FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

THERMOFLUIDS

(Experiment 4)

Semester II 2016/2017

COURSE : AEROSPACE LABORATORY 1

CODE : EAS 3921
TITLE : THERMO BOUNDARY LAYER

PROGRAM : BACHELOR OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

NAME : ABEEB FAJOBI OLAMILEKAN
MATRIC : 181268
LECTURER : DR. NORKHAIRUNNISA BINTI MAZLAN
INSTRUCTOR : MS. PEGGY TAY

TITLE: THERMO BOUNDARY LAYER

INTRODUCTION:
Convection is heat transfer by mass motion of a fluid such as air or water when the heated
fluid is caused to move away from the source of heat, carrying energy with it. Convection
above a hot surface occurs because hot air expands, it becomes less dense and rises.
Convection can also be known as convective heat transfer.
It is one of the heat transfer mode by the movement of the fluids or gases. Convection is
usually the dominant form of heat transfer in liquids and gases from one place to another.
Convective heat transfer involves two types of processes that are conduction and advection.
Both these processes combined gives us heat transfer through convection. Energy or heat is
transferred due to random molecular motion. Besides, energy is also transferred by bulk, or
macroscopic, motion of the fluid. Such motion with the presence of a temperature gradient,
leads to heat transfer. Since the molecules tend to move in random direction, the total heat
transfer is then due to the superposition of energy transport by random motion of the
molecules and by the bulk motion of the fluid. The term convection is always used when
referring to this cumulative transport and the term advection is conveyed when referring to
the transport due to bulk fluid motion.
Apart from that, convection can also be divided into two categories. One of it is forced
convection, where a fluid motion involved in the process is induced by some external
buoyancy force. Convection can be also categorized as natural or free convection. Natural or
free convection occurs when heat is transferred by the circulation of fluids due to buoyancy
from the density changes induced by heating itself. Specifically saying, the natural buoyancy
forces alone are entirely responsible for fluid motion when the fluid is heated. In natural
convection, an increase in temperature causes a reduction in density, which in return causes
the fluid motion due to pressures and forces when fluids of different densities are affected by
gravity. However, in some cases both free and forced convection are significant thus cant be
neglected. These cases are referred to as mixed convection.
Boiling or condensing processes are also referred as a convective heat transfer processes. The
following equation is used to describe the mechanism of convection, and it is known as
Newtons law of Cooling
Q = hA(Ts- T)
where Q=rate of heat flow , h: the heat transfer coefficient

A=Cross sectional area , Ts- T =temperature difference for heat flow away from surface

Q
 Figure 1: Schematic
diagram of the
convection process
In short we can
say that, free or
natural convection is when fluid motion is caused by buoyancy forces that result from
the density variations due to variations of temperature in the fluid. In the absence of
an external source and when the fluid is in contact with a hot surface, its molecules
separate and scatter, causing the fluid to be less dense. Thus, the fluid is displaced
while the cooler fluid gets denser and the fluid sinks. Thus, the hotter volume
transfers heat towards the cooler volume of that fluid. Familiar examples are the
upward flow of air due to a fire or hot object and the circulation of water in a pot that
is heated from below. Meanwhile, forced convection is when a fluid is forced to flow
over the surface by an external source such as fans, by stirring, and pumps, creating
an artificially induced convection current.

CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER:

a) NATURAL CONVECTION: Natural convection occurs due to temperature
differences which affect the density, and thus relative buoyancy, of the fluid. Heavier
components will fall, while lighter components rise, leading to bulk fluid movement.
Natural convection can therefore only occur in a gravitational field. A common
example of natural convection is the rise of smoke from a fire. It can be seen in a pot
of boiling water in which the hot and less-dense water on the bottom layer moves
upwards in plumes, and the cool and denser water near the top of the pot likewise
sinks. Note that differences in buoyancy within a fluid can arise for reasons other than
temperature variations, in which case the fluid motion is called gravitational
convection (see below). However, all types of buoyant convection, including natural
convection, do not occur in microgravity environments. All require the presence of an
environment which experiences g-force.

b) FORCED CONVECTION: In forced convection, fluid movement results from

external surface forces such as a fan or pump. Forced convection is typically used to
 increase the rate of heat exchange. Many types of mixing also utilize forced
convection to distribute one substance within another. Forced convection also occurs
as a by-product to other processes, such as the action of a propeller in a fluid
or aerodynamic heating. Fluid radiator systems, and also heating and cooling of parts
of the body by blood circulation, are other familiar examples of forced convection.

Forced convection may happen by natural means, such as when the heat of a fire
causes expansion of air and bulk air flow by this means. In microgravity, such flow
(which happens in all directions) along with diffusion is the only means by which
fires are able to draw in fresh oxygen to maintain themselves. The shock wave that
transfers heat and mass out of explosions is also a type of forced convection. The heat
loss due to the forced convection governed by called Newton's Law of Cooling which
states that the rate of loss of heat by a body is directly proportional to the temperature
difference between system and surroundings provided the difference is small. The
equation is given by:

dQ
P= =hA (T T 0)
dT

where
P = dQ/dt is rate at which heat is transferred
h = convection heat-transfer coefficient (or film coefficient or film conductance)
A = exposed surface area
T = temperature of the immersed object
T0 = temperature of convecting fluid

OBJECTIVES:
1. To study the behaviour of convection heat transfer mode.
2. To investigate the phenomenon of natural and forced convection.
SPECIMEN AND EQUIPMENTS:
1. Model H-6882 Convection Heat Transfer Demonstrator.

Figure 2: Model H-6882

Figure 3. Measurements of the air velocity

PROCEDURES:
All instrument panel control were ensured to be set to ZERO.
1. The vertical test panel were connected to the test section
2. The air temperature probe were set at the bottom centre of the test panel. The probe
were adjusted as close as possible to the test panel without touching the test panel.
0 0
h, v
This position was considered initial position for the probe .
3. The power rheostat were increased to a certain value and the temperature rise at the
digital temperature display were noticed.
4. The temperature probe were slowly move horizontally away from the test panel.
When moving the probe, the inches gauge were being attention of.
5. When the temperature reading was at ambient temperature, the probe stop moving.
X 1h,0v
6. The new position were noted.
7. The probe were moved back to the initial position and move it up vertically to a
0 h, Y1v
certain height . Steps 5 and 6 were repeated.
X 2h, Y1v
8. The new position were noted.
9. Steps 5 to 9 were repeated until the upper centre of the test panel.
10. Using the data collected representing the thermal boundary layer of natural
convection, graphs were plotted.
11. The experiment were repeated for different setting of the power supplied.
12. This experiment can also be conducted by introducing a fluid flow passing the
heated test panel, thus the process of the thermal boundary layer a forced convection
will occur. This was achieved by setting the Fan Speed Motor Control to a certain
value.
Results
Plate height = 7.4 inch 3.4 inch = 4.0 inch

Ambient Temperature 72

Air Velocity: 700 per min

Increment in y-direction: 0.4 inches
Height from the Distance from the test panel, x (inches)
upper centre of T 1 (72 ) T 2 (72 )
the probe, y X1 X 2 (Free X 3 (Bound X4
(inches) (Free
(Boundary Stream Pitot ary Layer) - Stream Pitot
Layer)- Static)- with without air Static)- with
without air air velocity velocity air velocity
velocity
3.4 6.000 2.600 6.000 2.808
3.8 6.000 2.600 6.000 3.853
4.2 6.000 6.000 6.000 3.767
4.6 6.000 2.600 6.000 3.764
5.0 6.000 2.600 6.000 3.714
5.4 5.242 2.600 5.803 3.963
5.8 4.257 2.600 5.721 4.755
6.2 4.430 2.464 6.000 3.425
6.6 3.779 2.631 6.000 3.290
7.0 4.044 2.635 5.986 2.903
7.4 3.246 2.660 5.770 2.603
Table 1. Group 1 Data results (Raw Data)
Height from the Distance from the test panel, x (inches)
upper centre of T 1 (72 ) T 2 (72 )
the probe, y X1 X 2 (Free X 3 (Bound X4
(inches) (Free
(Boundary Stream Pitot ary Layer) - Stream Pitot
Layer) - Static)- with without air Static)- with
without air air velocity velocity air velocity
velocity
3.4 5.818 2.904 5.332 4.204
3.8 5.831 2.893 6.000 6.000
4.2 5.946 3.005 5.860 4.262
4.6 5.592 2.805 5.845 4.310
5.0 5.634 2.792 6.000 3.710
5.4 5.804 2.600 5.576 4.505
5.8 6.000 2.701 6.000 3.388
6.2 5.472 2.801 5.574 3.268
6.6 5.732 2.772 6.000 3.274
7.0 5.512 2.781 5.130 3.232
7.4 5.627 2.600 5.973 2.600

Height from the Distance from the test panel, x (inches)

upper centre of T 1 (72 ) T 2 (72 )
the probe, y X1 X 2 (Free X 3 (Bound X4
(inches) (Free
(Boundary Stream Pitot ary Layer) - Stream Pitot
Layer) - Static)- with without air Static)- with
without air air velocity velocity air velocity
velocity
3.4 5.733 2.600 5.591 5.503
3.8 5.823 2.600 5.779 5.856
4.2 4.822 2.600 5.480 6.000
4.6 5.536 2.991 5.529 3.439
5.0 4.905 5.435 5.976 3.271
5.4 5.411 2.600 5.925 4.120
5.8 5.603 2.600 5.698 4.048
6.2 5.329 2.600 6.000 4.334
6.6 4.128 2.600 6.000 6.000
7.0 4.579 2.600 6.000 2.906
7.4 5.474 2.600 5.900 2.855
Table 3. Group 3 Data results

Height from the Distance from the test panel, x (inches)

upper centre of T 1 (72 ) T 2 (72 )
the probe, y X1 X 2 (Free X 3 (Bound X4
(inches) (Free
 (Boundary Stream Pitot ary Layer) - Stream Pitot
Layer) - Static) without air Static)
without air velocity
velocity
3.4 5.850 2.701 5.641 4.172
3.8 5.885 2.698 5.926 5.146
4.2 5.589 3.868 5.780 4.676
4.6 5.709 2.799 5.791 3.838
5.0 5.513 3.609 5.992 3.565
5.4 5.486 2.600 5.768 3.913
5.8 5.287 2.634 5.806 4.064
6.2 5.077 2.622 5.858 3.676
6.6 4.413 2.668 6.000 4.188
7.0 4.712 2.672 5.705 3.014
7.4 4.782 2.600 5.881 2.686
Table 4. Average Data results

Calculation:
Sample:
6.000+5.818+5.733
Average value of distance X 1= =5.850
3

2.600+2.904 +2.600
Average value of distance X 2= =2.701
3

6.000+5.332+5.591
Average value of distance X 3= =5.641
3

2,808+ 4.204+5.503
Average value of distance X 3= =4.172
3

Average x position for x 1 at T 1

Average x1 = ( 6.000+5.818+5.733
3 )2.6=3.25 inches
Distanc (Boundary Layer) - With Fan (Free Height from
e from Without Fan Stream Pitot Static) Upper Probe
Test Centre, y
Panel, x (inches)
(inches)
T1 (72F) T2 (72F) T1 (72F) T2 (72F)
x1 3.25 3.041 0.101 1.572 0
x2 3.285 3.326 0.098 2.546 0.4
x3 2.989 3.18 1.268 2.076 0.8
x4 3.109 3.191 0.199 1.238 1.2
x5 2.913 3.392 1.009 0.965 1.6
x6 2.886 3.168 0 1.313 2
x7 2.687 3.206 0.034 1.464 2.4
x8 2.477 3.258 0.022 1.076 2.8
x9 1.813 3.4 0.068 1.588 3.2
x10 2.112 3.105 0.072 0.414 3.6
x11 2.182 3.281 0 0.086 4

Natural Convection
4
3.5
3
2.5 Temperature 1
Polynomial (Temperature 1)
2
x-Distance (inches) Temperature 2
1.5
Polynomial (Temperature 2)
1
0.5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5

y- Distance (inches)
Graph of Distance from Test Panel, x against Height from Upper Probe Centre, y of natural
convection at temperature 1 and 2

Forced Convection
3

2.5

2 Temperature 1
Polynomial (Temperature 1)
1.5
x- Distance Temperature 2
1 Polynomial (Temperature 2)

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4 5

y- Distance (inches)

Graph of Distance from Test Panel, x against Height from Upper Probe Centre, y of forced
convection at temperature 1 and 2

DISCUSSION
1. The temperature probe consists of three metals which are not adjusted to each other as
a result the first thin which needs to be done is to adjusts the front sides of the
thermocouple metals.
2. Since all the measurements were taken by devices the amount of human error is at
minimum.
3. The temperature measurements were taken in six locations in the panel based on its
height which implies that the accuracy of this experiment relies on the amount of
locations taken on the plane.
4. The measurements were taken in two different temperature power which as a result to
show different temperature gradient and thermal boundary layer.
5. The thermocouple probe should not be touched the wall but it is ensured that it is just
about near the wall.
 6. The wind speed is ensured to be not that high but we adjust it to low speed so that the
wind flow is still in laminar form.
7. Other metal or surface should not be placed near to the wall plate to ensure inaccuracy
caused by non-uniform convection.

QUESTIONS:
1). Briefly explain how the thermal boundary layer occurs and the regime
involved?
Answer The thermal boundary layer is the flow region over the surface in which the
temperature variation in the direction is normal to the surface. Like the velocity a thermal
boundary layer develops when a fluid at a specified temperature flows over a surface that is at
a different temperature. Consider the flow of a fluid at a uniform temperature of T over an
isothermal flat plate at temperature Ts. The fluid particles in the layer adjacent assume the
surface temperature Ts. A temperature profile develops that ranges from Ts at the surface to
T sufficiently far from the surface.

The relative thickness of the velocity and the thermal boundary layers is best described by the
dimensionless parameter, Prandtl number, defined as:

molecular diffusivity of momentum v C p

Pr= = =
molecular diffusvity of heat k

Heat diffuses very quickly in liquid metals (Pr1) and very slowly in oils (Pr1) relative to
momentum. Consequently the thermal boundary layer is much thicker for liquid metals and
much thinner for oils relative to the velocity boundary layer.

2).what are the applications that use the variation of this phenomenon in the gas
turbine engine?
Answer
Application 1:
In a GAS TURBINE ENGINE, a single turbine section is made up of a disk or hub that
holds many turbine blades. That turbine section is connected to a compressor section via a
shaft (or "spool"), and that compressor section can either be axial or centrifugal. Air is
compressed, raising the pressure and temperature, through the compressor stages of the
engine. The temperature is then greatly increased by combustion of fuel inside the combustor,
which sits between the compressor stages and the turbine stages. The high temperature and
high pressure exhaust gases then pass through the turbine stages. The turbine stages extract
energy from this flow, lowering the pressure and temperature of the air and transfer the
kinetic energy to the compressor stages along the spool. This process is very similar to how
an axial compressor works, only in reverse.
The number of turbine stages varies in different types of engines, with high bypass
ratio engines tending to have the most turbine stages. The number of turbine stages can have
a great effect on how the turbine blades are designed for each stage. Many gas turbine
engines are twin spool designs, meaning that there is a high pressure spool and a low pressure
spool. The high pressure turbine is exposed to the hottest, highest pressure air, and the low
pressure turbine is subjected to cooler, lower pressure air. That difference in conditions leads
the design of high pressure and low pressure turbine blades to be significantly different in
material and cooling choices even though the aerodynamic and thermodynamic principles are
the same.
Application 2:
The Tesla turbine is a bladeless centripetal flow turbine patented by Nikola Tesla in 1913. It
is referred to as a bladeless turbine because it uses the boundary layer effect and not a fluid
impinging upon the blades as in a conventional turbine. The Tesla turbine is also known as
the boundary layer turbine, cohesion-type turbine, and Prandtl layer turbine (after Ludwig
Prandtl). Bioengineering researchers have referred to it as a multiple disk centrifugal pump.
One of Teslas desires for implementation of this turbine was for geothermal power, which
was described in "Our Future Motive Power".

Application 3:
The hot radiator transfers heat to the nearby air by forced convection. When air molecules
collide with the radiator surface, the hot air near to the radiator expands and increases in
volume because the particles move further apart as they get hotter which leads to decrease in
density of the hot air and raising it upwards. The colder air above it gets pushed along to the
right and then circulates as shown by the arrows. The arrows show the convection currents.
As the hot air moves around the room, it loses its heat by collision with the walls, ceiling and
the objects in the room. Finally the colder air circulates near to the radiator where it is heated
and the whole process repeats itself. The efficiency of convection can be improved by placing
shiny metal foil behind the radiator.

CONCLUSION
In this experiment the profile of thermal boundary layer was indicated based on the
temperature measurements. As the graph indicates the temperature in the leading edge of the
panel remains constant as it is outside of the boundary layer which indicates its shape. After a
certain height from leading edge, boundary layer is uniform due to the uniform convection.

REFERENCES
1. A.D. Polyanin and V.F. Zaitsev. (2004). Handbook of Nonlinear Partial
Differential Equations. London: CRC Press, Boca Raton.
2. A.D. Polyanin, A.M. Kutepov, A.V. Vyazmin, and D.A. Kazenin, (2002)
Hydrodynamics, Mass and Heat Transfer in Chemical Engineering,
London: Taylor & Francis, London,.
3. Yunus A. Cengel, Micheal A. Boles. (2008). Thermodynamics: An
Engineering Approach. US: McGraw Hill.
4. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:fSmRNwVFtW8J:www.erac.ntut.edu.tw/ezfiles/39/1039/img/832/Ch5-
BoundaryLayerFlow-ForcedConvection.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk