An Analysis of Turbulent Free-convection Heat-transfer

Abstract

In this paper a theoretical analysis is made of natural-convection heat-transfer under conditions of turbulent flow. A theory is developed relating the non-dimensional heat-transfer coefficient to the boundary-layer thicknesses which are subsequently determined from solutions of the simplified heat and momentum balance equations. These are applied to fluids of ***Prandtl numbers near unity and to liquid metals having very low Prandtl numbers, which are of importance for cooling gas-turbine blades and nuclear-power sources. It is shown that data obtainable from simple small-scale equipment can be extrapolated without serious error to the highest values of the relevant parameters likely to be met in any practical application.