FC_plate_vertical_ND
The procedure FC_plate_vertical_ND(Ra, Pr: Nusselt) returns the Nusselt number for a vertical flat plate (heated or cooled) given the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers. The Rayleigh number should be calculated based on the length L in the direction of gravity.
The width of the plate is assumed sufficiently large such that end effects may be neglected.
Inputs:
Ra - Rayleigh number based on plate length L [-]
where
Ra = g*L^3*beta*DT/(nu*alpha)
g = gravity
L = plate length (in the direction of gravity)
beta = volumetric thermal expansion coefficient
DT = magnitude of the temperature difference
nu = kinematic viscosity
alpha = thermal diffusivity
Pr - Prandtl number of fluid [-]
Outputs:
Nusselt - average Nusselt number based on plate length [-]
where
Nusselt = h_bar*L/k
h_bar = average heat transfer coefficient
k = conductivity
Notes:
The correlation in procedure FC_plate_vertical_ND is from Churchill and Chu (1975b).
The correlation is valid from 0.1<Ra<1e12.
Example:
Ra=1.5e6
Pr=0.7
Call fc_plate_vertical_nd(Ra, Pr: Nusselt)
{Solution:
Nusselt=18.42}