PROBLEM 3.

3

KNOWN: Desired inner surface temperature of rear window with prescribed inside and outside air
conditions.
FIND: (a) Heater power per unit area required to maintain the desired temperature, and (b) Compute and
plot the electrical power requirement as a function of
,o
T

for the range -30

,o
T

0C with h
o
of 2,
20, 65 and 100 W/m
2
K. Comment on heater operation needs for low h
o
. If h ~V
n
, where V is the
vehicle speed and n is a positive exponent, how does the vehicle speed affect the need for heater
operation?
SCHEMATIC:

ASSUMPTIONS: (1) Steady-state conditions, (2) One-dimensional heat transfer, (3) Uniform heater
flux,
h
q , (4) Constant properties, (5) Negligible radiation effects, (6) Negligible film resistance.

PROPERTIES: Table A-3, Glass (300 K): k =1.4 W/mK.
ANALYSIS: (a) From an energy balance at the inner surface and the thermal circuit, it follows that for a
unit surface area,

,i s,i s,i ,o
h
i o
T T T T
q
1 h L k 1 h

+ =
+


( )
s,i ,o ,i s,i
h
o i
2 2
15 C 10 C
T T T T
25 C 15 C
q
0.004m 1 1
L k 1 h 1 h
1.4W m K
65W m K 10W m K

= =
+
+

o o
o o

( )
2 2
h
q 1370 100 W m 1270W m

= = <
(b) The heater electrical power requirement as a function of the exterior air temperature for different
exterior convection coefficients is shown in the plot. When h
o
=2 W/m
2
K, the heater is unecessary,
since the glass is maintained at 15C by the interior air. If h ~V
n
, we conclude that, with higher vehicle
speeds, the exterior convection will increase, requiring increased heat power to maintain the 15C
condition.
-30 -20 -10 0
Exterior air temperature, Tinfo (C)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
H
e
a
t
e
r

p
o
w
e
r

(
W
/
m
^
2
)
h =20 W/m^2.K
h =65 W/m^2.K
h =100 W/m^2.K

COMMENTS: With
h
q

=0, the inner surface temperature with

,o
T

=-10C would be given by

,i s,i
i
,i ,o i o
T T
1 h 0.10
0.846,
T T 1 h L k 1 h 0.118

= = =
+ +
or
( ) s,i
T 25 C 0.846 35 C 4.6 C = =
o o o
.
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