ME3104- Heat and Mass Transfer 1

Tutorial 1

Heat Equation

1. A salt-gradient solar pond is a shallow body of water that consists of three distinct fluid layers
and is used to collect solar energy. The upper- and lower-most layers are well mixed and serve
to maintain the upper and lower surfaces of the central layer at uniform temperatures
𝑇1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇2 , where 𝑇2 > 𝑇1 . Although there is bulk fluid motion in the mixed layers, there is
no such motion in the central layer. Consider conditions for which solar radiation absorption
in the central layer provides non-uniform heat generation of the form 𝑞̇ = 𝐴𝑒 −𝑎𝑥 , and the
temperature distribution in the central layer is

The quantities 𝐴 (𝑊/𝑚3 ), 𝑎 (1/𝑚), 𝐵 (𝐾/𝑚), 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶 (𝐾) are known constants having the
prescribed units, and 𝑘 is the thermal conductivity, which is also constant. (a) Obtain
expressions for the rate at which heat is transferred per unit area from the lower mixed layer
to the central layer and from the central layer to the upper mixed layer. (b) Determine
whether conditions are steady or transient. (c) Obtain an expression for the rate at which
thermal energy is generated in the entire central layer, per unit surface area.

2. The cylindrical system illustrated has negligible variation of temperature in the r and z
directions. Assume that ∆𝑟 = 𝑟0 − 𝑟𝑖 is small compared to 𝑟𝑖 and denote the length in the z
direction, normal to the page, as L.
ME3104- Heat and Mass Transfer 2

(a)Beginning with a properly defined control volume and considering energy generation and
storage effects, derive the differential equation that prescribes the variation in temperature
with the angular coordinate 𝜑. (b) For steady-state conditions with no internal heat
generation and constant properties, determine the temperature distribution 𝑇(𝜑) in terms
of the constants 𝑇1 , 𝑇2 , 𝑟𝑖 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑜 . (c) For the conditions of part (b) write the expression
for the heat rate 𝑞𝜑

3. A chemically reacting mixture is stored in a thin-walled spherical container of radius 𝑟1 =

200 𝑚𝑚, and the exothermic reaction generates heat at a uniform, but temperature
𝑊
dependent volumetric rate of 𝑞̇ = 𝑞𝑜̇ 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝐴/𝑇𝑜 ), where 𝑞𝑜 = 5000 𝑚3 , 𝐴 = 75 𝐾, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑜
is the mixture temperature in kelvins. The vessel is enclosed by an insulating material of outer
radius 𝑟2 , thermal conductivity 𝑘, and emissivity 𝜀. The outer surface of the insulation
experiences convection heat transfer and net radiation exchange with the adjoining air and
large surroundings, respectively.
ME3104- Heat and Mass Transfer 3

1D Steady State Conduction (No Heat Generation) + Fins

1. An electrical current of 700 𝐴 flows through a stainless steel cable having a diameter of 5 𝑚𝑚
and an electrical resistance of 6 × 10−4 Ω/𝑚 (i.e., per meter of cable length). The cable is in
an environment having a temperature of 30°𝐶, and the total coefficient associated with
convection and radiation between the cable and the environment is approximately
25 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾. If the cable is bare, what is its surface temperature? If a very thin coating of
electrical insulation is applied to the cable, with a contact resistance of 0.02 𝑚2 𝐾/𝑊, what
are the insulation and cable surface temperatures? There is some concern about the ability
of the insulation to withstand elevated temperatures. What thickness of this insulation (𝑘 =
0.5 𝑊/𝑚𝐾) will yield the lowest value of the maximum insulation temperature? What is the
value of the maximum temperature when the thickness is used?

2. The energy transferred from the anterior chamber of the eye through the cornea varies
considerably depending on whether a contact lens is worn. Treat the eye as a spherical system
and assume the system to be at steady state. The convection coefficient ho is unchanged with
and without the contact lens in place. The cornea and the lens cover one-third of the spherical
surface area.

(a) Construct the thermal circuits, labeling all potentials and flows for the systems excluding
the contact lens and including the contact lens. Write resistance elements in terms of
appropriate parameters. (b) Determine the heat loss from the anterior chamber with and
without the contact lens in place. (c) Discuss the implication of your results.
ME3104- Heat and Mass Transfer 4

3. An air heater may be fabricated by coiling Nichrome wire and passing air in cross flow over
the wire. Consider a heater fabricated from wire of diameter 𝐷 = 1 𝑚𝑚, electrical resistivity
𝜌𝑒 = 10−6 Ω 𝑚, thermal conductivity 𝑘 = 25 𝑊/𝑚𝐾, and emissivity 𝜀 = 0.20. The heater is
designed to deliver air at a temperature of 𝑇 = 50℃ under flow conditions that provide a
convection coefficient of ℎ = 250 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾 for the wire. The temperature of the housing
that encloses the wire and through which the air flows is 𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟 = 50℃. If the maximum
allowable temperature of the wire is 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 1200℃, what is the maximum allowable electric
current 𝐼? If the maximum available voltage is ∆𝐸 = 110 𝑉, what is the corresponding length
𝐿 of wire that may be used in the heater and the power rating of the heater? Hint: In your
solution, assume negligible temperature variations within the wire, but after obtaining the
desired results, assess the validity of this assumption.

4. A nuclear fuel element of thickness 2𝐿 is covered with a steel cladding of thickness 𝑏. Heat
generated within the nuclear fuel at a rate 𝑞̇ is removed by a fluid at 𝑇∞ , which adjoins one
surface and is characterized by a convection coefficient ℎ. The other surface is well insulated,
and the fuel and steel have thermal conductivities of 𝑘𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘𝑠 , respectively. (a) Obtain an
equation for the temperature distribution 𝑇(𝑥) in the nuclear fuel. Express your results in
terms of 𝑞̇ , 𝑘𝑓 , 𝐿, 𝑏, 𝑘𝑠 , ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇∞ . (b) Sketch the temperature distribution 𝑇(𝑥) for the entire
system.

5. Turbine blades mounted to a rotating disc in a gas turbine engine are exposed to a gas stream
that is at 𝑇 = 1200°𝐶 and maintains a convection coefficient of ℎ = 250 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾 over the
blade. The blades, which are fabricated from Inconel, 𝑘 = 20 𝑊/𝑚𝐾, have a length of 𝐿 =
50 𝑚𝑚. The blade profile has a uniform cross-sectional area of 𝐴𝑐 = 6 × 10∓4 m2 and a
perimeter of 𝑃 = 110 𝑚𝑚. A proposed blade-cooling scheme, which involves routing air
through the supporting disc, is able to maintain the base of each blade at a temperature of
ME3104- Heat and Mass Transfer 5

𝑇𝑏 = 300°𝐶. If the maximum allowable blade temperature is 1050°𝐶 and the blade tip may
be assumed to be adiabatic, is the proposed cooling scheme satisfactory? (b) For the
proposed cooling scheme, what is the rate at which heat is transferred from each blade to
the coolant?

6. Silicon carbide nanowires of diameter 𝐷 _ 15 𝑛𝑚 can be grown onto a solid silicon carbide
surface by carefully depositing droplets of catalyst liquid onto a flat silicon carbide substrate.
Silicon carbide nanowires grow upward from the deposited drops, and if the drops are
deposited in a pattern, an array of nanowire fins can be grown, forming a silicon carbide nano-
heat sink. Consider finned and unfinned electronics packages in which an extremely small,
10 𝑚 × 10 𝑚 electronics device is sandwiched between two 𝑑 = 100 𝑛𝑚 thick silicon
carbide sheets. In both cases, the coolant is a dielectric liquid at 20℃. A heat transfer
coefficient of ℎ = 105 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾 exists on the top and bottom of the unfinned package and
on all surfaces of the exposed silicon carbide fins, which are each 𝐿 = 300 𝑛𝑚 long. Each
nano-heat sink includes a 200 × 200 array of nanofins. Determine the maximum allowable
heat rate that can be generated by the electronic device so that its temperature is maintained
at 𝑇𝑡 = 85℃ for the unfinned and finned packages.
ME3104- Heat and Mass Transfer 6

7. An air heater consists of a steel tube (𝑘 = 20 𝑊/𝑚𝐾), with inner and outer radii of 𝑟1 =
13 𝑚𝑚 and 𝑟2 = 16 𝑚𝑚, respectively, and eight integrally machined longitudinal fins, each
of thickness 𝑡 = 3 𝑚𝑚. The fins extend to a concentric tube, which is of radius 𝑟3 = 40 𝑚𝑚
and insulated on its outer surface. Water at a temperature 𝑇𝑖 = 90°𝐶 flows through the inner
tube, while air at 𝑇𝑜 = 25°𝐶 flows through the annular region formed by the larger
concentric tube. (a) Sketch the equivalent thermal circuit of the heater and relate each
thermal resistance to appropriate system parameters. (b) If ℎ𝑖 = 5000 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾 and ℎ𝑜 =
200 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾, what is the heat rate per unit length? (c) Assess the effect of increasing the
number of fins N and/or the fin thickness t on the heat rate, subject to the constraint that
𝑁𝑡 _ 50 𝑚𝑚.