Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient Definition
Estimates the convective heat-transfer coefficient h from a boundary-layer thickness and then computes the resulting heat duty q for a flat plate.
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1. Define Input Parameters
2. Engineering Output
Film thickness (δ)
- m
- m
Convective heat-transfer coefficient (h)
- W m⁻² K⁻¹
- W m⁻² K⁻¹
Temperature driving force (ΔT)
- K
- K
Heat-transfer area (A)
- m²
- m²
Total heat-flow rate (q)
- W
- W
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Download Offline Excel CalculationContext & Assumptions
The convective heat-transfer coefficient h links the temperature difference between a surface and a moving fluid to the rate of heat removal. It is central to sizing heat exchangers, reactors, furnaces, and coolers. A simple conductive-layer model treats the near-wall fluid as a stagnant film of thickness δ, so h becomes the fluid thermal conductivity k divided by δ.
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