Laminar and Turbulent Free Convection From Elliptic Cylinders, With a Vertical Plate and Horizontal Circular Cylinder as Special Cases

Abstract

Heat transfer by free convection from thin elliptic cylinders is predicted, accounting for both the effect of thick boundary layers at low Rayleigh numbers and the influence of turbulence at higher Rayleigh numbers. Isothermal and constant heat flux boundary conditions are treated. The results are compared with experimental data, which are available for the limiting cases of large eccentricity (vertical plate) and small eccentricity (horizontal circular cylinder); the agreement is excellent. Accurate correlation equations, from which the average heat transfer can be calculated, are given.