THE TURBULENT FREE CONVECTION FLOW ABOVE A HEATED HORIZONTAL CIRCULAR PLATE
Abstract
The turbulent free convection of air above a 2-foot diameter, heated horizontal plate was studied experimentally and numerically. The mean temperature fields and the indraft profiles for two mean plate temperatures were measured using a thermo couple and a constant temperature hot-wire anemometer. Also, the turbulence and mean velocity were measured for the higher plate temperature using the hot-wire method. The flow field was visualized by shadow photograph technique. From visualization and measurements, it was found that the region of significant deviation from ambient temperature and velocity was restricted to a region near the plate centerline (the primary flow region). The indraft velocity was found to be relatively large near the ground level (width approximately 1 in of the ground). The major temperature drop took place in the region very near the plate. Within 0.02 in of the plate the temperature distribution in the air could be calculated based on conduction only. This region was therefore, called the "conduction layer." At a given mean plate temperature, the temperature gradient was found to increase with the radius. Data obtained from heat-transfer measurements were consistent with the one-third power correlation reported in the literature.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0707698
Entities
People
- Tim T. Fu
Organizations
- Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center