TEST ON A PIN – FIN APPARATUS BY FORCED CONVECTION
Aim:
To study the temperature distribution along the length of the pin-fin and the heat
transferred by forced convection.
Apparatus:
A brass fin of circular cross section is fitted across a long rectangular duct. The other
end of the duct is connected to the suction side of the blower and the air flows past the fin
perpendicular to its axis. One end of the fin projects inside the duct and is heated by a heater.
Temperatures at five points along the length of the fin are measured by Iron – Constant
thermocouples connected along the length of the fin. The airflow rate is measured by an
orifice meter fitted on the delivery side of the blower.
Specifications:
Duct size : 15 × 10 cm2
Diameter of the fin : 1.27 cm
Diameter of the orifice : 1.8 cm
Diameter of the delivery pipe : 4.4 cm
No. of thermocouples on the fin : 5
Thermal conductivity of fin material : 110.7 W/m-K
Centrifugal blower motor : 1 H.P, Single Phase
Dimmerstat for heat input control : 230 V, 2 Amps
Voltmeter : 0 – 100 / 200 V
Ammeter : 0 – 2A
Brief theory of the experiment:
Consider the fin connected at its base to a heated wall and transferring heat to the
surroundings.
Applying the I law of thermodynamics to a control volume along the length of the fin
at x, the resulting equation of heat balance is
----- (1)
and the general solution for the equation (1) is
= ----- (2)
Where m =
With boundary conditions:
i) = b at x = 0 where b = Tb - Tf
ii) = 0 at x = L (assuming the fin tip to be insulated)
Applying the boundary conditions we get the solution as,
= = ----- (3)
This is the equation for the temperature distribution along the length of the fin. Temperatures
Tb and Tf are known for a given situation and the value of ‘h’ depends on whether heat loss is
by natural or forced convection.
Precautions:
1. Ensure that dimmerstat is at ‘0’ position before switching on the heater.
2. Operate the change over switch for temperature indicator gently.
3. Be sure that the steady state is reached before taking the final readings.
Procedure:
The fin is heated by switching on the heater and the dimmerstat is adjusted to 80 V.
The blower is started.
The thermocouple readings are noted down at a time interval of five minutes.
When the steady state is reached, the final readings and the ambient temperature (i.e.
the surrounding temperature of the fin) are noted down.
Manometer readings are also noted.
The experiment is now repeated by setting the voltage to 120V for the heater by
adjusting the dimmerstst.
The experiment can also be repeated for various flow rates of air instead of varying the
heater power input.
Observation:
Voltage T1 (C) T2 (C) T3 (C) T4 (C) T5 (C) Tf (C) H (cm)
(H1–H2)
80 V
120 V
Calculations:
1. Average fin temperature is calculated as follows:
Tav = (oC)
Where T1, T2, T3…etc are the temperatures observed at different locations of the fin.
2. The mean film temperature is calculated as
Tmf = o
C
Where, Tf is the air temperature near the fin. Also all the properties of air should be
calculated at this mean film temperature only.
3. The volume flow rate of air through the duct is calculated by using the following
equation.
= m3 / sec
Where, = volume flow rate of air, m3 / sec
Cd = coefficient of discharge of the orifice meter (0.64)
d = diameter of the orifice (1.8 × 10-2 m)
H = difference in the level of manometer column, m
w = density of water at room temperature, kg / m3
a = density of air at Tmf, kg / m3
4. Velocity of air in the duct at Tf is,
Vf = / duct area, m/s
5. Velocity of air at mean film temperature is,
Vmf = m/s
6. Reynolds Number of the flow is given by,
Re =
Where, D = diameter of the fin, m
= kinematic viscosity of air at Tmf, m2 / sec
7. The heat transfer coefficient ‘h’ is calculated from the following relation:
Nu = = 0.615 (Re) 0.466
Where, Nu = Nusselt Number
h = heat transfer Co-efficient, W/m2.K
kair = thermal conductivity of air at Tmf, W/m.K
D = diameter of the fin, m
Re = Reynolds number
8. The parameter m is calculated by,
m= , m-1
Where, P = circumference of the fin (D), m
h = heat transfer coefficient, calculated from the previous relation
k = thermal conductivity of the fin material (110.7 W/m-K)
A = cross sectional area of the fin , m2
The temperatures at different locations can be calculated theoretically as given below:
9. The equation for the distribution of the temperature along length of the fin is,
Where, Tx = temperature at any location at a distance x from the fixed end.
(T1,x = 0.0 m, T2,x = 0.03 m, T3,x = 0.06 m, T4,x = 0.09 m and T5,x
= 0.12 m)
Tf = ambient temperature
T1 (Tb) = temperature of the fin at the first thermocouple location (x = 0)
L = length of the fin (0.15 m)
m = a parameter for the fin, m-1
A tabular column showing the actual and theoretical values of temperatures at different
locations along the length of the fin is also prepared:
Case T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
(C)
(C) (C) (C) (C)
Voltage = 80 V Actual
Flow rate = m3/sec Theoretical
Voltage = 120 V Actual
Flow rate = m3/sec Theoretical
10. The rate of heat transfer from the fin is calculated:
Q= × (T1 – Tf) × tanh (mL)
11. The effectiveness of the fin is calculated as
=
Graph:
A graph is drawn taking the length of the fin in the X axis and the temperature values
(both actual and theoretical) in the Y axis.
Result:
Thus the temperature distribution along the length of the pin–fin in forced convection
is studied. Also the heat transferred from the pin – fin is calculated.
Inference:
Review Questions:
1. What are the different modes of heat transfer?
2. What is the difference between natural convection and forced convection?
3. What are the applications of a fin?
4. What is the efficiency of a fin?
5. What do you mean by effectiveness of a fin?
6. What is the physical interpretation of Reynolds number and Nusselt number?
7. What is the Fourier’s Law of conduction?
8. What are the boundary conditions used in solving the differential equation of heat transfer
in pin fin?
9. What are the reasons for the deviation in measured and calculated values of
temperatures?
