Module I

Conduction
Basic concepts – Conduction – Fourier’s Law of Heat conduction –
Concept of Thermal Conductivity – Generalized conduction
equation in Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical systems; Steady
State Conduction –Heat transfer composite systems – Critical
thickness of insulation Conduction with heat Generation
Thermodynamics - Amount of energy
Heat Transfer - Rate of energy
Thermodynamics Vs Heat transfer

Thermodynamics tells about Heat transfer tells about

• how much heat is • how heat is transferred

transferred (different modes of transfer)

• how much work is done • At what rate heat is

transferred

• final state of the system • Temperature distribution

inside the body
Heat Transfer
The transfer of energy (heat) from a region of high
temperature to a region of low temperature region.
Driving Force:

Heat transfer -Temperature Difference

Electric current flow -Voltage difference
Fluid flow - Pressure difference
Application Area of Heat Transfer
Three modes of HT
• Conduction
• Convection
• Radiation

Conduction
It is the transfer of energy from the more energetic particles of
a substance to the adjacent less energetic ones as a result of
interaction between the particles.
Conduction
Transfer of energy from the more energetic to less
energetic particles of a substance by contact of particles
of matter.
Mechanisms of conduction:
➢ Lattice Vibration
➢ Particle collisions

(i) Lattice Vibration :

(ii) Particle collision (observed in matters having lot of free
electrons)

• Conduction through electron collisions is more effective than

conduction through lattice vibration
• Metals (particle collision) are good conductors of heat (Eg: Copper)
as they have lot of free electrons.
• Ceramic materials, inert gases etc., doesn’t exhibit good conducting
nature as they have very less free electrons. These materials are called
Insulators
Convention Types
• The proportionality constant is the convection heat transfer
coefficient, h (W/m2 K)

Q= h A ΔT Newton’s law of Cooling

• Convection heat transfer coefficient, h, is the measure of how
effectively a fluid transfers heat by convection (unit is W/m2 K)

• Convection heat transfer coefficient, h, is determined by factors

such as the fluid density, viscosity, and velocity.

• Flow geometry also has an effect over the value of h.

 Radiation

• Thermal radiation is energy emitted by matter

• Energy is transported in form electromagnetic waves (or
photons).
• Can occur from solid surfaces, liquids and gases.
• Does not require presence of a medium
• Any body with temperature above absolute 0 Kelvin emits
radiation
Radiation
• Law governing the radiation heat transfer:
Stefan-Boltzmann law

where Ts is the absolute temperature of the surface (K)

• The law states that the amount of emissive power given out by a
surface is directly proportional to the fourth of the absolute
temperature of the body.
• Introducing the proportionality constant, the equation is given
as
where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, (σ = 5.67x10-8
W/m2K4)
Radiation:

It is the energy emitted by matter in the form of

electromagnetic waves ( or photons) as a result of the changes
in the electronic configurations of the atom or molecule.

Kirchhoff’s law:

σ=5.67x10-8 W/m2K4
Radiation emitted by all real surfaces is given by,
 Combined modes of heat transfer

• Several real time heat transfer situations would involve more

than one mode of heat transfer. In such cases, the most
convenient form of expressing the heat flow is
Q = U A ΔT Where U – the overall heat transfer coefficient
Chapter 1 19
Conduction:
Fourier’s Law of heat conduction:

k-thermal conductivity is the ability of a material to conduct

heat.
It is defined as the rate of heat transfer through a unit thickness
of the material per unit area per unit temperature difference.
(W/moC)
➢ q is the heat flux (units W/m2 or (J/s)/m2), which is the heat
transfer rate in the x-direction per unit area perpendicular to the
direction of transfer.
➢ The heat rate, Q (units W=J/s) through a plane wall of area A is
the product of the flux and the area: Q= q A

➢ Introducing the proportionality constant, the equation becomes

(Minus sign signifies heat flows in the direction of
decrease in temperature)

➢ The proportionality constant ‘k’ is a transport property, known as

thermal conductivity (unit is W/m K). It is defined as the ability of
a substance to conduct heat through it.
➢ A good conductor, such as copper, has a high thermal
conductivity; a poor conductor, or an insulator, has a low thermal
conductivity.
Upon integration, the conduction equation becomes

Rearranging the equation

The term (L/kA) is called thermal resistance for the conductive

heat
flow.
The range of k for various materials at room temperature
The variation of k of various solids ,liquids ,and gases with
temperature
Variable Thermal conductivity k(T)
Thermal diffusivity:
It is another material property that appears in the
transient heat conduction analysis.
Multilayer cylinder
Problem 1
Calculate the rate of heat loss for a red brick wall of length 5 m
height 4 m and thick 0.25m. The temperature of the inner surface
is 110oC and that of the outer surface is 40oC. The thermal
conductivity of red brick k=0.70 W/mK. Also calculate the
temperature at an interior point of the wall 20 cm distant from the
inner wall.

Ans:
Q=3920 W
T at x=0.2 m is 54oC
Problem 2:
One side of a 10 cm thick steel plate (k = 54 W/mK) is
maintained at 100oC while the second side is held at 90oC by
blowing air at 25oC. Determine convective heat transfer
coefficient. Also calculate the heat flux through the plate.

Ans:
h = 83.08 W/m2K
Heat flux = 5400 W/m2
Problem 3 : (variable thermal conductivity)
A large plane wall is composed of 20 cm layer of refractory brick
(k = 1.3 W/m K) and a 5 cm layer of insulating material with
thermal conductivity varying as k = 0.035 + 0.0017 T. If the outer
surface of brick and insulating material are at 1094oC and
38oC.Determine the temperature at the interface and also the heat
loss from the material.

Ans:
T2 = 470.68oC
Heat loss = 4052 W/m2
Problem 4 (Composite wall)
A furnace is constructed with 229 mm thick of fire brick, 115 mm
of insulation brick and again 229 mm of building brick. The
inside temperature is 1223K and the temperature at the outermost
wall is 323 K. Find the heat lost per unit area and temperature at
the interface.
K fire brick = 6.05 W/mK
K insulation brick = 0.581 W/mK
K building brick = 2.33 W/mK

Ans:
Q = 2694 W/m2
T2 = 1121 K
T3 = 587.8 K
Problem 5 :(Composite cylinder)
A steam pipe 10cm OD is to be insulated by two layers of
insulations each 2.5 cm thick. The material ‘A’ has conductivity k
and the material ‘B’ has conductivity 3k. Assuming that the inner
and outer temperature of composite insulation to be fixed, find
i)Which arrangement would give less heat loss rate ‘A’ near the
pipe surface and ‘B’ as outer layer or vice versa.
ii)What is the percentage reduction in heat loss?

Ans:
‘A’ near pipe = 12.56 kΔT
‘B’ near pipe = 15.14 kΔT
% reduction = 20.5
Problem 6: (Composite sphere)
Liquid ammonia at -20oC is stored in spherical vessel of inner
and outer radius 1 m and 1.05 m respectively. The inner shell of 3
cm thick is made of nickel-steel (k =19 W/mK) and the outer
shell of thick 2 cm is made of carbon-steel (k =54 W/mK). The
vessel is exposed to atmospheric air at 30oC.The inside and
outside H.T.C are 100 W/m2K and 10 W/m2K,respectively.
Calculate the rate of heat losses from liquid ammonia.

Ans:
Q = 6728 W
r2 increases
RCond increase, Q Cond decrease
Rcov decrease, Qconvec increase
Problem 11:
A steel pipe of 5 cm OD is covered with 0.5 cm asbestos (k
=0.1105 W/m K) followed by 0.5 cm thick glass wool (k =
0.038 W/m K) insulation. It was found that the insulation
temperature reached a steady state value of 40oC, while the
pipe surface is at 150oC and the atmospheric air to which the
insulated pipe is exposed is at 25oC. Determine the
temperature at the interface of the asbestos and glass wool and
the film coefficient between the glass wool and atmospheric
air.

Ans:
T = 118.2oC
h = 36.7 W/mK
Problem 12:
Steam at 125oC is to be transported through a carbon-steel pipe of ID
5 cm and OD 6 cm. To reduce heat losses it is to be insulated with
asbestos (k =0.1105 W/m K) so that the rate of heat loss from steam
to atmospheric air is not more than 50 W/m length of pipeline. The
atmospheric air is at 25oCand the film coefficient between air and
the insulation is 10 W/m2K. Determine the thickness of insulation.
Assume that the outer surface of steel pipe is at 125oC.

Ans:
Thick of insulation = 7.9 cm.
Problem 13:
A steam pipe 10 cm ID and 11 cm OD is covered with an
insulating substance (k =1 w/mK) The steam temp and the
ambient temp are 200oC and 20oC respectively. If CHTC b/w the
insulation surface and air is 8 W/m2K, find the critical radius of
insulation. For this value of r2, calculate the heat loss/m of pipe
and the outer surface temp.

Ans:
Q/L = 620 W/m
To =118.726 oC
Problem 14:
Freon 12 at -40oC is flowing thro a copper tube of 1 cm OD. The
atm air is at 30oC and film coefficient b/w the tube surface and
air is 10 w/m2K. An engineer wanted to reduce the heat losses
and added 6 mm thick asbestos (k=0.1105 W/mK) insulation to
the tube. Determine the % reduction in the heat loss due to this
added insulation. Assume that the outer surface of the tube is at -
40oC.

Ans:
Percentage increase in heat loss = 23.18
 Heat generation in solids
- Heating in wire
- exothermic chemical reaction in solid
- Nuclear reaction in nuclear fuel.
Problem 15:
A plane wall 10 cm thick generates heat at the rate of 4x104
W/m3 when an electric current is passed through it. The
convective H.T.C between each face of wall and ambient air is
50 W/m2k. Determine (i)The surface temperature (ii) the
maximum temperature in wall. Ambient temperature of air is
20oC and kwall = 15 W/mK.

Ans:
Tmax = 63.33 oC
Tw = 60oC
Problem 16:
A 2 kw resistance heater wire where k=15 W/m2K has a
diameter 4 mm and depth 0.5 m and is used to boil water. If
the outer surface temperature of the wire is 105oC, determine
the temperature at the center of the wire.

Ans:
Tmax = 126oC
Problem 17:
It is proposed to use a 1 m long nickel (k = 90 W/m K) rod as
a heating element to dissipate 25 kW in a fluid at 30oC. The
convective H.T.C between rod and fluid is 750 W/m2K.
Determine the diameter of the rod if the maximum
temperature in the element is 900oC

Ans:
Diameter = 12.5 mm
Problem 18:
A 3mm diameter nickel-chromium (k = 19 W/m.K) wire of 1
m length has been used as a heating element by applying 30 V.
The outer surface of the wire is maintained at 100oC. Calculate
the temperature at the center of the wire. The electrical
resistivity of the wire is 6 x 10-5 ohm cm

Ans:
Tmax = 277.4oC