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Fundamental Law of Heat Transfer [Natural and Forced Convection]

Nusselt, W.

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https://doi.org/10.4224/20331615
Technical Translation (National Research Council of Canada), 1957

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 PREFACE

The study of heat transfer through fluids to the enclosing

walls of heated structures forms an important part of the work
at the Division of Building Research,
In practice, temperatures, pressures and fluid velocities
are not uniform over surfaces of heated structures and steady
state conditions are seldom fulfilled, The effects of these
variables are often neglected in calculations of heat flow,
Simplified mean coefficients of fluid to surface and surface
to fluid heat transfer have been developed which permit rapid
estimates of heat flow, In more accurate work, however, refer-
ence to original theoretical work is necessary to obtain an
indication of the permissible extent of simplifications,
This paper by Dr. W, Nusselt presents the fundamentals of
heat transfer by natural and forced convection. Both steady
state and transient conditions are considered and the theory
of dimensional analysis and models is clearly elucidated,
This translation has therefore been prepared as a contri-
bution from the Division, not only for its own studies of this
matter, but also for the general information of others who are
similarly interested. It is a pleasure to record that the trans-
lation has been prepared by two research officers of the Division's
staff, Messrs. C, Wachmann and W. G. Brown. Their translation was
m d e with the approval of the author. Mr. D.A. Sinclalr of the
Translations Section of the National Research Council kindly
checked the translation and rendered the translators valued
assistance for which appreciation is here recorded.

Ottawa, R.F. Legget,

J ~ Y , 1957, Director.
 NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA
Techniaal Translation TT-681

Title: The fundamental law of heat transfer

[~aturaland forced convection]
a as Grundgesetz des W&rme&erganges)
Author : W. Nusselt

Reference: Geeundheits-Iwenieur, 38 (42): 477-482

and (43): 490496, 1915

Translators: C. Wachmann and W.G. Brown, Division of Building

Research, National Research Council

Translated with permission

 T I E FUNDn_MENTAL LAW OF HEAT TRANSFER
[NATURALAM) FORCED CONVECTION1

Heat exchange between a solid body and a surrounding liquid

or gas has been determined by experiment for a nurnber of tech-
nically important cases.

In a previous paper(' ), using similarity considerations of

the differential equations, I established relationships which
represent this process for the cooling of a gas stream flowing
thpough a pipe and which the test results must satisfy. These
theoretical results have been confirmed very well by my experi-
ments.

In what follows I shall establish similar relationships for

the case of a solid body at rest in st911 air and prove them
by reference to available experiments.

Suppose a large room is filled with a liquid or an elastic

fluid. To begin with this has ever.ywhere zero speed and uniform
temperature To0 absolute. Into this room is brought a hot solid
body having a uniform temperature T, which is maintained by heat
transfer from the centre. The heat emission from the body takes
place in two different ways. One part is given off to the sur-
roundings by radiation. If the surrounding fluid is a liquid
then the layers next to the body surface absorb the entire
radiated heat and are so warmed. But these quantities of heat
are negligible compared with the amount of heat conducted away
by the liquid. If the surrounding fluid is a gas, it is perme-
able to heat radiatiofi (except for a narrow absorption band de-
pending on the kind of gas). The heat transfer to the enclosing
walls by radiation then takes place without affecting the gas on
the containing walls. It is assumed that these walls are large
enough so that no noticeable change in their temperature To occurs.
The laws of radiation will be discusspd in a later paper. The
 -3-
following lines contain a formulation of heat flow by conduction.

If h be the thermal conductivity of the surrounding medium,

and T its temperature at a point with coordinates x, y and z, then
the heat emitted by conduction from a surface element df of the
body in time dt is

In this equation n is a coordinate of the normal to the sur-

face element df, The positive direction is towards the surroundings,

The total heat given off by the body in the time dt is obtained
by integration of the right-hand side of equation (I) over the
surface of the body, In the literature it is frequently asserted
that the heat emission from a body has three causes( * ) radiation,
conduction and convection, It is said that as a result of an
upward movement of the heated air or an artificial air stream,
cold particles are continuously being brought into contact with
the surface of the body and removing heat from it, From this it
would seem as though conduction and convection were two independent
phenomena and that heat could be transferred by convection without
the aid of conduction. This is not so, In actual fact the argu-
ment of equation (I) holds for both conduction and convection.
If the thermal conductivity of the surrounding medium is zero, then
no heat can be transferred either by conduction or by artificial
convection. On the other hand, if the surrounding medium possesses
a finite thermal conductivity then, if we disregard the radiation,
all the heat is given off by conduction, But the quantity of heat
removed is increased by flow of the medium, since through it the
x,
factor a T i.e., the temperature drop at the surface of the body,
is increased If the flow of the surroundings is produced by
buoyancy, this can be called natural flow or natural convection,
If the movement of the air is produced by an external force one
speaks of artificial convection, If there is no flow, then heat
emission can be said to take place by pure conduction. Conse-
quently, if we disregard radiation, the following four cases of
heat transfer are possible:

1. Heat emission by pure conduction;

It
2. l1 'I natural convection;
3. - It
II tt forced convection;
4. 18
tt natural and forced convection.

In order to calculate the heat emission of the body by equa-

tion (A),the temperature drop at each point, on its surface must
be known. This can be obtained by integration of the determining
differential equations.

Let x, y and z be the three axes of a right-angled coordinate

system whose negative z axis is in line with the direction of
gravity, Further let
,

q be the viscosity,
h thermal conductivity,
P density (mass of unit volume),
c specific heat of unit mass,
T tt temperature,
P static pressure,
t l8 time,

u velocity components in the X-direction,

V tl 11 11 Y-direction,
W 11 11 tt tt 2-direction,

To begin with consider the cooling of a body through natural

convection by its surrounding liquid or elastic fluid under a
nuniber of simplifying assumptioiis. The thermal conductivity and
viscosity of a fluid depend on the temperature; at first let
them be assumed constant. Through the change of density p with
temperature the hot particles acquire buoyancy. By approxi-
mation, this buoyancy which the fluid particles experience can
be used instead of their weight as the inertia force in the dir-
ection of the z axis. In this theorem the potential energy is
neglected so that pressures at large distances from the body all
become equal, in other words independent of z. Let the pressure
p be measured with this pressure as basis. Let the temperature of
the surroundings be To snd the tenperature difference at a point
be 8, so that T = To + O. At the surface of the body 43 = 0,.
If the coefficient of expansion of the fluid. at a point is r,
then the buoyancy thera mill be

where g is gravitational acceleration.

Under these assumptions the equations of motion are as follows:

f

The velocity components must also satisfy the continuity

equation

When the first main theorem is applied to the energy contained

in unit space we obtain the following equation:

=
a20
-;r
(ax + a20
'7
ay + 2;)
 - 6 -
In this equation friction heat and the pressure gradient
have been neglected, These five equations are sufficient to
determine the five values, 0 , u, v, w and p, dependent on the
coordinates, In addition the solution must satisfy the Following
boundary conditions:

At large distances from the body a, u, v, w and

p nmst be zero.
On the surface of the body u, v, w = 0 and O =
@ 0

Although it is not possible to integrate these equations

even for the simplest cases, it is still possible to obtain results
of practical value on the basis of similarity considerations, In
this way, conditions are obtained under which similar cooling takes
place, If the emitted heat is known for one system it then becomes
possible to calculate the heat emitted for any similar system.
Consider two systems, I and 11, Let the values of the first system
be denoted by the index I and those of the second by the index 2,
The two cooling bodies must be geometrically similar, Let their
linear dimensions bear the ratio of a of one to another, If dl
and d2 are similarly located distances on them, then

To obtain similar flow, the coordinates of similarly located

points must also bear the ratio a, i,e,,
x2 = ax,, y2 = ay, , z, = az,,
Let similar times be in the ratio p so that
t, = St,.
Let the ratio of the pressure at similarly located points be
6, i.e,,
 The velocities at similarly located points are in the ratio

In addition let the constants of the defferential equations

and the boundary conditions have the following fixed relationships*.

The question now is to decide whether it is possible for two

systems I and I1 to be geometrically, mechanically and thermally
similar, i,e,, to have constant values for the ratio values**
a, y t 6, E , g, k t #, U, and x. If the answer to this question
is affirmative, it then becomes necessary to decide whether the
values can be chosen arbitrarily, The five differential equations
(3), (4) and (5), of course, hold for both system, It is only
necessary to add the indices I and 2, For instance, the third
equation of (3) for system I becomes

and for system I1

Translators1 notes:
+ The relationship p2 = hp, has been apparently overlooked,
** p overlooked,
 On the basis of the above relationship we now substitute the
t b values with index 2 for those with index I in equation (3b),
Then,

Correspondingly the four remaining differential equations

of system I1 can be restated in terms of system I. Then equation
(3c) oontaina only variables with suffix I. If the above simil-
arity argument is possible, then equation (3c) r w t be identical
to equation (3a). This will be so only if the following relation-
ships are found for the ratio valuest

It is then possible to transform the remaining two equations

of motion for system I1 into those for system I, and similarly
with the continuity equation, In order to transform the heat
movement ,equation, the following condition must be eatisfled:

Equations (6) and (7) show that among the 109 ratio values
a,,.,~ the following relationships must hold:
I

It is seen from the above that similar flow is possible, but

because of the five relationships 8 to 12 only five ratio values
can be chosen arbitrarily. To ensure similarity all five equations

* ~ranslators'note:
This should be I I.
8 to 12 rnust be satisfied.

The boundary conditions require only Q0, = eel. The ratio

value p of the velocities can be chosen arbitrarily since the
velocity does not appear in the boundary conditions. To begin
with we only want to observe the state of inertia and the emitted
heat during a long period of time, hence the vibration period of
periodic fluctuations of flow, which may ariae through vortex
detachment, appears negligibly small, Consequently the heat
emitted is independent of time, p., g, and 6 can therefore be
chosen to correspond to equations ( 8 ) , (9) and (10). The other
ratio values a, y, E, tj, 5, v,$, and'%depend on the material
constants and boundary conditione. Among them the conditional
equations (11) and (12) must hold, If we introduce into both
equations the atate values of syetema I and I1 w e obtain

and

If these equations are satisfied, then heat emission takes

place in a similar fashion. It is of course also possible to
have several systems for comparison which must all have the same
values for ratios definable by equations (lla) and (12a). In
this way the most general conditions are obtained which give

and

Hence for comparable systems equations (1 lb) and (1 2b) must have
constant values. The numbers B and C can of course take any
desirable positive value, For each corresponding pair of values
a nuniber of similar cases are obtained. If, for instance, for
one system the heat Q, emitted by a body in unit time is known,
e,g, from an experiment, then it is possible to calculate from Qi
the heat emitted for a similar system in the following way,
According to (1 )
a@,
dQ, = -I1
r el, (13)
is the heat emitted by a surface element of body I in the unit
time, For the same time, the heat emitted by a similarly located
part of body II l a
aoz
dQ2 = hZdf2 an, ' ('4)

If in this equation we put

J
w e obtain
a@1
dQ, = -E a # h1df,3q a

The relationship of equations (16) and (13) gives

Now

and hence
 By integration over the entire surface of the body the heat
emission from the second body is

To make this equation valid equations (lia) and (12a) M U S ~

be satisfied, The terms with common indices in equation (20)
may now be brought to the same aide

If w e consider a nuniber of systems it follows that provided

they are chosen so that B and 0 have the same values in equatione
(lib) and (l~b), then

must also remain constant, In addition, if the magnitudes of d,

p, g, r, Ow, q, h , and c are altered in such a way that B and C
always yield the same constant values, then D also remains con-
stant, and the emitted heat becomes

Thus, if the values of B, C and D from one experiment are

known it is possible to calculate the heat emission Q for an
infinite nurriber of systems. Suppose, for example, that the heat
emission of a body in the atmosphere under given conditions has
been measured as Q, = 120 kg,cal. per hour, Let the temperature
difference be 1O0C, and the size of the body, d = 0.2 m, What
does the above relationship tell with respect to cooling under
other conditions? If we consider cooling in tb same atmosphere,
the valuesh, c, q, p, g a n d r inequations (ilb), (12b) and (20~)
are constant, Equation (la) is thereby immediately satisfied.
For all possible systems equation (llb) must also be fulfilled,
The term GW d3 must be constant and equal to 10 x 0.2 = 0.08.
Therefore by equation (20)

If for example d, is chosen 0

.1 then, ,@ becomes 80 and henoe

Further, B and C can be chosen arbitrarily,

For each matched pair of values B and C a value D is obtained,
Consequently D is a function of B and C

Therefore, the h e ~ temission of a body is

This is the most general expression which can be set up to

express the heat emission of a body immersed in a fluid under
the foregoing a~sumptions. It shows that the heat loss per h o w
depends on:
size of the body,
temperature excess above the surroundings,
thermal conductivity of the fluid,
viscosity of the fluid,
density of the fluid,
specific heat of the fluid,
coefficient of expansion of the fluld,
acceleration due to gravity,

This dependence is not an arbitrary one for all independent

variables, by means of equation (21 ) the nuniber of independents
is reduced to two, Experimental determination of function is
therefore substantially simplified, It is only necessary to
carry out two series of tests in which the factors contained in
fractions B and C are varied one at a time, for example, h and eW
or c and d, At the same time we immediately obtain the dependence
of the heat Q on those factors, which had not been altered during
the tests,

In practice it has been found appropriate to introduce into

heat emission calculations the so-called coefficient of heat
tranemission, By this is understood a quantity of heat a which
is given up by the unit surface per h o w and per l otemperature
difference, In this way the heat emitted per unit time is

S i n ~ eF is proportional to d2, by equation (22),

Let it be assumed for the sake of argument that the cooling

fluid is a gas, e,g, atmospheric air, then r can be calculated
from the gas law. If po is the remote density at temperatur@ To,
then

From this the buoyancy is obtained,

and the coef'fici'ent of expansion is

P
1
= To + @
.
In the derivation of equation (24) constant r was assumed,
With gases, this occurs only for small temperature differences;
here we get

For c with gases the specific heat at constant pressure cP

is to be substituted. By further substituting for density P the
specific weight y , the coefficient of heat transmission for the
cooling of a body in a stationary gas with a small temperature
difference becomes

Now in accordance with experiments on the kinetic theory of

gases
A = E CV T), (29)

where e is constant for a particular gas. In a previous paper(1)

I have demonstrated that c depends only on the atomic nunher as
follows:
Atomic n w e r I 2 3 4 5 6
t3 2.50 1.74 1.57 1.23 1.28 1.24
In expression (29) it is now possible to substitute cP for
e,; according to an expression of heat theory

where x also depends only on the atomic number as follows:

Atomic number I 2 3 4 5 6
x 1.66 1.40 1.27 1.28 1.28 1.25
We now substitute the value from equation (2%) in (29) and get
&
A = - 1
x
C
P 'T),
 In other words the value C depends only on the atomic nuniber
of the gas and varies between 1,5 and 1, If we extend uonsider-
ations only to gases of similar atomic nunibere, e,g, diatomio
gases, hyebogen, oxygen, nitrogen, air, stc, then C remains
constant and the coefficient of heat transmission depends only
on B. The formula is then simplified to,

(30)
If factor $ is transferred to the left side and fraction

-
ad is designated as A,
h
then

In other words the problem of the cooling of a solid body of

given shape in a stationary volume of diatomic gagl for small
temperature differenaes can b e reduced to the determination of
a function of a single variable, It is therefore only necessary
to know the dependence of the heat transfer on one of the five
factors of which B is made up, The dependence on the other
factors followe. If, for instance, the linear dimensions of a
body are altered and the heat transfer process is measured in air
at the same temperature difference, and if, for instance, a is
independent of the dimension^, lee,, of d, it follows that:

Herein, however, C is a constant to be determined by experi-

ment and yo is the speuific weight of the gas at the normal oon-
dition of 1 5° and I atmosphere,

Or if it is found on examining a body at different temperatures

that a is proportional to @&, it follows from (30)

= (.' )"' . ., . . .
,
~

'12 To
4 '0; .y02-. pa. 2882
-1 CIA ~ ~ ' g . , l z . ~TOY
. " . - ' .

It is unfortunate that there are no series of experiments

available in which temperature differences had been chosen small
enough that expression (30) would be satisfactory. In actual fact
the temperature difference is always appreciable, Under this
condition the density, the conductivity, the viscoeity and the
uoefficient of expansion depend on the temperature. These are
quantities which had been assumed constant in the derivation of
expression (30).

These restricting assumptions will now be dropped,

On the basis of the following consideration it I s possible

to render expression (30) approximately valid for this general
case as well, It is certain that the temperature difference O
at small distances from the surface of the body has zero value,
where coneguently the temperature of the surroundings is constant,
The temperature drop is then restricted to a thin layer adjacentto
tkebody, and it would appear approximately correct to substitute
in the differential equation the mean values of temperature de-
pendent variables, obtained by integration in th temperature
range Ow. We obtain

If To is the temperature of the surroundings and T, the wall

temperature, the according to our definition we get
furthermore

and

where yo 16 the specific weight of the gas at surrounding temper-

ature To.

It is now possible to obtain for this case an accurate ex-

pression from the differential equation. Because of the
temperature dependence of p, h , q, cp equations ( 3 ) , (4) and (5)
now expand to
 bT bw bT bw b T b u- -
+.--
bybs bzby h y b z

A t great distance from the body let

1
 At the surface let

Now from the gas law,

*o
P = Po*T9

and

if the small variation of pressure is neglected. The variation of

q, h and c with temperature shall now be represented by an
P
exponential relationship which is possible within broad limits,
as will be shown later by example. Thus

If we again consider two similar system, it follows:

i . e , similarity can exist only if the ratio of absolute surface

and space temperatures remains constant, From the differential
equation itself follows the constancy of the relationships
and

Hence A becomes a functior, of the three variables B,C, and D,

thus
A = a (B,c,D) (42)

Thus equation (43) gives the relationship for the cooling of

a hot body in a gas at any temperature difference. It is immat-
erial whether the values of h, p, q and cp are substituted at T,
or To, since each of these values can be transferred from the
value at one of two positions to the other position by multipli-
cation by a power of
'n
5.
Since A depends on the ratio, D =
&o
-
Tw then equation (43) is satisfied for all these cases.
To
,

It viill now be proved that the above equation of approximation

(28a) satisfies the conditions of equation (43). To begin with
it is necessary to use the relationships given by equation (40)
in order to calculate the mean values according to equation
(33). This becomes

A,,, = lo( t t t + I) Tw
=Ao ( t n f- 1)
nm+1-. 2
1--
To- -

nri-1- 1.
c, = c g 0 ( r + 1) --
I) - 1
T,= T o . I)--
--
1
-

In B
and
I*,,, = ,,-n,
ib-1"
 If these values are now substituted into equation (28a),
this becomes

This equation indicates that A is dependent on B, C and

D, which was to be proved. Of course equation (28b) represents
only one special case of the much more general relationship (43).
When equation (28b) is satisfied by experiments, it loses as a
result of this proof, the approximation character inherent i=1 its
derivation.

Equation (28a) shall now be tested in an example, A nmiber

of experiments are avail~iblefor a circular cylinder suspended
horizontally in stationary air, Confining ourselves first of all
to the establishment of an equation for heat transfer to a diatomic
gas, equation (28a) is then simplified because of the constant
value of C, Then,

whereby

and

For the determination of the function i2 a series of

experiments is sufficient in which B is varied within as broad
limits as possible. Now B can be varied in many different ways
by jointly or independently altering the factors of which it is
composed. If me consider cooling in air it is then possible to
alter diameter d of the pipe or the pressure of the air, then
the air temperature To and the wall temperature Tw. The great-
est change in B is obtained when the diameter d is varied, since
it is as the third power, If a series of expe~imentsis now
carried out in which d is varied while p, To, T
, and hence also
a, remain constant, the function is obtained and therewith a
solution to our problem. Thus even without performing a series
of tests with variable temperature difference, we know the depend-
ence of heat transfer on temperature difference. Experiments
are available in which d, p and Tw were varied, From these,
a proof of equation (44) and a determination of function @ is
possible.

Equation (44)presupposes a knowledge of the thermal

conductivity and viscosity of air, According to the kinetic gas
theory TI is independent of pressure an8 depends only on tem-
perature. This dependence on temperature is influenced by the
law of molecular attraction which is introduced, In the tern-
perature range of -180 to 1200°C. ~utherland's formula agrees
well with the experiments, It is:

C and qo are constant for any specific case. For air

and

?I0
= 1,69 x lo-' kg. sec, m.-2
 The thermal conductivity can then be calculated from
equation (30). It is

where cv is the true specific heat for unit mass at constant

pressure, According to Pier the man specific heat of air
between 0 and t for I kg, weight is

From this the true specific heat is obtained as

or, if the absolute temperatme T is sribstituted,

substituting the values of equations (49b) and (47) in

equation (30) and taking into account the fact that according
to the latest experiments( 3 ) the thermal conductivity of air

then the thermal conductivity of air is given by the expression

The values of q and h , as dependent on temperature, are

given in Table I and Figures 1 and 2.
 In place of equation (47) an exponenti~lformula has
often been used with the exponent for air, rn = 0.765. The
expression

is then obtained,

Between 200 and 800' absolute, the difference between the

two expressions is less than 3%. Table I also contains the
integrals of h and 7-l between 0 and To absolute for calculation
of the mean values h, and qm.

Four useful series of experiments by Kennelly, Wright and

~~levelt'~);~amsler(~); ~an.gmulr(~); and Bylevelt I'[ are avail-
able, The experimental results and the values of A and B
calculated from them are given in Tables 11, 111, IV and V.
Unfortunately none of the results contain all the values needed
for the calculation of A and B. Kennelly gives an a i r tern-
perature T, = 291" absolute for only one series of experiments.
This value was used as a basis for the other series of experiments,
Wamsler did not measure the air pressure, Since the experiments
were carried out at IXunich the mean prevailing barometric pressure
of 715 mm, of mercury at O°C, was presupposed as basis. L w u i r
does not give the air pressure and only the temperature of the
surroundings, To = 300' absolut,e for one series of experiments.
An air temperature of 300° absolute and an air pressure of' 750 mm.
are therefore applied to his experiment. The experiments of
Bylevelt were carried out in Dresden. For them the mean prevail-
ing a i r pressure of 750 mm, was used as a b a s i s . The material
of the wires was as follows:

Kennelly - Copper
Langmuir - Platinum
Bylevelt - Nickel and tantalum
Vlamsler - Wrought iron gas pipe.
 - -
25

All the observations are included in Figure 3 with log B

plotted on the abscissa and log A on the ordinate. The points
can be smoothed out satisfactorily to give the curve shown,
The coordinates of this curve are given in Table VI. In this
way A is determined as a function of B, lee.,

From the figure or the table it is possible to obtain

corresponding values of A from values of B from 1OW5 to
In the region of B = lo4 to lo7 it 18 possible to represent
this dependence by a power expression. For this we obtain

For values of B less than 1 Oms it appears that A approaches

a constant value hence,

In other words the coefficient of heat transmission is inversely

proportional to the pipe diameter and proportional to the mean
thermal conductivity, For values of B greater than Io7 it
appears that quite soon the point is reached where the coefficient
of heat transmission becomes independent of the pipe diameter,
From this it follows that

The relationship obtained in Table VL may now be illustrated

by a few examples, Since the density of the air depends on the
pressure and temperature, the coefficient of heat transmission
is dependent on four factors:

air pressure,
air temperature,
surface temperature,
pipe d i m e ter.

In the first example let the pipe diameter be varied, Let

the air pressure be one atmosphere, The air temperature will be
,
288' absolute and the temperature difference 10°C,, i. e, the
surface temperature is 298' absolute. The calculated values of
the coefficient of heat transnlission are given in Table VII, from
which the particularly great influence of small diameters can be
understood. If equation (51c) is true for very small diameters
then the heat emission by a wire is independent of the diameter
and air pressure and depends only on the mean thermal conduct-
ivity of the air.

Let a 1" gas pipe be suspended horizontally in air at 288O

and heated to 298" absolute. For this case Table VIII and
Figure 5 indicate the influence of air pressure on the coefficient
of heat transmission.

For pressures over I atmosphere the coefficient of heat

transmission is approximtely proportional to the square root of
the pressure (a = c ; in a vacuum the influence of pressure
is sn~ller.

If the air temperature is varied while keeping the air

pressure, diameter, and temperature difference constant, the
variation of the coefficient of heat transmission is small, as
shown in the example in Table IX and Figure 6. This is cal-
culated for d = 0.025 m, p = l atnq and Ow = l O°C. By com-
parison, the influence of the temperature is important, The
expression shows next that at given temperature difference the
coefficient of heat transmission is the same irrespective of
whether the heat flows from the pipe into the air or vice versa,
It is possible thus to interchange the wall and air temperatures
without altering the heat transmission. Table X and Figure 7
contain the coefficient of heat transmission for different
temperature differences for a pipe of 0,025 m, diameter and an
air pressure of I atmosphere and air temperature of 288' absolute,

An attempt was made to use the general equation (43) infitead

of equation (28a) for the evaluation of experiments. According
to this equation, if we are satisfied with setting up a formula
for diatomic gases, the value A depends on two independent
variables B and D. If the edqerinental values were recorded on
a rectangular coordinate system they would have to lie in one
plane. For the clear determination of this plane the experi~aent-
a1 data was found to be insufficient and too inaccurate,

The relationship already obt~ined

expressed in Figure 3 and Table VI is valid only for a long

pipe of circular cross section susper~dedhorizontally in a
stationary diatomic gas, e,g, air, The relationship will now
be extended to any chosen gas or liquid for which expression (24)
is valid vihich states that A is a function of the two independents
B and C, Equation (51e) is only one particular case of equztion
(24) which results from s'~.stitutionof the value of C for air,
This value is calculated from the values of h , q and cP (it should
be noted here that cD is the specific heat of unit mas obtained
in the technical sys%ern of *its from the specific heat of the
unit weight multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity equal
to 9.81 ) giving
 Equation (24) can be simplified considerably by carrying
out a few simplifications in ths differential equation (3). If
it is assu;z?ed that thc friction has little effect on the flow
process, then the viscosity term on the right side of the flow
equation can be neglechcd, carrying through the similarity
consideration with these sirqlif'ied equations ve then obtain

in other words a function with one independent variable. This

equation is a special case of equation (24), since the independ-
ent variable is B . This can also be written as

The well-known Boussinesq formula('1 is based on this simplifi-

cation; it is a special case of equation (53a) since it can be
written

Instead of this it also possible to make another simplifi-

cation in the dynamic equation by neglecting the acceleration
term, Then the similarity co~zsidepa'cionyields the formula

which is also a f'unction with one independent variable. Also

this equation (55) i s a special case of equation (24) since it
can be written
The vrell-known formula by Lorenz(9) is a s p e c i a l case o f this
equation, since i t reads

NOIT for heat emission the state of the fluid layer at the
surface of the emitt21:g body i s of fundamental importance and
the friction there 113s strollig influence on the fluid flo~v,,€30
that it seems to me the approxifi:zttion forming the basis of
equation (55a), v~hicl~neglects the inertia and viscosity terms
in the basic equations gTves a flo'vy t-~hichdiffers but little
from actual conditions, In m y opinion, therefore, eqpation (55)
i s an approximtion tha* can be very useful in practice.

This equation has becn ar~ivedat on the assumptLon that

h , T, cp and r are independent of the temperature. The same
considerations that lead to equation (&) show that equation
(55a) is valid also for real liq~ddswhen mean values obtainea
by integration betvieen TJ7 and To are u s e b

For air, for diatcmic gases, the equation (51e)

was fomd,

From equation (55a) it fo1lo:i.s then that for every gas and every
liquid,

I
In this, accordip~to equation (52), Go is 2.0% .
Therefore
the coefficient of heat transmission for the coolii7,a or heating
of a horizontally situated plpe In a gas or liquid is
 In this equation:

W = a function shown by Figure 3 and Table VI,

QW = temperature difference (surface temperature minus
surrounding temperature),
d = the diameter of a horizontally positioned pipe,
pm = the mean density of the fluid cooling the pipe,
% = the mean coefficient of viscosity,
h, = the mean thermal conductivity,
c = the mean specific heat of unit mass,
Pm
I;n = the mean coefficient of expansion,
g = acceleration due to gravity,

As an example, consider the cooling of a pipe of d = 0,025 m,

diameter in water. Let the water temperature be 15OC. and the
pipe snrf ace temperature 2 5 ' ~ . Then,

Since the specific weight of water at 15OC. is y = 999.1 2

kg. and at 25'C. is Y = 997.06 kg. nJ, then the mean
value of density is,

The mean specific heat of unit mas is

c = 0,9987 4 9,81 = 9.80 kg. cal, a kg,"sec. -1 QC. - 1

P

The mean viscosity of water is

 Of eourae, the mean thermal conductivity m a t also be
expressed in heat units per second, This is (40)

= 143 10" kg. cal. aec. .I ~4-I c.-' .

From the change in Uensity of the water we obtain the mean
coefficient of expansion

These values give,

Therewith according to Table VI,

or the required coefficient of heat transmission is,

= 305 kg. ca1. ill.a e m O C . ~ ~

Experiments for this case unfortunately are not available,

But this value corresponds very well with practical experience,

It is to be expected that for other bodies the nature of

function W remains the same.

The forrmlare developed up to now referred to the cooling sf

a solid body in a stationary fluid, This body shall now be cooled
by an air stream with velocity w, in a given direction, Hence
the hydro- and thermodynamic equations remain the aame, Only
the boundary conditions are partly different. A t great distance
the air velocity is no longer zero, but is equal to the vector
w2 *
If again two geometrically and thermally airnilas systems
are considered, then the velocity ratio becomes

i,e., equal to the ratio of the velocities of the air streams,

In order to have eirnilarfty fn both system, not only m e t B and
C be constant according t o equations ( l l b ) and (1 Zb), but also
according to equation (8) the fractfon

must remain constant, Consequently

lee,, a function of three independent variables, or,

If cooling in a gas is considered, then in addition D

appears as an independent variable, so the coefficient of heat
transmission is

If the velocity of the air stream is very large then the

influence of gravity disappears and
 Again introducing the mean values for the variables which
vary with temperature, and restricting ourselves to diatomic
gases, then

which is a formula I have checked and found correct by experi-

ments on heat transmission in a pipe. This case will be taken
up later.

All cases so far considered have referred to the equilibrium

condition. In addition to this, let us consider a further vari-
able condition in which the surface temperature of the body has
initially the temperature of the swroundlngs To and then is
heated suddenly to the temperatme T, at which it is maintained
permanently. In the steady-state process equation (60) is
valid. In order to obtain the value of the coefficient of heat
transmission during the variable period, however, it is necessary
to repeat the considerations observed earlier. As a new boundary
condition, there is now the fact that at time t = 0 the air
temperature at all points is To. Now, if two aimilar systems are
again considered then equation (9) requires that

is constant. Concequently equation (60) emands to

This equation indicates that the coefficient of heat trans-

mission depends on the time t that has elapsed since cooling of

connection with another case.

the body began. I discovered this phenomenon some time ago in
A quantity o f gas w a s en-
closed in a container and suddenly raised to high temperatures
while the walls remained cold. The rate of cooling was measured
by an indicator, In a diagram, the actual coefficient of heat
transmission calculated from the pressure dres per unit time
was plotted, against gas,temperature. The laver the temperature,
the smaller the coefficient of heat transmission. A nuniber of
experiments were now carried out with different heating of the
-
gas and for each experiment the a T curve was plotted. For
the different experiments at the same gas temperature, the wall
temperature and the density were also the same, hence the same
values could have been expected, i.e,, one curve for all experi-
ments. If w e disregard the first part of the cooling process
for each experiment, this view is correct. The values in the
first part of the cooling process are highest in all experiments.
This phenomenon, in which the coefficient of heat transmission
at the beginning of the cooling process was greatly magnified,
could only be attributed to the influence of time. At that
time I proved this observation neglecting the force of gravity,
a simplification which is now eliminated in the above derivation.
In the cooling of the above body the coefficient of heat trans-
mission will accordingly be appreciably higher at the beginning
of the cooling process than the actual value according to
equation (28a). Eventually, however, the influence of the time
ceases and the coefficient of heat transmission for the steady-
state enters the picture.

Beginning with the differential equations of' flow and heat

aonduction a relationship for the cooliw of a body in a diatomic
gas is set up, which has been checked and conf'irmed by experi-
mental data available in the literature for the cooling in air of
a horizontal cylinder, The relationship shows that the coefficient
of heat transmission depends on the surface temperature, the gas
temperature, the temperature difference, the diameter of the
pipe and the air pressure, From the relationship an approxi-
mation equation is derived for other gases and liquids,

References

1,
pipe lines 7.
Der WHrmeiiberga in Rohrleitungen.
Z.VDI ,
e eat transfer in
1909, p. 1750;
Mitteilmgen Qber Forschungsarbeiten, no, 89,
2
. Chwolson, Z.B, Lehrbuch der Physik, v. 111, p, 306, or
Winkelmann, Handbuck der Physilr;, v, 111, p, 436.
3. Moser, Ober die WHrmeleitfghigkeit von Gasen und Dbpfen
-
bei h6heren Tenrperaturen (on the thermal conductivits
of gases and vapours at higher temperatures). Diss,
19.13
. /

4. The convection of heat from small copper wires, Trans.

Am. Inst. Elec, Engrs, 28 (I): 363, 1909.
5. Die WHrmeabgabe geheizter Kl)rper an Luft e eat transfer
from heated bodies to air), Mitteillungen iber
Forschungsarbeiten, no, 98 and 99, 1911.
6, Convection and conduction of heat ingases. Phys. Rev.
34:'401, 1912.
7. Die ktinstliche Konvection am elecktrischen Hitzdrahte
(~rtificialconvection at electrically heated
wires). Diss. Dresden, 1915.
8, Boussinesq. Miae en Qquation des ph&non&nes de convection
calorifique et apervu SUP le pouvoir refroidissant
des fluides he setting up of equations for the
phenomena of thermal convection and the estimation
of the cooling capacity of fluids). Journal de
Physique, 1902, p. 65,
9. Lorenz, Lo Uber das Leitverm6gen der Metalle fYlr WUrme
und ElektrizitHt he thermal and electrical
conductivity of metals). Wied, Ann. 13: 582, 1881,
10, Nusselt. Die OberflHchenkendensation des Wasserdampfes
he
surface condensation of steam) to appear
shortly in Z,VDI.
11, Nusselt. Der WHrmellbergang in der Gasmachlne; die
Abhangigkeit der WHrmetibergangszahl von der Zeit
eat transfer in the gas engine, the relation
between the ooefficient of heat transmission and
time). Z.VDI, 1914, p e 361.
 TABLE V T A B U VII

Xxperinents of Eylevelt

TABLE VI TABLE: VIII

B I logB
-
log A
-

1 A air
FreSSUr= ,
COQ{/U
* W
AW
LLL ~
I I I Atm. abq. 1
cr\L '*-L.~-'
 ais cowu tr."?
abs.
w.
' abs.
T. t W r n d d & C -
kf
LT
"c:'
e a t . ketni:*

200 2.94 700 2.62

288 2,74 800 2,07
300 2,72 000 2.70
400 2,63 1000 2,76
MH) 2,m
600 2.69 3,38
I

TABLE X
 Fig. 1
Temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of air

temp.O absolute

Fig. 2
Temperature dependence of v i s c o s i t y of a i r
Dependence of the coefficient of heat transmission
on pipe diameter
 "0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 IOOat
--- pressure (atmospheres).

Dependence of coefficient of heat transmission

on pressure

- .
temp ( Obb 8.)

Fig. 6
Dependence of coefficient of heat transmission
on temperature
 Fig. 7
Degendenoe of coefficient of heat transmission on
temperature difference