[Physics] n equation for convective heat transfer

convectionheattemperaturethermodynamics

Is there an equation I can use to calculate the temperature (as a function of time) of an object which is gaining or losing heat by convection? Or equivalently, the rate of energy transfer from the object to the surrounding fluid (or vice-versa)? It can involve constants representing properties of the object and the surrounding fluid.

I know about the heat equation for conduction and the Stefan-Boltzmann law for radiation, but I can't think of one for convection.

Best Answer

http://www.egr.msu.edu/~somerton/Nusselt/

here you can find some formulas for calculating Nusselt, Prandtl, Reynolds, Rayleigh and Grasshoff numbers. Those are important for evaluating conditions in different systems. Numbers will tell you which state of convection is around your geometry (natural, forced, laminar, turbulent, external, internal). For each case there exist some correlation.

More info about Nusselt number and others you can find eg. on Wikipaedia.

After calculating convenient numbers, you can calculate heat transfer coefficient zumbeispiel from Nusselt nuber.