Reynolds Analogy
We describe the physical mechanism for the heat transfer coefficient in a turbulent boundary layer because most aerospace vehicle applications have turbulent boundary layers. The treatment closely follows that in Eckert and Drake (1959). Very near the wall, the fluid motion is smooth and laminar, and molecular conduction and shear are important. The shear stress, , at a plane is given by (where is the dynamic viscosity), and the heat flux by . The latter is the same expression that was used for a solid. The boundary layer is a region in which the velocity is lower than the free stream as shown in Figures and . In a turbulent boundary layer, the dominant mechanisms of shear stress and heat transfer change in nature as one moves away from the wall.
As one moves away from the wall (but still in the boundary layer), the flow is turbulent. The fluid particles move in random directions and the transfer of momentum and energy is mainly through interchange of fluid particles, shown schematically in Figure .
With reference to Figure , because of the turbulent velocity field, a fluid mass penetrates the plane per unit time and unit area. In steady flow, the same amount crosses from the other side. Fluid moving up transports heat . Fluid moving down transports downwards. If , there is a turbulent downwards heat flow , given by , that results.
Fluid moving up also has momentum and fluid moving down has momentum . The net flux of momentum down per unit area and time is therefore . This net flux of momentum per unit area and time is a force per unit area or stress, given by
For the laminar region, the heat flux towards the wall is and dividing by the expression for the shear stress, , yields
The quantity is known as the Prandtl number ( ), after the man who first presented the idea of the boundary layer and was one of the pioneers of modern fluid mechanics. For gases, Prandtl numbers are in fact close to unity and for air at room temperature. The Prandtl number varies little over a wide range of temperatures: approximately 3% from 300-2000 K.
We want a relation between the values at the wall (at which and ) and those in the free stream. To get this, we integrate the expression for from the wall to the free stream
Carrying out the integration yields
Equation provides a useful estimate of , or , based on knowing the skin friction, or drag. The direct relationship between the Stanton Number and the skin friction coefficient is
An example of the use of the Reynolds analogy is in analysis of a heat exchanger. One type of heat exchanger has an array of tubes with one fluid flowing inside and another fluid flowing outside, with the objective of transferring heat between them. To begin, we need to examine the flow resistance of a tube. For fully developed flow in a tube, it is more appropriate to use an average velocity and a bulk temperature . Thus, an approximate relation for the heat transfer is
To recap, there is an approximate relation between skin friction (momentum flux to the wall) and heat transfer called the Reynolds analogy that provides a useful way to estimate heat transfer rates in situations in which the skin friction is known. The relation is expressed by
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