The Nusselt number for laminar natural convection is affected by the exponential dependence on inverse absolute temperature of the viscosity of some liquids, oil being a prime example. A common means of correcting for this effect is to multiply the correlation Nu = C Ra1/4 for constant properties by a factor (μw)n to obtain Nu = C Ra1/4w)n. That there is a sound basis for the form of this corrective term is shown by employing an integral method to obtain approximate, closed-form solutions to the laminar boundary layer equations for the case of a vertical plate of specified temperature to such a liquid.

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