Most heat is transferred to flowing fluid by convection.

Conduction and radiation heat transfer rates are relatively important only under special conditions. The most important dimensionless groups for convective heat transfer are: Nu - Nusselt number Re - Reynolds Number Pr - Prandtl Number Gz - Graetz Number Gr - Grashof Number L/D - Ratio of tube length to tube diameter Ratio of bulk fluid viscosity to Wall viscosity Dimensionles s groups Nu Explanation Nusselt number is the ratio of convective heat transfer coefficient to the heat transfer coefficient for conduction This group can be expressed in terms of other dimensionless groups to develop generalized predictive equations based on experimental data Re Reynolds number is the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces It is used to determine the type of single-phase flow. If Re > 10000, turbulent flow (i.e. fluid particles move chaotically) If Re < 2000, Laminar flow (i.e. fluid particles move parallel to tube axis) 2000 < Re < 10000, Transition region from Laminar to Turbulent Pr Prandtl number is the ratio of momentum diffusion to energy diffusion. It relates the velocity profile to the temperature profile. If Pr > 1, Velocity profile develops faster than temperature profile. If Pr < 1, Temperature profile faster than velocity profile. If Pr = 1, Velocity and temperature profile are identical.

Gz

Gr

L/D