Experimental mixed-convection heat transfer from a large, vertical surface in a horizontal flow

The convective heat transfer from and the boundary layer flow on a vertical, 3-m-square surface parallel to a horizontal air flow were studied. The test conditions ranged from pure forced convection driven by a horizontal inertial force induced by the horizontal free-stream flow, to combined forced and free convection (i.e., mixed convection) driven by orthogonal forces, the horizontal inertial force and a vertical buoyant force generated by the heated vertical wall, to pure free convection driven by the vertical buoyant force. The emphasis was on mixed convection. Surface temperatures and free-stream velocities ranged from 40 to 600 C and 0 to 6.0 m/s, respectively, resulting in Reynolds numbers (Re) and Grashof numbers (Gr) up to 2 x 10(6) and 2 x 10(12), respectively. Convective heat-transfer and boundary-layer profiles of mean velocity, flow angle, and temperature were measured. The heat-transfer results showed the range of conditions for which the heat transfer was characterized either as forced, mixed, or free convection.