2 Conduction

empirical evidence shows that energy is transferred from hot regions to cold
regions within a body. The heat transfer rate per unit area is usually found to be
proportional to the normal temperature gradient,

Q T
A x

with the constant of proportionality, this becomes Fouriers Law and forms the
basis of heat transfer by conduction.

T
Q kA
x

where
Q is the heat transfer rate ( ) W ,
A is the area normal to the direction of heat flow,
/ T x is the spatial gradient in the direction of heat flow of temperature and
k is the thermal conductivity ( ) / W mK .

it is often convenient to express the rate of heat transfer per unit area, i.e.

Q T
q k
A x

= =

note: in this subject, q has units
( )
2
/ W m . In some other subjects, such as
Thermofluids 3, q is used to represent heat per unit mass ( ) / W kg . Please
beware of this distinction.

types of (thermal) conductors:

1. conductors: good conductors of heat with high value of k , e.g. most metals

2. insulators: poor conductors of heat with low value of k , e.g. housing
insulation

2.1 The heat conduction equation
consider a one-dimensional, elemental volume:


employing the 1
st
Law of Thermodynamics (law of conservation of energy):

energy conducted through left face +heat generated within element

=change in internal energy +energy conducted out of right face.

where:
the energy conducted through left face is /
x
q kAdT dx = ,
heat generated within element is
vol
Q Adx ,
change in internal energy is / cAdxdT dt ,
energy conducted out of right face is ( ) /
x dx
x dx
q kA dT dx
+
+
= ,

also,
( )
3
/ kg m is density and ( ) / c J kgK is the specific heat.

it therefore follows that / cdT dt is the rate of change of internal energy per unit
volume.
combining these relations gives

vol
T T T T
kA Q Adx cAdx A k k dx
x t x x x

+ = +




or

vol
T T
k Q c
x x t

+ =





extending this analysis to 3 spatial dimensions, we get:

vol
T T T T
k k k Q c
x x y y z z t

+ + + =






for constant thermal conductivity:


2 2 2
2 2 2
1
vol
Q T T T T
x y z k t

+ + + =


or

2
1 1
vol
T
T Q
k t

+ =

where / k c = is the thermal diffusivity

in the absence of internal heat generation, this becomes

2
1 T
T
t

=

and for steady state systems without internal heat generation, we obtain
Laplaces equation:

2
0 T =

2.2 Steady one dimensional systems
since
2 2
/ 0 d T dx = , it follows that
( )
1 2
T x c x c = +

if ( )
1
0 T T = and ( )
2
T l T = then
( )
( )
2 1
1
T T
T x x T
l

= +
i.e. a simple, linear relationship between T and x .

2.2.1 1D systems in parallel
consider N conductors placed in parallel:



since energy is conserved over the network:

( )
1 2
1 1 2 2
1 2
N
i=1
....
....
N
N N
i i
Q Q Q Q
A k Ak A k
T T
l l l
Ak
T
l
= + + +

= + + +


=



thus, we have an analogue to electrical circuit theory and Ohms law:


N
i=1
~current
~potential difference
1
and ~
resistance
i i
Q
T
Ak
l

2.2.2 1D systems in series


conservation of energy yields a system of N simultaneous equations:

( )
( )
( )
2 1
1
1
3 2
2
2
1 N N
N
N
T T
Q k A
l
T T
k A
l
T T
k A
l
+

=
.


solving these equations simultaneously gives:

1 1
1 2
1 2
1
N
N
N
N
thermal
i
Q
l l l
k A k A k A
T
R
+
=

=
+ + +

2.2.3 Compound systems
compound meaning a combination of parallel and series networks. For example:


applying energy conservation again, it follows that

( )
1 2
A B D
B B C C D D
Q
l l l
k A k A k A k A


=
+ +
+


2.3 Steady state radial conduction
consider an axisymmetric cylinder with constant thermal conductivity k and no
heat generation.


for unit depth, the surface area of a cylinder of radius r is
2 A r =

it follows from Fouriers law that
2
dT
Q k r
dr
=

since we have reached the steady state, Q must be independent of radius. This
follows from the 1
st
law discussed above, where both the heat generated within
the element and the change in the internal energy of that element are zero.
Hence,

energy conducted through left face =energy conducted out of right face.

Fouriers law then permits
( )
2 2
1 1
2
2 1
1
2
ln 2
r T
r T
dr
Q k dT
r
r
Q k T T
r

=

=




or
( )
( )
1 2
2 1
2
ln /
k
Q T T
r r

=

the temperature at some radius r can also be determined:

( )
( )
1 1
1
1
2
ln 2
T r
r
r T
dr
Q k dT
r
r
Q k r
r

=

=






since Q is as above,

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
1 2 1 1
2 1
2
ln / 2
ln /
k
T T r r k r
r r

=


giving
( )
( )
( )
( )
1
1 1 2
2 1
ln /
ln /
r r
r
r r
=
note:
1. the logarithmic variation of temperature with radius,
2. the temperature distribution is independent of the thermal conductivity k i.e.
independent of the material!

2.3.1 Composite cylinder
consider an axisymetric set of co-axial annuli with temperatures labelled as
follows,

from above, the in terms of stations i (inside) and o (outside):
( )
( )
2
ln /
i o
o i
k T T
Q
r r

=

once again, in the steady state the 1
st
law gives

( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
1 1 2 2
1 2 1 2
2 2 2
ln / ln / ln /
i C o
i o
k T T k T T k T T
Q
r r r r r r



= = =
furthermore:
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1 2 2 i o i o
T T T T T T T T = + +
from which it follows that
1 2
1 2
1 1 1
ln ln ln
2
o
i o
i C
r r r Q
T T
k r k r k r


= + +



and in general for N annuli, each with inner radius
i
r , outer radius
1 i
r
+
and
thermal conductivity
i
k
( )
( )
1
1
2
1
ln /
i o
N
i n
i i
T T
Q
r r
k

+
=

2.3.2 Critical thickness of insulation
consider a layer of insulation around a circular pipe. The inner temperature of the
insulation is
i
T , the outer surface has temperature
o
T and is exposed to an
environment at temperature T

.

assume (for now) that convection from the outer surface of the insulation to the
environment is governed by Newtons law of cooling,
( )
conv o
Q hA T T

=
where
i
T is the inner wall temperature,
o
T is the outer wall temperature,
T

is the environmental temperature and

h is the heat transfer co-efficient.

it follows that

( )
0
conv
thermal
T T
Q
R

=
where 1/
thermal
R hA = is the thermal resistance of the convective process

the equivalent thermal network of the conduction and convection processes is


and the overall rate if heat transfer is:

( )
( )
2
1 1
ln /
i
o i
o
T T
Q
r r
k r h

=
+

which looks like:


finding the outer radius
o
r that will maximise the heat transfer:
( )
( )
2 2
2
1 1
0
1
ln / 1/
i
o o o
o i o
T T
dQ
dr kr hr
r r r h
k

= =


+




it follows that maximum heat transfer occurs when
2
1 1
0
o o
o
kr hr
k
r
h
=
=



o
r is called the critical radius. For given values of k and h , if the outer radius of
the insulation is not equal to the above ratio, the heat transfer is not maximised.

when insulating a pipe, we desire to minimise the heat transfer. However, if h is
small enough, the addition of further insulation may serve to increase the heat
transfer!


2.4 Extended surfaces
extended surfaces are often used to increase the heat transfer from a given
component. Examples of extended surfaces are relatively common, such as
those on the barrel of a motorcycle engine, or on the back of a microprocessor,
power amplifier or other power electronic component.

consider a rectangular fin of length L and cross-sectional area A wt = ,


considering an infinitesimal slice of this extended surface,

where the energy into the left face is:
x
dT
Q kA
dx
=
and the energy out of the right face is
2
2 x x
x x
dT dT d T
Q kA kA x
dx dx dx

+
+


= = +





the energy lost by convection over this infinitesimal slice is

( )
conv
. .
area
Q P x h

=
where ( ) 2 P w t = + is the perimeter of this slice

applying energy conservation
( )
2
2
dT dT d T
kA kA x P xh T T
dx dx dx



= + +



which simplifies to

( )
2
2
0
d T hP
T T
dx kA

=

define the temperature difference T T

= ,
2
2
0
d hP
dx kA

=
with the boundary condition at the base of the fin being:

0 0
at 0 T T x

= = =
there are several simple cases for the second boundary condition which then
defines the problem.

2.4.1 An infinitely long fin
for a finite heat flow into the base of a fin, an infinitely long rod must have its tip at
ambient temperature i.e. all of the heat is lost by convection prior to its reaching
the tip.

the boundary conditions are then:

0
at 0
0at
x
x

= =
= =

letting
2
/ m hP kA = , then the general solution to the differential equation given
above is:
( )
1 2
mx mx
x C e C e

= +
applying the boundary conditions of the infinitely long fin,

( )
( )
2
0 1 0
0 0
0
C
C

= =
= =

giving the solution
( )
0
mx
x e

=

2.4.2 A finite length fin with no heat loss at the tip
the boundary conditions for this case are

0
at 0
0at
0at
x
Q x l
d
x l
dx

= =
= =

= =



the third of these conditions arises by application of Fouriers law to the second
condition, ( ) 0 Q l =

the boundary conditions then give

0 1 2
C C = +
and


1 2
0
ml ml
x l
d
mC e mC e
dx

=

= + =




solving for
1
c and
2
c , we obtain

( )
( )
( )
0 2 2
0
1 1
cosh
cosh
mx mx
ml ml
e e
x
e e
m l x
ml

= +

+ +



=

since
( )
cosh / 2
x x
x e e

= +

temperature distributions along the fin then look like


using Fouriers law, the heat flux at the base is

( )
( )
( )
0
0
0
0
0
sinh
cosh
tanh
x
x
d
Q kA
dx
m l x
kA m
ml
kAm ml

=
=

=




=



=

where / m hP kA =

2.4.2.1 When is the fin useful?
the energy into the fin (through the base) was found previously to be

0 0
tanh
hP
Q hPkA l
kA

=




for a wide, thin fin, the perimeter P can be approximated,
( ) 2 2 P w t w = + =
if the fin is long, i.e. / 1 l t > , we can further simplify in many cases,

2 2
tanh tanh 1
h w h
l l
kwt kt

=



=
giving
0 0
0
.2 . .
2
fin
Q h wk wt
w hkt

=
=


using Newtons law of cooling again, the heat transfer in the absence of the fin is
0 0 no fin
Q hwt =

the fin is therefore useless when
0 0 no fin fin
Q Q , i.e.
0 0
2
2
hwt w hkt
k
h
t



and useful when 2 / h k t <

as we will discuss later, h is increased by increasing the velocity of the air
moving past the fin. Thus, fins are most useful in applications with forced
convection e.g. microprocessors have fans, motorcycles move, etc, etc.

2.4.3 A finite length fin with convection at the tip
the boundary conditions are now

( )
0
at 0
0at
x l
convection
conduction
x
d
kA Ah l x l
dx

=
= =

+ = =


_
_

where the boundary condition at the tip is again an expression for energy
conservation through the tip.

for the differential equation given above,
2
2
2
0
d
m
dx

=
predict a general solution of the form
( ) ( ) ( )
1 2
cosh sinh x C m l x C m l x = +



which, by application of double angle formulae, can be seen to be equivalent to
the previous predicted general solution of:
( )
1 2
mx mx
x C e C e

= +

applying the condition at the fin base,
( ) ( )
0 1 2
cosh sinh C ml C ml = +

and at the tip,
( )
( ) ( ) { }
1
1 2
2
& sinh cosh
x l
x l
l C
d
C m m l x C m m l x
dx
mC

=
=
=

=


=


the boundary condition at the tip is then
2 1
1 2
0
d
k h kC m hC
dx
km
C C
h

+ = + =
=


and the boundary condition at the base is
( ) ( )
0 2 2
cosh sinh
km
C ml C mL
h
= +
from which it follows that
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
0
2
0
1 2
cosh sinh
&
cosh sinh
C
km
mL mL
h
km
C C
h
h
mL mL
km

=
+
= =
+


the temperature along the fin is then
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
0
cosh sinh
cosh sinh
h
m l x m l x
km
h
ml mL
km

+

=
+


and the heat transfer through the base is
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
0
0 0
0
0
sinh cosh
cosh sinh
tanh
1 tanh
x x
dT d
Q kA kA
dx dx
h
ml ml
km
kA m
h
ml ml
km
h
ml
km
kmA
h
ml
km

= =

= =



+

=

+


+

=

+




2.5 Fin effectiveness and fin efficiency
2.5.1 Fin efficiency
the fin efficiency is defined as
0
actual heat transfer by fin
heat transfer by the fin with surface temperature
F

=
the denominator can be seen to be the maximum possible heat transfer because
the temperature difference between the fin and the surroundings is maximised.
From Newtons law of cooling, this term is always equal to
0
hPl

the heat flow through the base (i.e. total heat lost to the environment) of a finite
length fin with no heat loss at the tip was derived earlier,
( )
0 0
tanh Q kA m ml =
giving the fin efficiency:
( )
( )
0
0
tanh
1
tanh
F
kA m ml
hP
ml m
hPl ml kA

= = =
which looks like

analogous cases can be studied for the other cases studied earlier

2.5.2 Fin effectiveness
the fin effectiveness is defined as:

heat flux from wall with fin
heat flux from wall without fin
F
=
for the finite length fin with no heat loss at the tip, the effectiveness is

( )
( )
0
0
tanh
tanh
F
mkA ml
mk
ml
hA h

= =


note how this expression varies with ml differently to
F
above:

this highlights the different physical meanings of
F
and
F
: as the fin becomes
longer, it becomes less efficient but more effective.

1. less efficient because the mean surface temperature decreases with l .
2. more effective because a larger fin dumps more heat from the wall.

2.6 Contact resistance
Heat conduction across the boundary of two joined materials experiences a
thermal contact resistance. Consider the following,



for a steady state problem

( )
( )
1 2
4 3
A
A
B
B
T T
Q k A
l
T T
Q k A
l

=

the resistance is due to the surfaces in contact being rough,

the overall heat transfer is therefore a combination of conduction through both the
points of contact and the air in the voids. The contact region can therefore be
considered as a region of compound thermal resistances,


the overall heat transfer through the contact is then

2 3 2 3
conduction through fluid voids
conduction through contacts
/ 2 / 2
f f
C C
C
A C B C
T T T T
Q k A
l l
l
k A k A

= +
+ _
_



we introduce the thermal contact coefficient
C
h such that
( )
2 3 C
Q h A T T =
equating this with the previous expression gives

( )
1 2
f
C A B
C f
C A B
A
A k k
h k
l A k k A

= +

+


several terms in the above equation, in particular
C
A and
f
A , are difficult to
determine in practice as they usually depend strongly on the surface finish and
microstructure of the material. Thus, an overall contact resistance is often quoted,
without further reference to these microscopic quantities.