The Biot number (Bi) is a dimensionless number used in heat transfer calculations. It’s defined as the ratio of convective heat transfer resistance to conductive heat transfer resistance within a solid object. The formula to calculate the Biot number is:
Where:
- Bi is the Biot number
- h is the convective heat transfer coefficient (in W/m^2K)
- L is a characteristic length or thickness of the object (in meters)
- k is the thermal conductivity of the material (in W/mK)