Heat Transfer by Natural Convection Across Vertical and Inclined Air Layers

Abstract

Measurements of the heat transfer by natural convection across vertical and inclined air layers are reported. The air layer is bounded by flat isothermal plates at different temperatures and around the edges by a perfectly conducting boundary (i.e., one that takes on a linear temperature distribution between the two plates). Measurements are reported for six aspect ratios between 5 and 110, covering a portion of the range of practical interest for windows, solar collectors, etc. Rayleigh numbers were in the range 102 to 2 × 107. The present measurements permitted the role of aspect ratio to be clearly defined. In addition, correlation equations are presented which allow the heat trnasfer across a vertical or inclined air layer to be calculated.