GATE ME 2015 Set 2 — Question 26
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Heat Transfer → Convection → Thermal Boundary Layer
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Question
In the laminar flow of air () over a heated plate, if and denote, respectively, the hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layer thicknesses, then
Correct answer
(C) δ < δ_T
Solution
For laminar flow over a flat plate, the ratio of the hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness () to the thermal boundary layer thickness () is related to the Prandtl number () by the following empirical relation:Given that the Prandtl number for air is :Since , it follows that:This indicates that for fluids with , the thermal boundary layer develops faster and is thicker than the hydrodynamic boundary layer. Thus, option (C) is correct.
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