Mixed Convection Flow About Slender Bodies of Revolution

Heat transfer from a thin needle or a slender body of revolution has been studied by many investigators for the case of either forced convection or free convection. The problem of heat transfer by combined free and forced convection from vertical thin needles with the surfaces maintained at a uniform temperature or uniform heat flux has been analyzed by Narian and Uberoi. This paper deals with the subject of combined convection heat transfer in laminar axial boundary-layer flows about vertical slender bodies of revolution with variable surface temperature or variable surface heat flux. The analysis is directed toward the aspect of similarity flow of the subject problem. It has been found that similarity solutions exist when (1) the surface temperature varies as x{sup (2m{minus}1)}, and (2) the surface heat flux varies as x{sup (5m{minus}3)}/2, where x is the axial coordinate measured from the front stagnation of the body and m is an arbitrary constant. Similarity velocity and temperature profiles as well as local skin-friction coefficient and Nusselt number have been obtained for various shapes and sizes of the body and presented in graphic forms.