Description

AL-E1168 FREE AND FORCED CONVECTION APPARATUS

Product Description

The AL-E1168 Free and Forced Convection Apparatus is a compact laboratory training system designed for experimental investigation of free and forced convection heat transfer. The unit consists of a vertical air duct with interchangeable heating elements and an axial fan for controlled forced airflow.

Different heating-element geometries can be selected to study heat transfer characteristics around a flat plate, cylinder and tube bundle. Two of the heating elements can also be operated outside the air duct for free-convection studies.

The apparatus incorporates temperature measurement at the air-duct inlet and outlet and air-velocity measurement for determining airflow conditions. Heating power and airflow can be adjusted and monitored through the supplied software. The system can be connected to a PC through USB for data acquisition, visualization and analysis.

1. Main Features

• Compact vertical air-duct construction.
• Suitable for free and forced convection experiments.
• Interchangeable heating elements with different geometries.
• Axial fan for forced-air circulation.
• Temperature measurement at air-duct inlet and outlet.
• Air-velocity measurement for determining airflow rate.
• Adjustable heating power.
• Software-based monitoring and data acquisition.
• USB interface for PC connection.
• Real-time display and analysis of experimental parameters.
• Suitable for determination of Nusselt and Reynolds numbers.
• Designed for studying transient heating characteristics.

2. Technical Specifications

*The supplied specification states “0–4000°C”; for this type of laboratory apparatus, the intended range appears to be 0–400°C and should be confirmed against the manufacturer's final datasheet.

3. Heating Elements

The apparatus shall provide four interchangeable heating configurations for studying different heat-transfer geometries.

A. Tube Bundle

• Number of tubes: 23
• One tube can be heated in a variable position.
• Heating power: 20–50 W
• Surface area: 31.41 cm²

B. Cylinder

• Designed to provide approximately uniform surface temperature.
• Heating power: 20–50 W
• Surface area: 111 cm²

C. Cylinder with Heating Foil

• Heating power: 40–60 W
• Surface area: 111 cm²

D. Additional Geometry / Heating Element

The fourth interchangeable heating configuration shall be provided as part of the supplied experimental set for comparative convection studies.

4. Airflow System

The system shall incorporate an axial fan positioned at the top of the vertical air duct.

• Maximum airflow: 500 m³/h
• Ambient air is drawn into the duct by the fan.
• Air passes over the selected heating element.
• Heated air exits through the upper air path.
• Air velocity is measured for determination of flow conditions.

5. Measurement & Instrumentation

The apparatus shall provide measurement of:

Temperature

Temperature sensors shall be provided at the inlet and outlet of the air duct.

The measurement system shall support multiple temperature channels for monitoring the heating elements and air temperature.

Air Velocity

• Measurement range: 0–10 m/s
• Used for determining airflow conditions and analysing forced-convection experiments.

Heating Power

• Measurement/control range: 0–100 W
• Heating power can be adjusted and monitored through the software.

6. PC-Based Software

The apparatus shall be connectable to a PC through USB.

The supplied software shall provide:

• Real-time measurement display.
• Heating-power monitoring.
• Airflow/air-velocity monitoring.
• Temperature monitoring.
• Recording of experimental data.
• Graphical presentation of measured parameters.
• Analysis of experimental results.
• Investigation of theoretical heat-transfer principles.
• Support for calculation and evaluation of characteristic heat-transfer parameters.

7. Experiments

The AL-E1168 shall be suitable for performing the following experiments:

Free & Forced Convection

• Study of free/natural convection.
• Study of forced convection.
• Comparison between free and forced convection.
• Effect of airflow on heat-transfer characteristics.

Heat Transfer with Different Geometries

Investigation of convective heat transfer for:

1. Flat plate
2. Cylinder
3. Tube bundle

Nusselt Number

• Experimental determination of the Nusselt number.
• Comparison of experimental and theoretical heat-transfer behaviour.

Reynolds Number

• Calculation of the Reynolds number.
• Investigation of the influence of airflow conditions on heat transfer.

Characteristic Heat-Transfer Variables

Determination and analysis of typical variables associated with convection heat transfer.

Flow & Heat Transfer Relationship

Investigation of the relationship between:

• Airflow formation
• Air velocity
• Heating power
• Surface temperature
• Heat-transfer rate

Transient Heating

• Study of the transient heating process.
• Observation of temperature variation with time.
• Analysis of the heating curve.

8. Educational Applications

The apparatus is suitable for laboratory training in:

• Heat Transfer
• Thermal Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Process Engineering
• Energy Engineering
• Thermodynamics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Engineering Measurements

9. Scope of Supply

The complete system shall include:

1. Vertical air duct assembly.
2. Axial fan.
3. Interchangeable heating elements.
4. Tube-bundle heating assembly.
5. Cylinder heating assembly.
6. Cylinder with heating-foil assembly.
7. Temperature sensors.
8. Air-velocity measurement system.
9. Heating-power control/measurement system.
10. USB PC interface.
11. Data-acquisition and analysis software.
12. Necessary electrical and connection accessories.
13. User/operating documentation.
14. Practical experiment manual.

Technical Details