Bulk Temperature Heat Transfer

Heat Transfer Engineering | Thermodynamics

The fluid temperature (T_b), referred to as the bulk temperature, varies according to the details of the situation. For flow adjacent to a hot or cold surface, T_bis the temperature of the fluid that is "far" from the surface, for instance, the center of the flow channel. For boiling or condensation, T_b is equal to the saturation temperature.

In thermofluids dynamics, the bulk temperature, or the average bulk temperature in the thermal fluid, is a convenient reference point for evaluating properties related to convective heat transfer, particularly in applications related to flow in pipes and ducts.

The concept of the bulk temperature is that adiabatic mixing of the fluid from a given cross section of the duct will result in some equilibrium temperature that accurately reflects the average temperature of the moving fluid, more so than a simple average like the film temperature.