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Heat Transfer Coefficient
In thermodynamics, the heat transfer coefficient or film coefficient, or film effectiveness, is the proportionality constant between the heat flux and the thermodynamic driving force for the flow of heat (i.e., the temperature difference, ). It is used in calculating the heat transfer, typically by convection or phase transition between a fluid and a solid. The heat transfer coefficient has SI units in watts per square meter kelvin (W/m2/K). The overall heat transfer rate for combined modes is usually expressed in terms of an overall conductance or heat transfer coefficient, . In that case, the heat transfer rate is: :\dot=hA(T_2-T_1) where (in SI units): *: surface area where the heat transfer takes place (m2) *: temperature of the surrounding fluid (K) *: temperature of the solid surface (K) The general definition of the heat transfer coefficient is: :h = \frac where: *: heat flux (W/m2); i.e., thermal power per unit area, q = d\dot/dA *: difference in temperature bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities, but may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics. Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, especially physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering, but also in other complex fields such as meteorology. Historically, thermodynamics developed out of a desire to increase the efficiency of early steam engines, particularly through the work of French physicist Sadi Carnot (1824) who believed that engine efficiency was the key that could help France win the Napoleonic Wars. Scots-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin was the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermal Hydraulics
Thermal hydraulics (also called thermohydraulics) is the study of hydraulic flow in thermal fluids. The area can be mainly divided into three parts: thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, but they are often closely linked to each other. A common example is steam generation in power plants and the associated energy transfer to mechanical motion and the change of states of the water while undergoing this process. Thermal-hydraulic analysis can determine important parameters for reactor design such as plant efficiency and coolability of the system. The common adjectives are "thermohydraulic", "thermal-hydraulic" and "thermalhydraulic". Thermodynamic analysis In the thermodynamic analysis, all states defined in the system are assumed to be in thermodynamic equilibrium; each state has mechanical, thermal, and phase equilibrium, and there is no macroscopic change with respect to time. For the analysis of the system, the first law and second law of thermodynamics can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydraulic Diameter
The hydraulic diameter, , is a commonly used term when handling flow in non-circular tubes and channels. Using this term, one can calculate many things in the same way as for a round tube. When the cross-section is uniform along the tube or channel length, it is defined as : D_\text = \frac, where : is the cross-sectional area of the flow, : is the wetted perimeter of the cross-section. More intuitively, the hydraulic diameter can be understood as a function of the hydraulic radius , which is defined as the cross-sectional area of the channel divided by the wetted perimeter. Here, the wetted perimeter includes all surfaces acted upon by shear stress from the fluid. : R_\text = \frac, : D_\text = 4R_\text, Note that for the case of a circular pipe, : D_\text =\frac=2R The need for the hydraulic diameter arises due to the use of a single dimension in case of dimensionless quantity such as Reynolds number, which prefer a single variable for flow analysis rather than the set of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turbulent
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between those layers. Turbulence is commonly observed in everyday phenomena such as surf, fast flowing rivers, billowing storm clouds, or smoke from a chimney, and most fluid flows occurring in nature or created in engineering applications are turbulent. Turbulence is caused by excessive kinetic energy in parts of a fluid flow, which overcomes the damping effect of the fluid's viscosity. For this reason turbulence is commonly realized in low viscosity fluids. In general terms, in turbulent flow, unsteady vortices appear of many sizes which interact with each other, consequently drag due to friction effects increases. This increases the energy needed to pump fluid through a pipe. The onset of turbulence can be predicted by the dimensionless Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reynolds Number
In fluid mechanics, the Reynolds number () is a dimensionless quantity that helps predict fluid flow patterns in different situations by measuring the ratio between inertial and viscous forces. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be dominated by laminar (sheet-like) flow, while at high Reynolds numbers flows tend to be turbulent. The turbulence results from differences in the fluid's speed and direction, which may sometimes intersect or even move counter to the overall direction of the flow (eddy currents). These eddy currents begin to churn the flow, using up energy in the process, which for liquids increases the chances of cavitation. The Reynolds number has wide applications, ranging from liquid flow in a pipe to the passage of air over an aircraft wing. It is used to predict the transition from laminar to turbulent flow and is used in the scaling of similar but different-sized flow situations, such as between an aircraft model in a wind tunnel and the full-size v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prandtl Number
The Prandtl number (Pr) or Prandtl group is a dimensionless number, named after the German physicist Ludwig Prandtl, defined as the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal diffusivity. The Prandtl number is given as: : \mathrm = \frac = \frac = \frac = \frac where: * \nu : momentum diffusivity ( kinematic viscosity), \nu = \mu/\rho, ( SI units: m2/s) * \alpha : thermal diffusivity, \alpha = k/(\rho c_p), (SI units: m2/s) * \mu : dynamic viscosity, (SI units: Pa s = N s/m2) * k : thermal conductivity, (SI units: W/(m·K)) * c_p : specific heat, (SI units: J/(kg·K)) * \rho : density, (SI units: kg/m3). Note that whereas the Reynolds number and Grashof number are subscripted with a scale variable, the Prandtl number contains no such length scale and is dependent only on the fluid and the fluid state. The Prandtl number is often found in property tables alongside other properties such as viscosity and thermal conductivity. The mass transfer analog of the Prandtl number is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayleigh Number
In fluid mechanics, the Rayleigh number (, after Lord Rayleigh) for a fluid is a dimensionless number associated with buoyancy-driven flow, also known as free (or natural) convection. It characterises the fluid's flow regime: a value in a certain lower range denotes laminar flow; a value in a higher range, turbulent flow. Below a certain critical value, there is no fluid motion and heat transfer is by conduction rather than convection. For most engineering purposes, the Rayleigh number is large, somewhere around 106 to 108. The Rayleigh number is defined as the product of the Grashof number (), which describes the relationship between buoyancy and viscosity within a fluid, and the Prandtl number (), which describes the relationship between momentum diffusivity and thermal diffusivity: . Hence it may also be viewed as the ratio of buoyancy and viscosity forces multiplied by the ratio of momentum and thermal diffusivities: . It is closely related to the Nusselt number (). De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Characteristic Length
In physics, a characteristic length is an important dimension that defines the scale of a physical system. Often, such a length is used as an input to a formula in order to predict some characteristics of the system, and it is usually required by the construction of a dimensionless quantity, in the general framework of dimensional analysis and in particular applications such as fluid mechanics. In computational mechanics, a characteristic length is defined to force localization of a stress softening constitutive equation. The length is associated with an integration point. For 2D analysis, it is calculated by taking the square root of the area. For 3D analysis, it is calculated by taking the cubic root of the volume associated to the integration point. Examples A characteristic length is usually the volume of a system divided by its surface: L_c = V_\mathrm/A_\mathrm For example, it is used to calculate flow through circular and non-circular tubes in order to examine flow co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Temperature
In fluid thermodynamics, the film temperature () is an approximation of the temperature of a fluid inside a convection boundary layer. It is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the temperature at the surface of the solid boundary wall () and the free-stream temperature (): :T_f=\frac The film temperature is often used as the temperature at which fluid properties are calculated when using the Prandtl number, Nusselt number, Reynolds number or Grashof number to calculate a heat transfer coefficient, because it is a reasonable first approximation to the temperature within the convection boundary layer. Somewhat confusing terminology may be encountered in relation to boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...s and heat exchangers, where the same term is used to re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heat Transfer Coefficient
In thermodynamics, the heat transfer coefficient or film coefficient, or film effectiveness, is the proportionality constant between the heat flux and the thermodynamic driving force for the flow of heat (i.e., the temperature difference, ). It is used in calculating the heat transfer, typically by convection or phase transition between a fluid and a solid. The heat transfer coefficient has SI units in watts per square meter kelvin (W/m2/K). The overall heat transfer rate for combined modes is usually expressed in terms of an overall conductance or heat transfer coefficient, . In that case, the heat transfer rate is: :\dot=hA(T_2-T_1) where (in SI units): *: surface area where the heat transfer takes place (m2) *: temperature of the surrounding fluid (K) *: temperature of the solid surface (K) The general definition of the heat transfer coefficient is: :h = \frac where: *: heat flux (W/m2); i.e., thermal power per unit area, q = d\dot/dA *: difference in temperature bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heat-transfer Fluid
In fluid thermodynamics, a heat transfer fluid is a gas or liquid that takes part in heat transfer by serving as an intermediary in cooling on one side of a process, transporting and storing thermal energy, and heating on another side of a process. Heat transfer fluids are used in countless applications and industrial processes requiring heating or cooling, typically in a closed circuit and in continuous cycles. Cooling water, for instance, cools an engine, while heating water in a hydronic heating system heats the radiator in a room. Water is the most common heat transfer fluid because of its economy, high heat capacity and favorable transport properties. However, the useful temperature range is restricted by freezing below 0 °C and boiling at elevated temperatures depending on the system pressure. Antifreeze additives can alleviate the freezing problem to some extent. However, many other heat transfer fluids have been developed and used in a huge variety of applications ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
