Free Convection:

Chapter 9

Free Convection 1
 General Considerations

•  Free convection refers to fluid motion induced by buoyancy forces.

•  Buoyancy forces may arise in a fluid for which there are density gradients
and a body force that is proportional to density.

•  In heat transfer, density gradients are due to temperature gradients and the
body force is gravitational.

•  Stable and Unstable Temperature Gradients

Free Convection 2
General Considerations (cont.)

Free Boundary Flows

Ø  Occur in an extensive (in principle, infinite), quiescent (motionless
at locations far from the source of buoyancy) fluid.
Ø  Plumes and Buoyant Jets:

•  Free Convection Boundary Layers

(Ts ≠ Tsurface
Ø  Boundary layer flow on a hot or cold ∞) induced
by buoyancy forces.
General Considerations (cont.)

Combustion in Microgravity
•  Effective combustion occurs due to effective transfer of fresh oxidizer (air) by
combined effect of buoyancy-driven convection molecular diffusion.
•  In space (microgravity), only molecular diffusion provides the
reaction zone with fresh oxidizer (air)

http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/
impress/text/education/
Microgravity/Why
%20Do_Microgravity_Research.
html

On Earth In space
 Free Convection

• In the previous discussions, a free stream velocity

set up the conditions for convective heat transfer.
• Due to friction with the surface, the flow must be
maintained by a fan or pump– thus it is called
forced convection.
• An alternate situation occurs when a flow moves
naturally due to buoyancy forces
• This so called “free ” or “natural” convection and
it is illustrated in the figure.

Free Convection 5
 Free Convection [2]

•  Buoyancy is the result of difference in

density between materials.
•  In this case, the difference in density is due
to the difference in temperature.
• In the figure, the air next to the plate is
heated, its density decreases, and the
resulting buoyancy forces the air to rise.
• However, note that only the flow inside the
thermal boundary layer moves– the velocity
is zero both at the wall and far away from it.

Free Convection 6
 Non-dimensional Coefficients

Ø  Grashof Number:
g β (Ts − T∞ ) L3 Buoyancy Force
GrL = ∼
ν2 Viscous Force
L → characteristic length of surface

β → thermal expansion coefficient (a thermodynamic property of the fluid)

Perfect Gas: ρ =p/RT
⎛ ∂ρ ⎞
β = 1⎜ ⎟
ρ ⎝ ∂T ⎠ p
Liquids: β → Tables A.5, A.6 Perfect Gas: β =1/T ( K )

• The Grashof plays the same role in free convection that the Reynolds number
plays in forced convection.
• Practically, the Grashof number is the ratio of forcing (buoyancy) forces to
restraining (viscous) forces.

Free Convection 7
 Non-dimensional Coefficients

Ø  Rayleigh number:

g β (Ts − T∞ ) x 3
Rax = Grx Pr =
να

Free Convection 8
Vertical Plates

Vertical Plates
•  Free Convection Boundary Layer Development on a Hot Plate:

x-component velocity temperature

Ø  Ascending flow with the maximum velocity occurring in the

boundary layer and zero velocity at both the surface and outer edge.
Ø  How do conditions differ from those associated with forced
convection?
Ø  How do conditions differ for a(cold )?
Ts < T∞plate
Vertical Plates

Vertical Plates: Laminar Boundary Layer

•  Boundary layer approximation: x momentum
∂u ∂u 1 dp∞ µ ∂2 u
u +v =− − g+ (9.1)
∂x ∂ y ρ dx ρ ∂ y 2

•  The pressure far from the wall is hydrostatic:

dp∞
= − ρ∞ g (9.2)
dx
•  Substitute Eq. (9.2) into (9.1):
∂u ∂u µ ∂2 u
u +v
∂x ∂ y
(
= g Δρ / ρ +
ρ ∂ y 2) (9.3) Δρ = ρ ∞ − ρ

•  The volumetric expansion coefficient:
1 ⎛ ∂ρ ⎞ 1 ρ∞ − ρ
β =− ⎜ ⎟ (9.4) β =−
ρ ⎝ ∂T ⎠ p ρ T∞ −T

(T <T ?
s ∞ )
Vertical Plates

Vertical Plates: Laminar Boundary Layer

•  Boussinesq Approximation
1 ⎛ ∂ρ ⎞ 1 ρ∞ − ρ
β =− ⎜ ⎟ ≈−
ρ ⎝ ∂T ⎠ p ρ T∞ −T (
ρ − ρ = ρβ T∞ −T
∞
)

•  The x-momentum equation becomes:
∂u ∂u µ ∂2 u
u +v
∂x ∂ y
(
= ρβ T∞ −T +)ρ ∂ y 2
(9.5)

•  All together: The laminar free convection boundary layer equations
∂u ∂v
+ =0 (9.6)
∂x ∂ y
∂u ∂u µ ∂2 u
u +v
∂x ∂y
(
= ρβ T∞ −T + )
ρ ∂ y2
(9.7)

∂T ∂T ∂2 T
u +v =α 2 (9.8)
∂x ∂y ∂y (Ts < T∞ ) ?
Vertical Plates (cont.)

•  Form of the x-Momentum Equation for Laminar Flow

∂u ∂u µ ∂2 u
u +v
∂x ∂ y
= ρβ T∞ −T +
ρ
(∂ y 2 ) (9.5)

Net Momentum Fluxes Buoyancy Force Viscous Force
( Inertia Forces)

Ø  Temperature dependence requires that solution for u (x,y) be

obtained concurrently with solution of the boundary layer
energy equation for T (x,y).
∂T ∂T ∂2 T
u +v =α 2 (9.8)
∂x ∂y ∂y
–  The solutions are said to be coupled.
Vertical Plates (cont.)

Similarity Solution

Ø  Based on existence of a similarity variable, η , through which

η,
the x-momentum equation may be transformed from a partial
differential equation with two-independent variables ( x and y) to an
η
ordinary differential equation expressed exclusively in terms of η.
1/4
⎡ ⎛ Gr ⎞ 1/4 ⎤
y ⎛ Grx ⎞
η≡ ⎜ (9.13) and ψ (x , y) ≡ f (η ) ⎢4ν ⎜ x ⎟ ⎥ (9.14)
x ⎝ 4 ⎟⎠ ⎢ ⎝ 4 ⎠ ⎥
⎣ ⎦
Ø  Transformed momentum and energy equations:
( )
2
f + 3 ff − 2 f
''' ' '
+T * = 0 (9.17) η = 0: f = f ' = 0; T * = 1.
T *'' + 3Pr fT *'
=
df0 x (9.18) T − T η → ∞ : f '
→ 0; T *
→ 0.
f ′ (η ) ≡ = (Grx ) u
−1/ 2 ∗
T ≡
∞
dη 2ν T −T Ts − T∞
∂ψ 2ν 1/2 '
u= = Grx f (η ); T* ≡ ∞
∂y x Ts −T∞

Ø  Solve these coupled ODEs numerically
Vertical Plates (cont.)

Similarity Solution: Numerical Integration

f ′ (η ) and T ∗ :

dimensionless x-component velocity dimensionless temperature

Ø  Velocity boundary layer thickness

−1/4
⎛ Grx ⎞ x
Pr > 0.6: δ = 5x ⎜ ⎟ = 7.07 ∼ x 1/4
⎝ 4 ⎠ (Gr )
1/4

x
Vertical Plates (cont.)

Nusselt number

•  The local Nusselt number

1/4 1/4
hx ⎛ Grx ⎞ dT * ⎛ Grx ⎞
Nux = = −⎜ ⎟ =⎜ ⎟ g(Pr) (9.19)
k ⎝ 4 ⎠ dη η =0
⎝ 4 ⎠

0.75Pr1/2
g(Pr) = (9.20)
(0.609+1.221Pr )
1/4
1/2
+1.238Pr

•  The average Nusselt number
1/4
hL 4 ⎛ GrL ⎞
NuL = = ⎜ g(Pr) (9.21)
k 3 ⎝ 4 ⎟⎠
4
NuL = NuL
3
 Transition to Turbulence

Transition in a free convection boundary layer depends on the relative magnitude

of the buoyancy and viscous forces in the fluid. It is customary to correlate its
occurence in terms of the Rayleigh number.

Ø  Rayleigh Number:

g β (Ts − T∞ ) x3
Rax ,c = Grx ,c Pr = ≈ 109
να

Free Convection 16
 Empirical Correlations: The Vertical Plate

Ø  All Conditions (Churchill-Chu)

2
⎧ ⎫
⎪ 0.387 Ra1/L 6 ⎪
Nu L = ⎨0.825 + ⎬
9 /16 4 / 9
⎣ (
⎪ ⎡1 + 0.492 / Pr ) ⎤ ⎪
⎩ ⎦ ⎭

( )
Ø  Laminar Flow RaL < 109 : (More accurate for laminar flow)

0.670 Ra1/L 4
Nu L = 0.68 + 4/9
⎡1 + ( 0.492 / Pr )9 /16 ⎤
⎣ ⎦

Free Convection 17
 Mixed Convection

Ø  A condition for which forced and free convection effects are comparable.
Ø  Exists if
(GrL / Re L ) ≈1
2

(
- Forced convection → GrL / Re 2L ≪ 1 )
( )
- Free convection → GrL / Re 2L ≫ 1

Ø  Heat Transfer Correlations for Mixed Convection:

Nu n ≈ NuFC
n
± NuNC
n

+ → assisting and transverse flows

- → opposing flows
n≈3

Free Convection 18