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Heat Transfer Basic - Must Know
Heat Transfer Basic - Must Know
BASICSOFHEATTRANSFER
Whileteachingheattransfer,oneofthefirstquestionsstudentscommonlyaskisthedifference between heatand temperature.Anothercommonquestionconcernsthedifferencebetweenthe subjectsof heattransferandthermodynamics.Letmebeginthischapterbytryingtoaddressthese two questions.
1.1Differencebetweenheatandtemperature
In heattransfer problems, we often interchangeably use the terms heat and temperature. Actually, there is a distinct difference between the two. Temperature is a measure of the amount of energy possessedbythemoleculesofasubstance.Itmanifestsitselfasadegreeofhotness,andcanbeused to predict the direction of heat transfer. The usual symbol for temperature is T. The scales for measuringtemperatureinSIunitsaretheCelsiusandKelvintemperaturescales.Heat,ontheother hand,isenergy intransit. Spontaneously, heatflowsfromahotterbodytoacolderone.Theusual symbolforheatisQ.IntheSIsystem,common unitsformeasuringheataretheJouleandcalorie.
1.2Differencebetweenthermodynamicsandheattransfer
Thermodynamicstellsus: howmuchheatistransferred(dQ) howmuchworkisdone(dW) finalstateofthesystem Heattransfertellsus: how(withwhatmodes) dQistransferred atwhatrate dQistransferred temperaturedistributioninsidethebody Heattransfer complementary Thermodynamics
1.3ModesofHeatTransfer
Conduction: Anenergytransferacrossasystemboundaryduetoatemperaturedifference bythemechanismofintermolecularinteractions.Conductionneedsmatteranddoesnot requireanybulkmotionofmatter. x A T1 q T2
Conduction rateequation isdescribedbytheFourierLaw: r q = - kA T where: q=heatflowvector,(W) k =thermalconductivity,athermodynamicpropertyofthematerial. (W/mK) 2 A=Crosssectionalareaindirectionofheatflow.(m ) T=Gradientoftemperature(K/m) = T/x i+ T/y j+ T/z k Note:Sincethisisavectorequation,itisoften convenienttoworkwithone componentofthevector.Forexample,inthexdirection: qx =kAx dT/dx Incircularcoordinatesitmayconvenienttoworkintheradialdirection: qr = kAr dT/dr Convection: Anenergytransferacrossasystemboundaryduetoatemperaturedifference bythecombinedmechanismsofintermolecularinteractionsandbulktransport.Convection needsfluidmatter.
movingfluid
T q
Ts>T
Ts
NewtonsLawofCooling: q=hAs DT where: q=heatflowfromsurface,ascalar,(W) h=heattransfercoefficient(whichisnotathermodynamicpropertyof thematerial,butmaydependongeometryofsurface,flow 2 characteristics,thermodynamicpropertiesofthefluid,etc.(W/m K) 2 As =Surfaceareafromwhichconvectionisoccurring.(m ) DT = T - T = TemperatureDifferencebetweensurfaceandcoolant.(K) S Freeornaturalconvection (inducedbybuoyancyforces) Convection Forcedconvection(inducedby externalmeans)
2 Table1. Typicalvaluesofh(W/m K)
Freeconvection
Forcedconvection
Boiling/Condensation
where:
Theaboveequationisderivedfrom StefanBoltzmanlaw,which describesagrossheat emissionratherthanheattransfer. Theexpressionfortheactualradiationheattransferrate betweensurfaceshavingarbitraryorientationscanbequitecomplex,andwillbedealtwithin Module9. However,therateof radiationheatexchangebetweenasmallsurfaceandalarge surroundingisgivenbythefollowingexpression:
1.4ThermalConductivity,k
Asnotedpreviously,thermalconductivityisathermodynamicpropertyofamaterial. Fromthe StatePostulategiveninthermodynamics,itmay berecalledthatthermodynamicpropertiesofpure substances are functions of two independent thermodynamic intensive properties, say temperature and pressure. Thermal conductivity of real gases is largely independent of pressure and may be considered a function of temperature alone. For solids and liquids, properties are largely independentofpressureanddependontemperaturealone. k=k(T) Table2givesthevaluesofthermalconductivityforavarietyofmaterials. Table2. ThermalConductivitiesofSelectedMaterialsatRoomTemperature. Material Copper Silver Gold Aluminum Steel Limestone Bakelite Water Air ThermalConductivity,W/mK 401 429 317 237 60.5 2.15 1.4 0.613 0.0263
Letustrytogain aninsightintothebasicconceptof thermalconductivityforvariousmaterials. The fundamental concept comes from the molecular or atomic scale activities. Molecules/atoms of variousmaterialsgainenergythroughdifferentmechanisms.Gases,inwhichmoleculesarefreeto move with a mean free path sufficiently large compared to their diameters, possess energyin the formofkineticenergyofthemolecules.Energyisgainedorlostthroughcollisions/interactionsof gasmolecules.
Kineticenergytransfer betweengasmolecules.
Solids, on the other hand, have atoms/molecules which are more closely packed which cannot move as freely as in gases. Hence, they cannot effectively transfer energy through these same mechanisms.Instead,solidsmayexhibitenergythroughvibrationorrotationofthenucleus.Hence, theenergytransferistypicallythroughlatticevibrations. Another important mechanism in which materials maintain energy is by shifting electrons into higher orbital rings. In the case of electrical conductors the electrons are weakly bonded to the molecule and can drift from one molecule to another, transporting their energy in the process. Hence, flow of electrons, which is commonly observed in metals, is an effective transport mechanism, resulting in a correlation that materials which are excellent electrical conductors are usually excellentthermalconductors.