College of Engineering and Computer Science

Mechanical Engineering Department

Mechanical Engineering 375
Heat Transfer
Spring 2007 Number 17629 Instructor: Larry Caretto

In-class Exercise Three

1. Steam at 320C flows in a stainless steel pipe (k = 15 W/mC) whose inner and outer
diameters are 5 cm and 5.5 cm, respectively. The pipe is covered with 3-cm-thick glass
wool insulation (k = 0.038 W/mC). Heat is lost to the surroundings at 5C by natural
convection and radiation, with a combined natural convection and radiation heat transfer
coefficient of 15 W/m2C. Taking the heat transfer coefficient inside the pipe to be 80
W/m2C, determine the rate of heat loss from the steam per unit length of the pipe. Also
determine the temperature drops across the pipe shell and the insulation. (Problem 3-72
in text.)

The problem can be modeled

as a thermal circuit where
there are four resistances:
inside convection, conduction
through the pipe wall and the
insulation and the combined convection plus radiation resistance on the outside. The overall heat
transfer is given by the equation.

T1 T 2 T1 T 2
Q
R1 R2 R3 R4 1 1 r 1 r 1
ln o ln ins
hi Di L 2k pipeL ri 2k ins L ro ho Do L

Dividing by L gives the heat transfer per unit length.

Q T1 T 2

L 1 1 r 1 r 1
ln o ln ins
hi Di 2k pipe ri 2k ins ro ho Do

We can calculate the individual resistances (multiplied by L) as follows.

1 m 2 o C 1 1 0.0796 mo C 1 m 2 o C 1 1 0.1845 mo C

hi Di 80 W 0.05 m W ho Do 15 W 0.115 m W

1 r 1 D 1 mo C 5.5 cm 0.1011 mo C
ln o ln o ln
2k pipe ri 2k pipe Di 2 15 W 5 cm 15 W

1 r 1 D 1 mo C 11.5 cm 3.089 mo C
ln ins ln ins ln
2k ins ro 2k ins Do 2 0.038 W 5.5 cm W

Jacaranda (Engineering) 3333 Mail Code Phone: 818.677.6448

E-mail: lcaretto@csun.edu 8348 Fax: 818.677.7062
 Exercise three solutions ME 375, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2007 Page 2

Q 320 o C 5 o C 315 o C 96.9 W

L 0.0796 m C 0.001011 m C 3.089 m C 0.1845 m C 3.354 m C
o o o o o m

W W W W W
The temperature drops across individual resistances are simply found by the Ohms law analogy.

Q
T pipe
L

LR pipe
96.9 W 0.001011 mo C
m W
0.095o C

Q 96.9 W 3.089 mo C
Tins LRins 290 o C
L m W
Almost all of the 315oC temperature drop occurs across the insulation. The resistance of the
steel pipe is negligible.

2. The boiling temperature of nitrogen at atmospheric pressure at sea level (atmospheric

pressure) is 196C. Therefore, nitrogen is commonly
used in low-temperature scientific studies since the
temperature of liquid nitrogen in a tank open to the
atmosphere will remain constant at 196C until it is
depleted. Any heat transfer to the tank will result in the
evaporation of some liquid nitrogen, which has a heat of
vaporization of 198 kJ/kg and a density of 810 kg/m3 at
atmospheric pressure. Consider a 3-m-diameter spherical
tank that is initially filled with liquid nitrogen at
atmospheric pressure and 196C. The tank is exposed to
ambient air at 15C, with a combined convection and
radiation heat transfer coefficient of 35 W/mC. The
temperature of the thin-shelled spherical tank is observed
to be almost the same as the temperature of the nitrogen
inside. Determine the rate of evaporation of the liquid nitrogen in the tank as a result of
the heat transfer from the ambient air if the tank is (a) not insulated, (b) insulated with 5-
cm-thick fiberglass insulation (k = 0.035 W/mC), and (c) insulated with 2-cm-thick
superinsulation which has an effective thermal conductivity of 0.00005 W/mC. (Problem
3-85 in text.)
(a) If the tank is not insulated, and the outer tank temperature is almost the same as that of the
nitrogen, the only resistance is due to the external convection plus radiation.

Q hAT Ts 2 o 41.5 m2 15o C 196 o C 208806 W
35 W
m C

The heat transfer is the product of the evaporation rate and the latent heat of vaporization.

Q 208806 W kJ 1.055 kg
Q m h fg m
h fg 198 kJ 1000 W s s
kg

If the tank is insulated, we have to consider two series

resistances: conduction through the insulation and
convection from the outer surface of the insulation. We
have the following equation for the sphere with heat
 Exercise three solutions ME 375, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2007 Page 3

transfer from the outside into the sphere.

T Ts
Q
T Ts


4 15 o C 196 o C 4233 W
Rins Ro ro ri 1 1.55 m 1.5 m 1

4kri ro ho 4ro2 0.035 W
1.55 m1.5 m 352 W 1.55 m2
m C
o
m Co

As before, we compute the evaporation rate from the heat transfer and the latent heat.

Q 4233 W kJ 0.0214 kg
m
h fg 198 kJ 1000 W s s
kg

If the fiberglass is replaced with the superinsulator, we have the same analysis with different data.

T Ts
Q
T Ts


4 15 o C 196 o C 15.11 W
Rins Ro ro ri 1 1.52 m 1.5 m 1

4kri ro ho 4ro2 0.00005 W
1.52 m1.5 m 352 W 1.52 m2
m C
o
m Co

Q 15.11 W kJ 0.000076 kg
m
h fg 198 kJ 1000 W s s
kg

3. A 10-in-thick, 30-ft-long, and 10-ft-high wall is

to be constructed using 9-in-long solid bricks
(k = 0.40 Btu/hftF) of cross section 7 in by 7
in, or identical size bricks with nine square air
holes (k = 0.015 Btu/hftF) that are 9 in long
and have a cross section of 1.5 in by 1.5 in.
There is a 0.5-in-thick plaster layer (k = 0.10
Btu/hftF) between two adjacent bricks on all
four sides and on both sides of the wall. The
house is maintained at 80F and the ambient
temperature outside is 30F. Taking the heat
transfer coefficients at the inner and outer
surfaces of the wall to be 1.5 Btu/hft2F and
4 Btu/hft2F, respectively, determine the rate
of heat transfer through the wall constructed of
(a) solid bricks and (b) bricks with air holes.
(Problem 3-58E in text.)

In this problem we have a combination of series and parallel resistances. The inner and outer
plaster walls are single resistances. Between these we have two or three resistances. For part
(a) we have resistance of plaster and resistance of the solid brick. For part (b) we have parallel
resistances of plaster, brick, and air. We also have inner and outer convection resistances for
each part. The equivalent thermal circuit when the bricks are solid is shown on the next page.
Here Ri and Ro represent the inside and outside convection resistances; R 1 and R5 are the
resistances of the plaster on the inner and outer sides of the wall. There are three components in
 Exercise three solutions ME 375, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2007 Page 4

the inner part of the wall: R2 is the resistance of a 7.5 in horizontal length of plaster that includes
the square of plaster surrounded by four bricks; R 3 is the resistance of the 7 in vertical length of
plaster and R4 is the resistance of the brick. The typical inner section has an area of
(7.5 in)2/(ft2/144 in2) = 0.3906 ft2.

The inner and outer convection resistances for the area of the typical inner section with an area of
0.3906 ft2 are.

1 h ft 2 o F 1 1.707 ho F 1 h ft 2 o F 1 0.640 ho F
Ri Ro
hi A 15 Btu 0.3906 ft 2 Btu ho A 4 Btu 0.3906 ft 2 Btu

L1 L h ft o F 0.5 in ft 1.0607 h o F
R1 R5 R5 5
k1 A k 5 A 0.10 Btu 0.3906 ft 2 12 in Btu

For the inner, parallel, resistances, the bricks have an area of (7 in)2/(ft2/144 in2) = 0.34036 ft2; the
longer plaster strip has an area of (7.5 in)(0.57in)/(ft2/144 in2) = 0.02604 ft2; the shorter plastic
strip has an area of (7 in)(0.5 in)/(ft2/144 in2) = 0.02431 ft2; the sum of the three areas shown here
do not add to the total area of 0.3906 ft 2 because of rounding. With these areas we can now
compute the values of the inner resistances as follows.

L2 h ft o F 9 in ft 288 h o F
R2
k 2 A2 0.10 Btu 0.02604 ft 2 12 in Btu

L3 h ft o F 9 in ft 309 h o F
R3
k 3 A3 0.10 Btu 0.02431 ft 2 12 in Btu

L4 h ft o F 9 in ft 5.51 h o F
R4
k 4 A4 0.40 Btu 0.34036 ft 2 12 in Btu

The total inner resistance is computed using the formula for parallel resistances.

1 1 5.31 h o F
Rinner
1 1 1 Btu Btu Btu Btu

R2 R3 R3 288 h o F 309 h o F 5.51 h o F

The total resistance is then found as the sum of this resistance plus the other resistances in
series.

1.707 h o F 1.0607 h o F 5.31 h o F 1.0607 h o F 0.640 h o F 9.794 h o F

Rtotal Ri R1 Rinner R5 Ro
Btu Btu Btu Btu Btu Btu
 Exercise three solutions ME 375, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2007 Page 5

So the heat transfer for one section of the wall is

T T 2 80 o F 30 o F 5.105 Btu
Q section 1
Rtotal 9.794 h o F h
Btu

If the heat flux through this typical section applies to the entire wall we have the following result.

5.105 Btu
Q section
Q wall q wall Awall q section Awall Awall h
2
30 ft 10 ft 3921 Btu
Asection 0.3906 ft h

When the bricks have air spaces, the equivalent circuit has an additional resistance for the air.

All the resistances in this case are the same as they were in the previous problem except for the
resistance of the bricks which now has a lower area, and the new resistance of the air gaps. The
area of the air gaps is 9(1.5 in)2/(ft2/144 in2) = 0.140625 ft2. The remaining area of brick is
0.34036 ft2 0.150625 ft2= 0.19965 ft2. Thus, the two new resistances are

L4 h ft o F 9 in ft 9.39 h o F
R4
k 4 A4 0.40 Btu 0.19965 ft 2 12 in Btu

L5 h ft o F 9 in ft 355.6 h o F
R5
k 5 A5 0.015 Btu 0.140625 ft 2 12 in Btu

As before, we compute the total inner resistance and then use that to compute the total
resistance and the heat transfer over the typical section.

1 1 8.62 h o F
Rinner
1 1 1 1 Btu Btu Btu Btu Btu

R2 R3 R4 R5 288 h Fo
309 h F
o
9.39 h Fo
355.6 h o F

1.707 h o F 1.0607 h o F 8.62 h o F 1.0607 h o F 0.640 h o F 13.10 h o F

Rtotal Ri R1 Rinner R5 Ro
Btu Btu Btu Btu Btu Btu

T T 2 80 o F 30 o F 3.817 Btu
Q section 1
Rtotal 13.10 h o F h
Btu
 Exercise three solutions ME 375, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2007 Page 6

We have the previous equation for the assumption that the heat flux through this typical section
applies to the entire wall.

3.817 Btu
Q section
Q wall Awall h
2
30 ft 10 ft 2932 Btu
Asection 0.3906 ft h

4. The roof of a house consists of a 15-cm-

thick concrete slab (k = 2 W/mC) that is
15 m wide and 20 m long. The
convection heat transfer coefficients on
the inner and outer surfaces of the roof
are 5 and 12 W/m2C, respectively. On a
clear winter night, the ambient air is
reported to be at 10C, while the night
sky temperature is 100 K. The air inside
the house and the interior surfaces
(walls and floors) of the house are
maintained at a constant temperature of
20C. The emissivity of both the upper
and lower surfaces of the concrete roof
is 0.9. Considering both radiation and
convection heat transfers, determine the
rate of heat transfer through the roof, and the inner surface temperature of the roof.
(Problem 3-30 in text.)
In this problem we have convection from the inside air at 20 oC (293.15 K)and radiation from the
inside walls, also at 20oC to the roof. This combined inside heat transfer is than transferred
through the roof by conduction and the heat leaving the roof is then transferred by convection to
air at 10oC (283.15 K) and radiation to 100 K. The unknowns in this problem are the inner and
outer surface temperatures of the roof, Ts,i, and Ts,o. Because of the radiation equations we will
use the temperatures in kelvins.
For these calculations we will assume that the radiation heat transfer for both the inside and the
outside of the house can be modeled as a small object in a large enclosure. The area of the roof
is actually (15 m)(20 m) = 300 m2, but it is certainly smaller than the night sky and it is reasonable
to assume that is small compared to the area of all the walls and floors in the house.
The insider heat transfer is

Q A hT ,i Ts ,i T4,i Ts4,i
2 5W
300 m 2 o 293.15 K Ts ,i 0.9 5.670 x10 8 W

293.15 K 4 Ts4,i
m C m K
2 4

This same heat transfer is maintained by conduction through the roof.

kATs,i Ts,o 2 W 300 m 2

Q o
L m C 0.15 m
Finally, this same heat is transferred to the air and sky by convection and radiation.

Q A hTs,o T,i Ts4,oi Tsky
4

Ts,o 283.15 K 0.9 5.6702x10 4 W Ts4,i 100 K 4
8
300 m2 122 W
m C
o
m K
Exercise three solutions ME 375, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2007 Page 7

We now have three equations with two unknown temperatures and an unknown heat flux. We
have to solve by iteration or calculator/computer approach. Using the goal seek tool of Excel, I
found the following results.

Q 3.754 x10 4 W Ts ,i 280.40 K 7.25o C Ts ,o 271.05 K 2.10 o C

Note that the very cold sky temperature leaves the outer wall temperature less than the air
temperature. The convection heat transfer on the outside is actually going into the roof.