After completing the reading, exercises, and the associated homework you should be able to:
Explain the difference between forced convection and natural convection
Explain how and why a fluid subject to natural convection moves
Define volume expansion coefficient (β), mathematically and in words
Define Grashof number (Gr)and give its physical interpretation
Define Rayleigh number (Ra)and give its physical interpretation
Sketch what velocity and thermal boundary layers look like for natural convection for Pr>1 and Pr<1
Explain what type of forces balance each other in natural convection boundary layers forPr>1 and Pr<1
Find the appropriate Nusselt correlation for natural convection based on Ra, boundary condition, geometry and orientation of surface, etc.
Sketch flow patterns for natural convection currents in enclosures
State the driving temperature difference to use in the convection relation for natural convection in enclosures
Find the effective thermal conductivity for natural convection in enclosures and use it to determine the rate of heat transfer assuming 1-D SS conduction
Non-dimensionalize an equation by substituting dimensionless forms of variables into it
Determine when a system subject to combined forced and natural convection has negligible natural convection or negligible forced convection
Calculate the Nusselt number and heat transfer coefficient for combined natural and forced convection
Note: Any term in bold is a key vocabulary term that you should be able to define, regardless of whether or not that is the specific learning objective.