Heat Transfer by Natural Convection of Helium Between Horizontal Isothermal Concentric Cylinders at Cryogenic Temperature

An experimental study was performed of the heat transfer by natural convection of helium between horizontal isothermal concentric cylinders at cryogenic temperatures. Time-averaged temperature profiles at various locations in the annulus and overall heat transfer rates were measured as the Rayleigh number was varied from 6 × 10⁶ to 2 × 10⁹ and the expansion number from 0.20 to 1.0 for a constant Prandtl number of 0.688 and diameter ratio of 3.36. It was found that the heat transfer rate depends on the magnitude of the expansion number as well as on the magnitude of the Rayleigh number. With gas properties evaluated at a volume-weighted reference temperature, a correlation equation is presented that correlates the heat transfer data with maximum deviations of −8.2 and +8.5 percent. The results of this study are compared with previously published studies of other investigators.