The effect of vibration on free and forced convection heat transfer from spheres was investigated. Test spheres made of copper were subjected to sinusoidal vibration in the vertical plane, this being perpendicular to the direction of airstream in the case of forced convection studies. In free convection studies the amplitude of vibration was varied from 4 mm to 25.5 mm and the frequency of vibration from 150 cpm to 930 cpm. It was found that the effect of vibration on Nusselt number was negligible for values of vibrational Reynolds number less than 200. For values of vibrational Reynolds number greater than 200, the vibration increased the heat transfer coefficient considerably and values of heat transfer coefficients as high as seven times the free convection values without vibration were obtained. The following correlations were obtained for heat transfer from spheres to air:
$freeconvectionwithoutvibration,$

$NNu=2+0.401(NGr)0.25$

$for4×103
and free convection with vibration:
$hvho=0.83(NRe)v0.5(a/D)0.1(NGr)0.251.28$
In the case of forced convection studies with vibration, the amplitude of vibrations varied between 4 mm and 12.4 mm, and the frequency of vibration from 200 cpm to 1600 cpm. The flow velocity was varied from 24.5 ft/sec to 84 ft/sec. The results in the absence of vibration could be represented by: NNu = 0.304 (NRe)0.56 or NNu = 2 + 0.222 (NRe)0.587 in the range 6 × 103 < NRe < 3.3 × 104. Nusselt numbers were not found to be affected by the imposition of vibrational velocity even as high as 19.6 percent of the flow velocity.
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