Experimental Determination of the Convective Coefficient of Heat Transfer Using the Global Capacitance Method

The heat transfer coefficient (h) is an extremely important variable in the evaluation of convective heat transfer, however, its determination is a great challenge due to the various factors that influence it: fluid viscosity, fluid density, specific heat of the fluid, thermal conductivity of the fluid, coefficient of volumetric expansion, fluid velocity. The objective of this work is the experimental determination of the convective heat transfer coefficient by means of the global capacitance method. Three test bodies, two cylindrical bodies and one spherical body were used. These specimens were individually heated in a stove, and heating was monitored by means of a thermocouple and a data logger. The results showed a good concordance between the values of h obtained experimentally and the literature.