Chapter 1 - Introduction and Basic Concepts | BFF3242 Heat Transfer

1. A 10-cm-diameter copper ball is to be heated from 100°C to an average temperature of 150°C in 30

minutes (Fig. 1). Taking the average density and specific heat of copper in this temperature range to
be 8950 kg/m3 and 0.395 kJ/kg·°C, respectively, determine the (a) total amount of heat transfer to
the copper ball, (b) average rate of heat transfer to the ball and (c) average heat flux.

Fig. 1

2. A heated continuous AISI 304 stainless steel sheet is being conveyed at a constant speed of 1 cm/s into
a chamber to be cooled (Fig. 2). The stainless steel sheet is 5 mm thick and 2 m wide, and it enters and
exits the chamber at 500 K and 300 K, respectively. Determine the rate of heat loss from the stainless
steel sheet inside the chamber. The constant pressure specific heat of AISI 304 stainless steel at the
average temperature of 400 K is 515 J/kg·K. The density of AISI 304 stainless steel is 7900 kg/m3.

Fig. 2

3. A 5-m-long section of an air heating system of a house passes through an unheated space in the
basement (Fig. 3). The cross section of the rectangular duct of the heating system is 20 cm × 25 cm. Hot
air enters the duct at 100 kPa and 60°C at an average velocity of 5 m/s. The temperature of the air in
the duct drops to 54°C as a result of heat loss to the cool space in the basement. Determine the rate of
heat loss from the air in the duct to the basement under steady conditions. Also, determine the cost of
this heat loss per hour if the house is heated by a natural gas furnace that has an efficiency of 80
percent, and the cost of the natural gas in that area is $1.60/therm (1 therm = 105,500 kJ). The constant
pressure specific heat of air at the average temperature of 57°C is 1.007 kJ/kg·°C. The gas constant of
air is 0.287 kJ/kg⋅K.

Fig. 3

4. Consider a house that has a floor space of 200 m2 and an average height of 3 m at 1500 m elevation
where the standard atmospheric pressure is 84.6 kPa (Fig. 4). Initially the house is at a uniform
temperature of 10°C. Now the electric heater is turned on, and the heater runs until the air temperature

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 Chapter 1 - Introduction and Basic Concepts | BFF3242 Heat Transfer

in the house rises to an average value of 20°C. Determine the amount of energy transferred to the air
assuming (a) the house is air-tight and thus no air escapes during the heating process and (b) some air
escapes through the cracks as the heated air in the house expands at constant pressure. Also determine
the cost of this heat for each case if the cost of electricity in that area is $0.075/kWh. The constant
pressure specific heat of air at the average temperature of 15°C is 1.007 kJ/kg·°C and gas constant of
air is 0.287 kJ/kg⋅K.

Patm= 84.6 kPa

3m
20°C
10°C
15 m
12 m

Fig. 4

5. The roof of an electrically heated home is 6 m long, 8 m wide, and 0.25 m thick, and is made of a flat
layer of concrete whose thermal conductivity is 0.8 W/m·K (Fig. 5). The temperatures of the inner and
the outer surfaces of the roof one night are measured to be 15°C and 4°C, respectively, for a period of
10 hours. Determine (a) the rate of heat loss through the roof that night and (b) the cost of that heat
loss to the home owner if the cost of electricity is $0.08/kWh.

Fig. 5

6. A common way of measuring the thermal conductivity of a material is to sandwich an electric thermofoil
heater between two identical samples of the material, as shown in Fig. 6. The thickness of the resistance
heater, including its cover, which is made of thin silicon rubber, is usually less than 0.5 mm. A circulating
fluid such as tap water keeps the exposed ends of the samples at constant temperature. The lateral
surfaces of the samples are well insulated to ensure that
heat transfer through the samples is one-dimensional.
Two thermocouples are embedded into each sample
some distance L apart, and a differential thermometer
reads the temperature drop DT across this distance along
each sample. When steady operating conditions are
reached, the total rate of heat transfer through both
samples becomes equal to the electric power drawn by
the heater. In a certain experiment, cylindrical samples of
diameter 5 cm and length 10 cm are used. The two
thermocouples in each sample are placed 3 cm apart.
After initial transients, the electric heater is observed to
draw 0.4 A at 110 V, and both differential thermometers
read a temperature difference of 15°C. Determine the
thermal conductivity of the sample.
Fig. 6

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 Chapter 1 - Introduction and Basic Concepts | BFF3242 Heat Transfer

7. An engineer who is working on the heat transfer analysis of a brick building in English units needs the
thermal conductivity of brick. But the only value he can find from his handbooks is 0.72 W/m·°C, which
is in SI units. To make matters worse, the engineer does not have a direct conversion factor between
the two unit systems for thermal conductivity. Can you help him out to convert the value to English
units? The conversion factors to be used are 1 W = 3.41214 Btu/h, 1 m = 3.2808 ft and 1°C = 1.8°F.

8. A 2-m-long, 0.3-cm-diameter electrical wire extends across a room at 15°C, as shown in Fig. 7. Heat is
generated in the wire as a result of resistance heating, and the surface temperature of the wire is
measured to be 152°C in steady operation. Also, the voltage drop and electric current through the wire
are measured to be 60 V and 1.5 A, respectively. Disregarding any heat transfer by radiation, determine
the convection heat transfer coefficient for heat transfer between the outer surface of the wire and
the air in the room.

Fig. 7

9. It is a common experience to feel “chilly” in winter and “warm”

in summer in our homes even when the thermostat setting is
kept the same. This is due to the so called “radiation effect”
resulting from radiation heat exchange between our bodies and
the surrounding surfaces of the walls and the ceiling. Consider
a person standing in a room maintained at 22°C at all times. The
inner surfaces of the walls, floors, and the ceiling of the house
are observed to be at an average temperature of 10°C in winter
and 25°C in summer. Determine the rate of radiation heat
transfer between this person and the surrounding surfaces if
the exposed surface area and the average outer surface
temperature of the person are 1.4 m2 and 30°C, respectively
(Fig. 8). The emissivity of a person is 0.95. Fig. 8

10. Consider a person standing in a breezy room at 20°C. Determine

the total rate of heat transfer from this person if the exposed
surface area and the average outer surface temperature of the
person are 1.6 m2 and 29°C, respectively, and the convection heat
transfer coefficient is 6 W/m2·K (Fig. 9). The emissivity of a person
is 0.95.

Fig. 9

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 Chapter 1 - Introduction and Basic Concepts | BFF3242 Heat Transfer

11. Consider steady heat transfer between two large parallel plates at constant temperatures of T1 = 300 K
and T2 = 200 K that are L = 1 cm apart, as shown in Fig. 10. Assuming the surfaces to be black (emissivity
as 1), determine the rate of heat transfer between the plates per unit surface area assuming the gap
between the plates is (a) filled with atmospheric air, (b) evacuated, (c) filled with urethane insulation,
and (d) filled with superinsulation. The thermal conductivity at the average temperature of 250 K is
0.0219 W/m·K for air, 0.026 W/m·K for urethane insulation, and 0.00002 W/m·K for the superinsulation.

Fig. 10

12. A thin metal plate is insulated on the back and exposed to solar radiation at the front surface (Fig. 11).
The exposed surface of the plate has an absorptivity of 0.6 for solar radiation. If solar radiation is
incident on the plate at a rate of 700 W/m2 and the surrounding air temperature is 25°C, determine
the surface temperature of the plate when the heat loss by convection and radiation equals the solar
energy absorbed by the plate. Assume the combined convection and radiation heat transfer coefficient
to be 50 W/m2·K.

Fig. 11