Convective specific-heat transfer in liquids in the presence of non-uniform electric field

Summary The electroconvective specific-heat transfer coefficient has been measured in various liquids (methanol, kerosene, silicon oil and ethanol) from a single platinum wire (diameter=0.025 mm) mounted along the axis of a copper cylinder (diameter=53 mm). The heat transfer coefficient has been evaluated under the influence of a.c. and d.c. fields. An a.c. field always causes an enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient. A d.c. field causes an inhibition in heat transfer in methanol. A similar trend is noticed in kerosene, but the heat transfer coefficient increases again as the field is increased. An enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient is observed in silicon oil, and a similar trend is noticed in ethanol, but the heat transfer coefficient decreases again as the field is increased. The effect of cylinder orientation on convection is studied. The efficiency of convection has been calculated for various liquids using an empirical relation. The efficiency obtained in a d.c. field is found to be higher than in the a.c. field. A similar trend is also noticed for the electric Nusselt number.