Japan Journal of Food Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 55 - 58, Mar.

2006

Note

Dimensionless Film Momentum Transfer Coefficient in Relation

to the Analogy among Transport Phenomena

Ryuichi MATSUNO

Department of Food Science, Ishikawa Prefectural University,

1-308, Suematsu, Nonoichi-cho, Ishikawa 921-8836, Japan

An Mo number, which is a dimensionless formula of the film momentum transfer coefficient mo and
reverse of the dimensionless film thickness of flow, was proposed. The Mo numbers deduced from
the known theoretical and experimental equations of momentum transfer phenomena for flows in a
pipe and around a sphere were compared to the Nusselt numbers, Nu, and Sherwood numbers, Sh, for
the corresponding heat and mass transfers, respectively, and a good analogy was found among them.
The phenomena of momentum transfers were also simply explained using m0 and the Mo number.
The author expects that these findings might be useful for improving the education of fundamental
chemical engineering, food chemical engineering, and biochemical engineering.
Key words: Film momentum transfer coefficient, Mo number, Nu number, Transport phenomena,
Analogy

1. Introduction wall or the surface of the immersed body are expressed

using the coefficients according to Eq. (1). However, a
The analogy among transport phenomena has been one momentum flux is expressed using the friction coefficient
of the most interesting subjects in chemical engineering for drag coefficient CR.Why is the momentum flux equa-
for the author since he learned it as a student. tion not expressed using a film momentum transfer coeffi-
The fluxes of physical quantities, momentum, energy cient mo? A text book [1] introduced a film momentum
and mass, are expressed by a unified equation under the transfer coefficient. But it is hardly used for describing
condition of constant fluid density. the momentum transfer to the best of the author' s knowl-
edge.
Flux of physical quantity=•\Diff•E•Þ(Concentration of This short paper introduces a dimensionless film
physical quantity) (1) momentum transfer coefficient Mo which corresponds to
the Nu and Sh numbers for heat and mass transfers,
where Dzff is a constant having the unit, cm2/s. The con- respectively, and shows how this number behaves in rela-
stant Dzff is a dynamic viscosity v for momentum transfer, tion to the analogy with heat and mass transfer phenome-
a temperature diffusion coefficient a for heat transfer and na [2].
a binary diffusion coefficient DAB for mass transfer. With

an increase in the Re number, an eddy occurs due to flow 2. Definition of a Film Momentum Transfer
instability, bulk flows in a pipe and around an immersed Coefficients mo and its Dimensionless Form
body such as a sphere become turbulent, and concomi- Mo Number
tantly, boundary film layers of flow (thickness, ƒÂ) develop

along the wall of a pipe and surface of the body in which The film momentum transfer coefficient mo [kg/(m2s)]
the fluid has a laminar flow. Due to the same origin, that and Mo number [-] are defined by Eqs. (2) and (3), respec-
is flow instability, temperature and concentration bound- tively.
ary film layers with thicknesses ct and o , respectively,

t w=-ƒÊ(du/dr)/w=(ƒÊ/ƒÂ)(u)=mo•qu•r(2)
develop. The film heat and mass transfer coefficients are

then defined and the heat and mass transfer fluxes at the Mo =moD/ƒÊ=1/(ƒÂ/D) (3)

where D denotes a representative length such as the diam-

(Received 21 Nov. 2005: accepted 16Jan. 2006)
Fax:+81-76-227-7410, E-mail: matsuno@ishikawa-pu.ac.jp eters of the pipe, sphere, etc., ƒÊ, a viscosity, u, the fluid
56 Rvuichi MATS[ 1NO

velocity, Ku) , the average fluid velocity, r, the distance in a Note that the term (v / v )3 in the denominator of the third
radial direction and subscript w, the wall position. equation is equal to unity.
If we consider the meanings of the Nu and Sh numbers, The Nu number for laminar flow is rather complex
Eq. (4) follows. because it is affected by various factors such as the pipe
length, and dependence of the physical properties on the
Mo=1/(ƒÂ/D) =Nu/(ƒÂ/ƒÂt) =Sh/(ƒÂ/ƒÂc) temperature distribution in the pipe. It also depends on
=Mo/(ƒÂ/ƒÂ) (4) the definition of the heat transfer coefficient. The Nu
number based on a local heat transfer coefficient is com-
For film thicknesses, Eqs. (5) and (6) hold. parable to the Mo number for laminar flow (Eq. (8)). The
Nit numbers for following two limiting cases have been
(ƒÂ/ ƒÂt)•åf(Pr)=f (v/a) (5) also shown to be constant values [5].

(ƒÂ/ƒÂc)•åf(Sc) =f(v/DAB) (6)

For the fully developed laminar flow with the condition
of a constant heat flux through the wall :
where Pr and Sc denote the Prandtl and Schmidt numbers,

respectively. Nu=4.364 (12)

3. Flow in the Pipe For the fully developed laminar flow with the condition
of a constant wall temperature :
Equation (2) is applied to the fluid flow in a pipe.

Nu=3.657 (13)
t w=-ƒÊ(du/dr)|w=mo•qu•r =1/2 p•qu•r2f (7)

The Nu numbers, Eqs. (12) and (13), had been calculat-

where p is the fluid density. ed by using a flow rate-averaged temperature as the bulk
The mo value is obtained by substituting the well-known temperature, while Mo number, by using cross sectional
correlation between the friction coefficient f and Re num- area-averaged velocity as the driving force of momentum
ber into Eq. (7), and then, the Mo number is deduced transfer. The Nu number was calculated from the approxi-
from Eq. (3). mate theoretical temperature profile for the former condi-
For laminar flow: tion proposed by Bird et al. [6] using the cross sectional
area-averaged temperature as the bulk temperature and
Mo=8 Re<2300 (8) was 6.0 (see Eq. (A.9) in Appendix).

For turbulent flow: 4. Flow around a Sphere

The Blasius formula [3] yields Eq.(9).

The relations between the drag coefficient, CR , and mo

Mo = 0.0395Re3/4 3•~103 < Re < 105 (9) and the Mo number are shown in the following equations.

The author first discusses the case of turbulent flow. moƒÎdp2u=CR(ƒÎdp2/4)(pu2/2) (14)

Equation (9) is the equation to be compared with the cor-

Mo=modp/ƒÊ=ReCR /8 (15)
relation of the Nu number in turbulent flow [4].

where dp is the diameter of a sphere, p , the fluid density

Nu=0.023 Re 0.8 Pr0.4 (10) and u, the approaching velocity.

Using well-known correlations between CR and Re,

Colburn [2] proposed the j factor and explained the analo-

Mo=3.0 Re<6 Stokes region (16)

gy in transport phenomena. If the above result is added,

the analogy is denoted by Eq. (11)•¬

Mo=1.25Re 1/2 6<Re<105 Allen region (17)

Mo=0.055Re 500<Re<105 Newton region (18)

These equations are compared to the correlation of Ranz

 Dimensionless Film Momentum Transfer Coefficient 57

and Marshall [7,8].

•¬ (A.2)

Nu=2.0 + 0.6 Re 1/2Pr 1/3 (19)

where T is the temperature, To , the temperature at the
For Sh number, Pr number is replaced by Sc number. inlet of pipe, z, the axial direction from the inlet of pipe, r,

The Mo number, Nu number and Sh number take simi- the radial direction from the center of pipe, R, the radius
lar formula and the analogy among the three transfer phe- of pipe, q, the constant heat flux from the pipe wall, k, the
nomena holds. However, the numerical coefficients are thermal conductivity, Cp, the specific heat of fluid and umax
different. There is a clear reason for this. In the Stokes' s , the maximum fluid velocity.
law, the drag force arises from two kinds of drag forces, The denominator of O is rewritten as Eq. (A.3).

the form and friction drags and their contributions are 1

vs. 2 [9]. The form drag arises from the pressure differ- •¬ (A.3)

ence between front and back sides of the sphere against

the flow and it does not contribute to heat or mass trans- where h is heat transfer coefficient, and the subscripts b

fer. Therefore, 2 out of 3 of Mo number should be consid- and w denote the bulk and wall positions, respectively.

ered for comparison with the Nu and Sh numbers. In the Note that (Tb-Tw) is the constant driving force of constant

range of Allen, it is interesting that the contribution of the heat flux. An another dimensionless temperature •¬'is

form drag is increased to (1/2) from (1/3) for the Stokes introduced

range.

•¬ 2
5. Summary

Then, the following relation is hold.

Although the introduction of Mo number is no more

than just an idea and is calculated based on the known the- •¬' b- •¬'w-1= Nu2 (•¬b-•¬w) (A.5)

oretical and experimental works, it may help students to

understand deeply the analogy among the transfer phe- Now, if •¬ b and O w are calculated from Eq. (A.1), Nu num-

nomena. Another merit of use of mo and the Mo number ber is calculated from Eq. (A.5).

is that the momentum transport phenomenon is simply If the cross sectional area-averaged temperature is cho-

explained.•gWith an increase in Re number, the film thick- sen as the bulk temperature, O b is calculated as Eq. (A.6) .

ness decreases, therefore, mo or Mo number increases

and then, the pressure drop or drag force increases.•h

•¬(A.6)•¬

Acknowledgement
24 8

The author is grateful to Professor, Dr. Shuichi O wis calculated straight forwardly.
Yamamoto, Faculty of Engineering, Yamaguchi University

for his introduction of the book,•gTransport phenomena•h •¬ w=•¬(ƒÄ,1)=-4ƒÄ-11/27 (A.7)

[1].

Then,

Appendix

•¬ b-•¬Ow=1/3(A.8)

The approximate theoretical temperature profile for the

fully developed laminar flow in the pipe with the condition By substituting Eq. (A.8) into Eq. (A.5), Nu number is
of a constant heat flux through the wall proposed by Bird deduced as Eq. (A.9).
et al. [6: p.296, Eq.(9.8-31) ] is shown as Eq. (A.1).•¬

Nu = 6.0 (A.9)
=-4Ā-2+ 1/4+7 (A .1)

In the case of using the flow rate averaged temperature

The dimensionless variables were defined by Eq. (A.2). as the bulk temperature, (•¬b-•¬w) becomes as Eq. (A.10).

p
 58 Ryuichi MATSUNO

McGraw-Hill, 1955.

b-•¬w=11/27 (A.10) [4] W. H. McAdams;•gHeat transmission•h, 3rd. Edition,

McGraw-Hill Book Co.,1954, p.219.

[5] R. B. Bird, W. E. Stewart, E. N. Lightfoot;•gTransport phe

- nomena•h, Chapter 13, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1960,

Then, Nu number is calculated to be Eq. (12) in the main pp.396-407.

text. [6] R. B. Bird, W. E. Stewart, E. N. Lightfoot;•gTransport

phenomena•h, Chapter 9, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1960,

References pp.291-297.

[7] W. E. Ranz, W. R. Marshall, Jr.; Evaporation from drops (I),

[1] W. J. Beek, K. M. K. Muttzall;•gTransport phenomena•h, Chem. Eng. Prog., 48,141-146 (1952).

Chapter 1, A Wiley-Interscience Publication, 1975, p.14. [8] W. E. Ranz, W. R. Marshall, Jr.; Evaporation from drops (II),

[2] A. P. Colburn; A method of correlating forced convection Chem. Eng. Prog., 48,173-180 (1952).

heat transfer data and a comparison with fluid friction. [9] R. B. Bird, W. E. Stewart, E. N. Lightfoot;•gTransport

Trans. A. I. Ch. E., 29,174-210 (1933). phenomena•h, Chapter 2, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1960,

[3] H. Schlighting;•gBoundary layer theory•h, Chapter 20, pp.56-60.

•¬