Heat Transfer in Flat-Plate Boundary Layers: A Correlation for Laminar, Transitional, and Turbulent Flow

Abstract The laminar and turbulent regimes of a boundary layer on a flat plate are often represented with separate correlations under the assumption of a distinct “transition Reynolds number.” Average heat coefficients are then calculated by integrating across the “transition point.” Experimental data do not show an abrupt transition, but rather an extended transition region in which turbulence develops. The transition region may be as long as the laminar region. Although this transitional behavior has been known for many decades, few correlations have incorporated it. One attempt was made by Stuart Churchill in 1976. Churchill, however, based his curve fit on some doubtful assumptions about the data sets. In this paper, we develop different approximations through a detailed consideration of multiple data sets for 0.7 ⩽ Pr ⩽ 257, 4000 ⩽ Rex ⩽ 4,300,000, and varying levels of freestream turbulence for smooth, sharp-edged plates at zero pressure gradient. The result we obtain is in good agreement with the available measurements and applies smoothly over the full range of Reynolds number for either a uniform wall temperature or a uniform heat flux boundary condition. Fully turbulent air data are correlated to ±11%. Like Churchill's result, this correlation should be matched to the estimated transition condition of any particular flow. We also review the laminar analytical solutions for a uniform wall heat flux, and point out limitations of the classical Colburn analogy.