Basic Heat Transfer Frank Kreith Solar Energy Research Institute and University of Colorado William Z. Black Georgia Institute of Technology For a complete heat-transfer analysis it is necessary to deal with three different mechanisms: conduction, convection, and radiation. The design and analysis of heatexchange and energy-conversion systems requires familiarity with each of these mechanisms of heat transfer, as well as their interactions. In this chapter we will consider the basic principles of heat transfer and some simple applications. In subsequent chapters each heat- transfer mode will be treated in detail. 1-2 CONDUCTION HEAT TRANSFER Conduction is the only heat-transfer mode in opaque solid media. When temperature gradient exists in such a body, heat will be transferred from the higher- to the lower-temperature region. The rate at which heat is transferred by conduction, qj, is proportional to the temperature gradient, aT /dz, times the area through which heat is transferred, 4 [Fig. |-1(@)} oF ar UAE any where T= temperature xedirection of heat flow The actual rate of heat flow depends on the thermal conductivity, k, a physical property of the medium, The rate equation can therefore be quantitatively expressed as an kat (12) Preston of Figure 1-1 (a) Sketch illustrating sign convention for conduction heat flow.ConpucTion Heat TRANSFER 3 ‘The minus sign is a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics, which requires that heat must flow in the direction of lower temperature. ‘The gradient, as shown in Fig. 1-1(b), will be negative if the temperature decreases with increasing values of x. If we designate that heat transferred in the positive direction is to be a positive quantity, the negative sign must be inserted in the right-hand side of Eq. 1-2. Temperature profi Temperature eadent 4 i Figure 1-1 (6) Direction of heat conduction. Equation 1-2 is Fourier’s law of heat conduction and serves to define the thermal conductivity &. If the area is in square meters, the temperature in degrees Kelvin, x in meters, and the rate of heat transfer in watts, k has the units of watts per meter per degree Kelvin (W/m-K). Plane Wall A simple illustration of Fouriet’s law is the case of heat transfer through a plane wall shown in Fig. 1-2. When both surfaces of the wall are at uniform, but different, temperatures heat will flow only in one direction, perpendicular to the wall surfaces. If the thermal conductivity is uniform, integration of Eq. 1-2 gives an Bir) -4(n,-1) ) vwhere L=thickness of wall T,=temperature at left surface (x=0) T,= temperature at right surface (x= L) ‘Fourier was a French mathematician (1768-1830) who made important contributions to the analyte treatment of conduction (se Ref. 1.4 Provcirtss oF HEAT TRANSFER Figure 1-2 Conduction through a plane wall with uniform thermal conductivity Example 1-1. A glass window in a storefront has an area of 12 m? and a thickness of 1 em. The thermal conductivity of the glass is 0.8 W/m-K. On a cold day the outside surface temperature of the glass is 272 K (=1°0)* and the inside surface is at 276 K (3°C), Determine (a) the heat-transfer rate through the glass, and (b) the temperature at a plane midway between the inside and outside glass surfaces. Soltion a. The heat-ransfer rate through the glass is _FACT=T) _ 08x12x4 & L 0.01 b. The temperature of the midplane (7 at L/2) is 274 K, which is the mean of the two surface temperatures because the temperature profile is linear in the glas. For many materials the thermal conductivity is not uniform but varies with temperature. In many cases it is possible to approximate this variation ‘over certain ranges of temperature as a linear function of temperature: A(T) = ke(1+ BT) 4) =3840 W where ky=value of conductivity at reference temperature B=empirically determined constant ‘Temperatures substituted into the Fourier law may be measured in °C or K, because even though the magnitude ofthe two temperature scales differ by 273, the sie ofthe temperature Aifereace isthe same. That it, «temperature gradient of 1° C/m is equal toa temperature sradient of 1 K/m.ConpucTion Hear TRANSFER 5 ‘As shown in more detail in Chapter 2, in such cases integration of Eq. 1-2 gives am Al -1y+ 8(r2-78) (5) an *Acr-7) a8) where ,, is the value of k at the average temperature (T,+ T,)/2. Plane Walls In Series If heat is conducted through several walls in good thermal contact, as for example in the multilayer construction used in most houses, the analysis is only slightly more difficult. In the steady state the rate of heat flow through all the sections must be the same. However, as shown in Fig. 1-3 for a three-layer system, the gradients in the layers are different. The heat-transfer rate can be written for each section and set equal to one another, or a-(4) n-1-(4) n-)-(4) o-m 0- Eliminating the intermediate temperatures 7, and 7; in Eq, 1-7, the rate of — 4 Tenperture pote —— 6g 1 ha Ty Re Ty Re 1% (i), (é), (), Migr 13. Onedimenon! est eondcion tough Sapo wal and el slgheat flow can be written in the form - T,-T, 4° Thay +(E/FA) HLF For a multilayered slab of W layers in perfect thermal contact, the rate of heat flow is (1-8) Tras | TinTias gen Tint 9 Ti Tot (1s) CPN pHa), where 7; is the surface temperature of layer 1 and Ty,, is the surface temperature of layer N. Example 1-2, A furnace wall (see Fig. 1-4) consists of a 1.2-cm-thick stainless steel inner layer covered by a S-em-thick outer layer of asbestos board insulation, The temperature of the inside surface of the stainless steel is 800 K and the outside surface of the asbestos is 350 K. Determine ‘the heat-transfer rate through the furnace wall per unit area and the temperature of the interface between the stainless steel and the asbestos. The thermal conductivities for the steel and the asbestos are, respectively: y=19 W/m-K y= 0.7 W/m-K oa Asbestos 7 = 800k Ty=380 Figure 1-4 Furnace wall for example 1-2. Solution: The heat-transfer rate is T=T 6 Tk At LJ IgA ‘The heat-transfer rate per unit area is u__ N-h 800-350 ta 80-30 __ a A” DJky¥ La] hy ~ 0012 /19%+0.05707 245 W/' ‘The interface temperature, T., is determined from the equation 4 Solving for T, gives 4 (Zt) -t00-6285( 202) «736 K T= ‘The temperature drop across the stainless steel is therefore only about 4 the temperature droo across the asbestos is 446 K.Electric Analog for Conduction This is a convenient starting point to introduce a different viewpoint for the analysis of heat transfer which can be applied to more complex problems and will be followed up in later chapters. The new approach makes use of concepts developed in electric-circuit theory and is often called the analogy between the flow of heat and electricity. If the heat-trans- fer rate is considered to be analogous to the flow of electricity, the ‘combination L/kA is viewed as a resistance, and the temperature dif- ference as analogous to a potential difference, Eq. 1-2 can be written in a form similar to Ohm's law in electric-cireuit theory: ar UR (1-10) where AT=T,~ Ty a thermal potential L Aya zg, 4 thermal resistance ‘The reciprocal of the thermal resistance is referred to as the thermal conductance, and k/L, the thermal conductance per unit area, is called the unit thermal conductance for conduction heat flow. Similarly, Eq. 1-8 can be extended to heat flow through three sections in series, as shown in Fig. 1-4, in the form ar ee 1) UO RFR Re iy where 1-3 CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER ‘When a fluid comes in contact with a solid surface at a different tempera- ture, the resulting thermal-energy-exchange process is called convection ‘eat transfer. This process is a common experience, but a detailed descrip- tion of the mechanism is complicated. In this introductory section we not attempt to cover analytical procedures, but rather concentrate on presenting an overview of the mechanism and present the basic equations that can be used to calculate the rate of convection heat transfer in those subsystems which are important parts of complete heating and cooling systems. There are two kinds of convection processes: natural or free convection and forced convection. In the first type the motive force comes from the density difference in the fluid, which results from its contact with a surface at a different temperature and gives rise to buoyant forces. Typical ‘examples of such free convection are the heat transfer between the wall or the roof of a house on a calm day, the convection in a tank in which a heating coil is immersed, or the heat transfer from the surface of a solar collector when there is no wind blowing.Convection HEAT TRANSFER 15 Forced convection occurs when an outside motive force moves a fluid past a surface at a higher or lower temperature than the fluid, Since the fluid velocity in forced convection is larger than in free convection, more heat can be transferred at a given temperature difference. The price to be paid for this increase in the rate of heat transfer is the work required to move the fluid past the surface. But regardless of whether the convection is, free or forced, the rate of heat transfer, q., can be written in the form of Newton's law of cooling: 42 HA(T,— Tw) (1-16) where unit thermal convective conductance, or average convection heat-transfer coefficient, at fluid-to- solid interface, W/m?-K A=surface area in contact with fluid, m* T, =surface temperature, K Tao temperature of undisturbed fluid far away from heat-transfer surface, K Equation 1-16 serves only as a definition of A. The numerical value of must be determined analytically or experimentally. The SI units for h, are watts per square meter per degree Kelvin and Table 1-2 lists some approximate values of convection-heat-transfer coefficients, including boil- ing and condensation, usually considered to be a part of the area of convection. ‘Table 1-2 Approximate Values of Coavection-Heat-Transfer Coefficients ‘CONVECTION Move AND Fuh (W/m™K) Free convection, air Free convection, water 20-100 Forced convection, air 10-200 Forced convection, water 50-10,000 Boiling water 3,000- 100,000 Condensing water vapor 5,000-—100,000 Example 1-4, Water at 300 K flows over one side of a plate of 1X2 m in area, maintained at 400 K. If the convection-heat-transfer coefficient is 200 W/m*-K, calculate the rate of heat transfer by conveetion from the plate to the water, Solution: Using Eq, 1-16, the rate of heat transfer is 4° A(T, Ty) 200%2 (400 ~300) = 40.000 W Also, convection heat transfer can be ireated within the framework of a thermal resistance network. From Eq. 1-16 the thermal resistance in convection heat transfer is given by 1 R. (1-18) RA and this resistance at a surface to fluid interface can easily be incorporated into a network. For example, the heat transfer from the interior of a room at; through a wall to atmosphere outside at T, is shown in Fig, 1-11. The rate of heat transfer is given by (1-19)