Abstract- The purpose of this experiment is to learn about heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number, Rayleigh number, heat flux, temperature and further applications of DAQ systems. In this experiment, students observe the effects of conduction and convection in temperature and also, how an air current can change temperature. After observing the data, it is noticeable that when the air velocity is increased the heat is transferred into the air and the air temperature goes up.In this experiment the temperature is observed on a hot plate and how this change in temperature affects the air around the hot plate. The temperatures of the hot plate and the air around it are recorded by the computer in a program. The hot plate is set at different temperatures in order to see the effect of heat on the air temperature. Students hope to understand the effect of changing temperature on a surface and if this affects the air current. Also, they try and figure out what happens when air current is increased in velocity by turning on a fan. According to the Newton’s law of cooling and the theory of free convection, increasing the air velocity should make the heat of the hot plate move faster into the air therefore the ambient and the temperature should go up.When the fan is turned on, the air velocity increases and fluctuates more rapidly as seen in figure 6.4.
The empirical heat transfer correlation in dimensionless form can be applied in many applications without having to worry about the units. This can range from measuring heat transfer in a 1000 degree oven to a -1000 degree freezer.
The theory behind this experiment can be applied to many real life situations. For, example, how fast an oven can heat up and how hot the oven needs to be before cooking food. Another application is in designing refrigerators. The rate of how fast the freezer would be cooled down can be calculated using heat transfer.
This experiment can be improved by performing the experiment in an...