∗ 𝐶𝑃 ∗ ΔT
ΔT is the difference between inlet and outlet temperatures. There is a variation of temperatures
across the duct so the Average temperature (𝑇𝐴𝑉 ) is found by
𝑇𝑖𝑛− 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝑇𝐴𝑉 =
2
This value of 𝑇𝐴𝑉 is the temperature value used to calculate the specific heat capacity,𝐶𝑃 .Heat
transfer by convection from surface to a fluid is quantified by
𝑄 = 𝑚 ∗ 𝐴 ∗ 𝑇𝑚
Where 𝑇𝑚 is the difference between the surface temperature and the inlet air temperature.
The Reynolds number is used to determine whether flow is laminar or turbulent
𝑣∗𝐿
𝑅𝑒=
𝜇
The viscosity of the fluid is 𝜇 , the velocity is v while L is the vertical length for the plate.
The Nusselt number which is dimensionless is used to measure heat transfer rates. It is the ratio
of conductive to convective heat transfer in fluids. A smaller Nusselt number (between 1-10)
represents more conduction with a laminar flow while a higher Nusselt number Nusselt number
(between 100-1000) represents more convection and a more turbulent flow. The Nusselt
number is calculated as
ℎ∗𝐿
𝑁𝑢
𝑘
And can only be calculated once the heat transfer coefficient , h , has been found. (Eckert,
1987)

3
APPARATUS
Some standard calibrated instruments were employed for the convenience of experimental
results. These instruments include;
 Heat Transfer Service Unit (unit mod.TE6/EV)
 Single phase electrical supply
 Thermocouples
 Pinned plate heat exchanger
 Centrifugal fan
 Anemometer

Figure 2;Pinned plate used for forced convection experiment

PROCEDURE

 The heat transfer service unit was connected to a single-phase electrical supply by the
wall.
 Thermocouples T1, T2 and T3 were connected to their corresponding units on the heat
transfer service unit.
 T1 measured the temperature above the heat exchanger while T2 measured the
temperature at the heat exchanger and T3 measured the temperature below the heat
exchanger.
 The pinned plate heat exchanger was inserted at the back of the duct and fixated with two
screws.
 The heat transfer service unit was switched on.
 Using the display unit on the heat transfer service unit the voltage was set at 18.50v and
the resulting current was 6.07A
 The initial temperatures T1, T2 and T3 were recorded.
 The fan was then turned on. The air velocity was then varied between 5, 10, 15 and
finally 20 m/𝑠 2 and at each velocity the surface was allowed to reach steady state and a
reading of the temperature was taken.

4
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

TABLE 1 FOR EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS WHEN USING PINNED HEAT

EXCHANGER
Tin = 26.7 °C

V = 18.50v I = 6.07A Power input P =112.3W

Air velocity, V (m/s) Heater Temperature, Ts(°C) Ts - Tin (°C)

0 45.0 18.3
5 42.3 15.6
10 34.6 7.9
15 32.5 5.8
20 31.2 4.5

Sample calculations
Tm = Ts - Tin (°C)
45.0 – 26.7 = 18.3°C
P = IV
= (6.07*18.50)
= 112.3W
GRAPH SHOWING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AIR VELOCITY & AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE

Air velocity vs Tm (°C)

20
18
16
14
Velocity (m/s)

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Tm (°C)

5
DISCUSSION
The first record of temperature is high and then the temperature gradually decreases with an
increase of the speed of flow of air which means as the velocity increases. This is because the
air carries away the highly energetic molecules on the surface of the metal thus reducing the
temperature. This means that the rate of convection is directly proportional to the velocity of
the air, at V= 0 the T= 45K but at V=5 T = 42.3K and that displays the relation between
temperature and the velocity of air, as a result the temperature difference decreases with an
increase of the velocity of air. The results show that more heat is transferred if the air velocity
is increased over the heated surface. It is fair to assume that if the velocity of air was further
increased to above 50m/s the rate of convection would be very low, single figures would have
been observed. The experiment proved that the rate of forced convection heat transfer is higher
than that of free transfer for the same power output. The reliability of the results could have
been affected by the presence of an air conditioning system in the room. This could have
lowered the process temperature thus affecting the results obtained.

6
CONCLUSION
By Newtons law of cooling, energy used is a function of surface area, temperature difference
and heat transfer coefficient as such pinned plate requires air at higher velocities for it to cool
(Bergles, 1964) this is evident in table 1 as heat temperature decreased with small margin
despite significant increase of air velocity to 20m/s. Phenomenon of forced convection was
observed and from graphical representation of experimental results and analysis it was
concluded that as the velocity of the moving fluid increases, heat transfer rate increases and the
temperature of the plate decreases due to this increased heat transfer. This is because heat
transfer coefficient has an inverse relation to the surface area of the heat exchanger and
therefore heat exchangers with more area take more time to heat up as well as to cool. With a
constant voltage the temperature ends up rising in a conductor hence more heat transferred by
convection.

RECOMMENDATIONS
 The experiment could be repeated, and an average value taken as the experimental value as
to reduce the margin of experimental error
 The experiment could be conducted in a closed system to minimise all potential heat losses
thus improving the efficiency of the results.

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REFERENCES
Bergles, A.E. and Rohsenow, W.M., 1964. The determination of forced-convection surface-
boiling heat transfer.
Gee, D.L. and Webb, R.L., 1980. Forced convection heat transfer in helically rib-roughened
tubes. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 23(8), pp.1127-1136.
Eckert, E.R.G. and Drake Jr, R.M., 1987. Analysis of heat and mass transfer.