Ma. Al-nimr et Ba. Abu-hijleh, Validation of the thermal equilibrium assumption in the transient conjugated forced convection channel flow, HEAT MASS T, 37(4-5), 2001, pp. 511-518
The validity of the local thermal equilibrium assumption in the transient c
onjugated forced convection channel flow is investigated analytically. Clos
ed form expressions are presented for the temperatures of the fluid and sol
id domains and for the criterion which insure the validity of the local the
rmal equilibrium assumption. It is found that three dimensionless parameter
s control the local thermal equilibrium assumption. These parameters are th
e Biot number Bi, the dimensionless channel length xi (max) and the solid t
o fluid total thermal capacity ratio C-R. The qualitative and quantitative
aspects of the effects of these three parameters on the channel thermalizat
ion time are investigated.