Interferometer Study of Natural Convection inside a Horizontal Cylindrical Cavity

摘要

An optical interferometer was used to observe the isotherms which developed within a horizontal fiberglass cylinder as it was non-uniformly heated in axial strips to a maximum wall temperature of 200 F. It was found that when single strips were heated separately, the local heat transfer coefficients at the cylinder wall adjacent to each heater reached a maximum value in the region 20 to 25 degrees below where the wall surface was vertical. Also, the magnitude of the coefficients increased with time for about the first six minutes of heating and then decreased slightly. Numerous photographs are included which show the isothermal patterns formed when various segments of the cylinder wall were heated. (Author)