Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 541e546

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Facile prediction of total heat transfer from simple solid bodies

to neighboring fluids: A viable alternative to Gro€ ber charts
Antonio Campo a, *, Jane Y. Chang b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78239, USA
b
Department of Applied Statistics and Operations Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA

h i g h l i g h t s

One-dimensional, unsteady heat conduction in large plate, long cylinder and sphere.

New chart uncovering the ratio between mean temperature and center temperature.

Easy prediction of the total heat transfer in terms of the mean temperature.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In the analysis of unsteady heat conduction for simple solid bodies (large plate, long cylinder and
Received 20 February 2014 sphere), the first Heisler chart provides the dimensionless center temperature varying with the
Accepted 18 September 2014 dimensionless time and parameterized by the Biot number. The second Heisler chart furnishes the ratio
Available online 13 October 2014
between the dimensionless off-center temperatures and the dimensionless center temperature (taken
from the first Heisler chart) varying with the Biot number. A third Gro € ber chart renders the dimen-
Keywords:
sionless total heat transfer in terms of the dimensionless time and the Biot number. The tandem of
Unsteady heat conduction
Heisler/Gro€ ber charts constitutes integral material in the chapter on unsteady heat conduction in most
Simple solid bodies
€ber charts
Heisler/Gro
heat transfer textbooks. The present study addresses a natural interconnection (so far unexplored in the
Mean temperature specialized literature) between the dimensionless mean temperature and the dimensionless center
Total heat transfer temperature (taken from the first Heisler chart) affected by the Biot number. The approach to be pro-
posed in this study is conducive to the construction of a new chart equivalent in format to the second
Heisler chart for the three simple solid bodies, but including only a single curve. Alternatively, each new
chart is channeled through a compact correlation equation whose evaluation is easy. Thermal design
engineers and students enrolled in heat transfer courses will be the beneficiaries of the outcome of this
technical paper.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction From a fundamental framework, the exact analytical solutions of

The accurate analysis of one-dimensional, unsteady heat con-
duction in simple solid bodies (large plate, long cylinder and
sphere) immersed in fluids is of remarkable importance in heat
transfer engineering. Typical industrial examples are: metallurgical
treatment of materials, food processing, nuclear elements, elec-
trical equipment, and electronic components, etc. Owing to this
notoriety, the topic is explained in a chapter on unsteady heat
conduction in heat transfer textbooks (Bejan [1], Incropera and
DeWitt [2], Holman [3], Çengel [4], Kreith et al. [5]).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 210 458 5516; fax: þ1 210 458 6504.
E-mail address: campanto@yahoo.com (A. Campo).
the 1-D heat equation in simple solid bodies (large plate, long
cylinder and sphere) lead to infinite series in Cartesian, circular
cylindrical and spherical coordinates along with their adjoint
transcendental equations for the eigenvalues. The dimensionless
temperature is expressed by a double function of position and time
articulated with the mean convective coefficient. Related infor-
mation is available in heat conduction textbooks (Arpaci [6], Grigull
€ ̧ik [8], Poulikakos, [9]). Undoubtedly, the
and Sandner [7], Ozis
pressing characteristic of those infinite series revolves around the
convergence patterns. On one hand, the infinite series converge
rapidly for long times and one term suffices for good accuracy. In
this regard, the infinite series for simple solid bodies (large plate,
long cylinder and sphere) have been truncated to “one-term” series
accounting for the first Eigen value [6e9]. This simple avenue has

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.09.046
1359-4311/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
542 A. Campo, J.Y. Chang / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 541e546

 2 
given way to the so-called “long-time” solutions that resulted in a
qðR; tÞ ¼ A1 ðl1 Þ$ el1 Fo $f1 ðl1 ; RÞ (1)
practical way for predicting both temperatures and total heat
transfer. Still, usage of the “one-term” series remains convoluted
because the first Eigen value has to be calculated by numerical valid for dimensionless times Fo  0.2. Thereby, the “one-term”
techniques. On the other hand, the infinite series diverge mani- dimensionless center temperatures reduce to
festly for short times and many terms are required for good accu-
2

racy. Obviously, evaluating infinite series with numerous terms is qc ¼ qð0; tÞ ¼ A1 l1 $el1 Fo (2)
tedious, time-consuming and prone to errors, even with pro-
grammable calculators. since the function f1(l1,R)¼1 for the center R ¼ 0. Herein, the Eigen
From a historical standpoint, Grigull et al. [10] were the first constant A1 is a function of the Eigen value l1 and in turn, l1 de-
researchers to compute the spatio-temporal temperatures for pends on the Biot number Bi.
simple solid bodies (large plate, long cylinder and sphere) with Applying the mean value theorem to Eq. (1), the “one-term”
convective boundary conditions in two different ways: one with the dimensionless mean temperatures are written as
complete infinite series and the other with the simplified “one-
2

term” series. These authors concluded that the “one-term” series qm ðtÞ ¼ A1 l1 $el1 Fo $B1 l1 (3)
are accurate for all Biot numbers 0 < Bi  ∞ (in practice
0 < Bi  100) provided that the dimensionless time Fo  Focr (a Here, the constant B1 is a function of the Eigen value l1 and in turn,
critical dimensionless time). In a physical sense, the Biot number l1 depends on the Biot number Bi.
establishes a relation between the internal conductive resistance In Eqs. (1)e(3), the first Eigen value l1 is the positive root of the
within a solid and the external convective resistance at the solid/ transcendental equations
fluid interface. Permitting an absolute error of 1% at the center
temperature, the surface temperatures as well as the total heat Bi cosðl1 Þ  l1 sinðl1 Þ ¼ 0; for the large plate (4a)
transfer in each simple solid body, the threshold values for Focr as
reported in Ref. [10] were: 0.24 for the large plate, 0.21 for the long l1 J1 ðl1 Þ  Bi J0 ðl1 Þ ¼ 0; for the long cylinder (4b)
cylinder and 0.18 for the sphere. For the sake of simplicity, the
arithmetic mean Focr ¼ 0:2 is traditionally adopted in textbooks on
l1 cosðl1 Þ þ ðBi  1Þsinðl1 Þ ¼ 0; for the sphere (4c)
heat transfer [1e5].
In a span of 30 years, the temperatures for simple solid bodies where l1 in each equation depends on Bi.
(large plate, long cylinder and sphere) coming from the simple Next, dividing the “one-term” dimensionless mean tempera-
“one-term” series have been presented in graphical form by several tures in Eq. (3) by the “one-term” dimensionless center tempera-
researchers, beginning with Williamson and Adams [11] in 1919 tures in Eq. (2), supplies the ratio
and ending with Heisler [12] in 1947. The latter created a tandem of
two charts with enhanced accuracy, which eventually became very qm ðtÞ
popular in the heat transfer community. The first Heisler chart ¼ B1 ðl1 Þ (5)
qð0; tÞ
provides the dimensionless center temperature varying with the
dimensionless time, where the Biot number is a parameter. The where l1 depends on Bi only. Thereby, replacing q(0,t) by qc yields
second Heisler chart furnishes the dimensionless off-center tem-
peratures referred to the dimensionless center temperature (taken qm
¼ B1 ðBiÞ (5a)
from the first Heisler chart) varying with the Biot number. More- qc
over, to determine the dimensionless total heat transfer for each
solid body in a given dimensionless time, a chart was developed by for short. Hitherto, the magnitude of qc in Eq. (5a) is obtained from
Gro€ber [13] and presented later in the textbook on heat transfer by the first Heisler chart. The computed ratio qm/qc varying with Bi is
Gro€ber et al. [14]. In each chart, Bi appears as a parameter ranging displayed graphically in Figs. 1e3 for the large plate, the long cyl-
between 0 and 50 embodying a large family of 15 Bi curves. inder and the sphere, respectively.
Overall, the combined Heisler/Gro €ber charts comprise standard
material for the study of unsteady heat conduction in simple solid
bodies in textbooks on heat transfer [1e5]. 2.1. Total heat transfer
Recognizing that the dimensionless mean temperature in sim-
ple solid bodies (large plate, long cylinder and sphere) can be Knowledge of QT, the total heat transfer over a given period of
expressed in terms of the dimensionless center temperature time between a simple solid body (large plate, long cylinder and
(coming from the first Heisler chart), the goal of the present article sphere) and a neighboring fluid is of paramount interest in heat
is to exploit this feature to construct a new chart graphing the ratio transfer engineering.
between the dimensionless mean temperature and the dimen- By way of a global energy balance, QT in a cooling/heating of the
sionless center temperature for the simple solid bodies; the ratio solid body can be estimated between the initial time, t ¼ 0, and a
varies with the Biot number. Following the format of the second certain final time, t ¼ tfin, with the algebraic relation
Heisler chart, the new chart consists of a single curve for the
dimensionless mean temperature on the ordinate. As a conse- QT ¼ mcs ðTin  Tm Þ (6)
quence, the new chart could be viewed as a beneficial alternative to
€ber chart. where Tm stands for the mean temperature at the final time tfin. Let
the Gro
Qmax denote the internal energy of the simple solid body at the
initial time, t ¼ 0 relative to the fluid temperature Tf. In a similar
2. “Long time” temperature solutions
way, the magnitude of Qmax is determined with the algebraic
relation
For simple solid bodies (large plate, long cylinder and sphere),
the dimensionless temperatures q ¼ T Tf/Tin  Tf are expressed  
with the “one-term” series of general form: Qmax ¼ mcs Tin  Tf (7)
 A. Campo, J.Y. Chang / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 541e546 543

Fig. 1. Dimensionless mean-to-center temperature ratios varying with the inverse of the Biot number for a large plate.

Fig. 2. Dimensionless mean-to-center temperature ratios varying with the inverse of the Biot number for a long cylinder.

Fig. 3. Dimensionless mean-to-center temperature ratios varying with the inverse of the Biot number for a sphere.
544 A. Campo, J.Y. Chang / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 541e546

Defining the dimensionless total heat transfer QT/Qmax delivers Tm  Tf 0:705 þ 3:644
Bi
the ratio of temperature differences fm ¼ ¼ (10a)
Tc  Tf 1:705 þ 3:644
Bi
QT T  Tm
¼ in (8) for the large sub-interval 1 < Bi < 100 with a maximum error of
Qmax Tin  Tf
3.27% at Bi ¼ 100. In a similar manner,

after dividing Eq. (6) by Eq. (7). Then, manipulating the partici- Tm  Tf 0:408 þ 3:941
Bi
pating temperatures leads to fm ¼ ¼ (10b)
Tc  Tf 1:408 þ 3:941
Bi
QT T  Tm Tm  Tf
¼ in ¼1 (8a) for the small sub-interval 0.01 < Bi < 1 with a maximum error of
Qmax Tin  Tf Tin  Tf
0.25% at Bi ¼ 0.01.

or analogously 3) Sphere

QT Tm  Tf Tc  Tf
¼1 $ (8b) Tm  Tf 0:375 þ 2:994
Qmax Tc  Tf Tin  Tf fm ¼ ¼ Bi
(11a)
Tc  Tf 1:375 þ 2:994
Bi

The end result in terms of two dimensionless temperatures

for the large sub-interval 1 < Bi < 100 with a maximum error of
becomes
7.81% at Bi ¼ 100. In a similar manner,
QT
¼ 1  fm $qc (8c) Tm  Tf 0:056 þ 3:312
Bi
Qmax fm ¼ ¼ (11b)
Tc  Tf 1:056 þ 3:312
Bi

where qc is evaluated from the first Heisler chart, while fm is

evaluated from the new chart proposed here.
3. Nonlinear regression analysis
In practical engineering calculations, it is obvious that reading
numbers from charts and/or tables is inaccurate, inconvenient and
time consuming because of necessary interpolation. In the specific
case of the Gro € ber charts, the difficulties are more pronounced
because of two factors: 1) the abscissa with the product Bi2Fo has a
logarithmic scale and 2) the 15 Bi curves are unequally spaced. On
the contrary, reading a number from a single curve in a chart should
be accurate, convenient and expeditious.
Recall that in Eq. (5a) related to large plate, long cylinder and
sphere, B1 is a function of l1 and, in turn l1 depends on Bi. Corre-
spondingly, B1 ends up being a function of Bi. Using the format in
the second Heisler chart as a guidance, the three data sets gener-
ated for B1 versus 1/Bi for the large plate, long cylinder and sphere,
have been analyzed with nonlinear regression where Bi spans from
a very low Bi ¼ 0.01 to an extremely high Bi ¼ 100 (resembling
prescribed surface temperature). The outcome of the numerical
calculations with the SAS code [15] delivers the following set of six
correlation equations:
1) Large plate
Tm  Tf 1:704 þ 5:659
Bi
fm ¼ ¼ (9a)
Tc  Tf 2:704 þ 5:659
Bi
for the large sub-interval 1 < Bi < 100 with a maximum error of
0.80% at Bi ¼ 100. In a similar manner,
Tm  Tf 1:357 þ 6:006
Bi
fm ¼ ¼ (9b)
Tc  Tf 2:357 þ 6:006
Bi
for the small sub-interval 0.01 < Bi < 1 with a maximum error of
0.38% at Bi ¼ 1. In retrospect, it is worth realizing that for high
values of Bi > 50 Eqs. (9a), (10a) and (11a) are not needed, because
essentially this upper Bi limit corresponds to a prescribed tem-
perature boundary condition [6e9]. Further, Eqs. (9b), (10b) and
(11b) are strictly valid in smaller sub-intervals, such as
0.1 < Bi < 1 for the large plate, 0.2 < Bi < 1 for the long cylinder and
0.3 < Bi < 1 for the sphere, respectively. The veracity of the state-
ment is tied up to Eqs. (9a), (10a) and (11a), which fall under the
domain of the elementary lumped model [1e5].
At this stage, the reader should notice the striking structure
possessed by the six compact correlation Eqs. (9a)e(11b) developed
here for the three simple solid bodies. That is, in each correlation
equation the magnitude of the denominator is one unit larger than
the magnitude of the numerator. This is indeed a beneficial feature
because evaluation of the target quantity, the mean temperature Tm
in terms of Bi, can be carried out quickly with a calculator. Subse-
quently, the total heat transfer taking place between a simple solid
body and an adjacent fluid in a fixed time can be evaluated in Eq. (8)
easily.
4. Practical example
Cooling of a long cylindrical shaft (Example 4e5, pages 247e248
in Çengel [4]).
A long 20-cm-diameter cylindrical shaft made of stainless steel
304 comes out of an oven at a uniform temperature of 600  C. The
cylindrical shaft is then allowed to cool slowly in an environmental
chamber at 200  C with an average convection coefficient of 80 W/
m  C. Determine a) the temperature at the center of the cylindrical
shaft 45 min after the start of the cooling and b) the total heat
transfer per unit length of the cylindrical shaft during the time
period.
4.1. Solution

for the small sub-interval 0.01 < Bi < 1 with a maximum error of Properties: The properties of stainless steel 304 at room tem-
0.17% at Bi ¼ 0.01. perature are ks ¼ 14.9 W/m K, rs ¼ 7900 kg/m3, cs ¼ 477 J/kg  C and
as ¼ 3.95  105 m2/s. More accurate results can be obtained by
2) Long cylinder using properties at an average film temperature of 400  C.
 A. Campo, J.Y. Chang / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 541e546 545

Analysis: The temperatures within the cylindrical shaft at a T0 ¼ T∞ þ ðTi  T∞ Þ ¼ 364+ C

specified location and given time can be determined from the
appropriate Heisler charts. For l1 ¼ 0.979, the value of J1(l1) is obtained from Tables 4e3 in
The Biot number is Ref. [4] to be 0.430. Then, the dimensionless total heat transfer is
calculated from Eqs. 4e34 in Ref. [4], providing
1 k
¼ ¼ 1:86 QT J ðl Þ
Bi hr0 ¼ 1  2q0 1 1 ¼ 0:636
Qmax l1
and the Fourier number is Finally, the total heat transfer is
t
t ¼ 2  ¼ 1:07 QT ¼ 0:636 Qmax ¼ 30; 120 kJ
r0 a
Discussion: The slight difference between the two QT results is
Using the first Heisler chart for a long cylinder (Figs. 4e14a on €ber charts; that differ-
due to the reading error in the Heisler/Gro
page 237 in Ref. [4]), we obtain the dimensionless center ence corresponds to a small 2.52% relative error.
temperature
4.3. Second alternate solution
T0  T∞
q0 ¼ ¼ 0:40
Ti  T∞
From the first Heisler chart for a long cylinder (Figs. 4e14a on
page 237 in Ref. [4]), we read the center temperature T0 ¼ 360 C
so that the center temperature is
The second part of the problem could be solved utilizing the
T0 ¼ T∞ þ ðTi  T∞ Þ ¼ 360+ C compact correlation equations developed in the present paper.
Accordingly, the dimensionless mean temperature in the long cyl-
In other words, the center temperature T0 in the cylindrical shaft inder is calculated from Eq. (10b)
drops from the initial temperature of 600  C to the final tempera-
ture of 360  C in 45 min. Tm  T∞ 0:408 þ 3:941
Bi
To determine the total heat transfer QT from the cylindrical fm ¼ ¼ (10b)
To  T∞ 1:408 þ 3:941
shaft, we first need to calculate the maximum heat Qmax that can be Bi

transferred, which is the sensible energy relative to the fluid. Taking Introducing Bi ¼ 0.537 in this equation provides
L ¼ 1 m, the mass of the shaft is
Tm  T∞
¼ 0:886
m ¼ rV ¼ rpr02 L ¼ 248:2 kg T0  T∞

and the maximum heat transfer amounts to and from here, the mean temperature is

Qmax ¼ m cp ðT∞  Ti Þ ¼ 47; 350 kJ Tm ¼ T∞ þ 0:886ðT0  T∞ Þ ¼ 200 þ 0:886ð360  200Þ

The dimensionless heat transfer ratio is determined from the ¼ 341:76+ C

Gro€ber chart for a long cylinder (Figs. 4e14c on page 237 in Ref. [4])
Next, the dimensionless heat transfer obtained from Eq. (8) re-
to be sults in

Bi ¼ 0:537 Q QT Tm  T∞ 341:76  200
/ ¼ 0:62 ¼1 ¼1 ¼ 0:646
Bi2 t ¼ 0:309 Qmax (8b)
Qmax Ti  T∞ 600  200
Therefore, At the end, the total heat transfer gives
QT ¼ 0:62 Qmax ¼ 29; 360 kJ QT ¼ 0:646 Qmax ¼ 30; 588 kJ
is the total heat transfer during the first 45 min of cooling. Discussion: The relative error that results between the approx-
imate QT estimate and the exact QT value is a scanty 1.55%.

4.2. First alternate solution 5. Conclusions

Instead of reading numbers from the combined Heisler/Gro €ber Numerical evaluations of the dimensionless total heat transfer
charts, the problem could be solved using the “one-term” series. in simple solid bodies (large plate, long cylinder and sphere) for a
First, the Eigen value l1 and the Eigen coefficient A1 for the long given dimensionless time have been traditionally done with the
cylinder corresponding to Bi ¼ 0.537 are obtained from Tables 4e2 Gro€ ber charts developed in 1926; each Gro € ber chart contains a
in Ref. [4] to be large family of 15 unequally curves for the Biot number covering the
interval: 0.001 < Bi < 50.
l1 ¼ 0:979 and A1 ¼ 1:122 The main conclusion that can be drawn from this work is that
Substituting the two numbers into Eqs. (4)e(27) gives the the family of 15 curves forming each Gro €ber chart for the simple
dimensionless center temperature solid bodies can be replaced by a new chart having a single curve
linking the dimensionless mean temperature to the dimensionless
T0  T∞ 2 center temperature for all Biot numbers inside a large Bi interval
q0 ¼ ¼ A1 el1 t ¼ 0:41
Ti  T∞ 0.01 < Bi < 100. Surprisingly, the proposed new chart has been
inexistent so far in the vast literature on unsteady heat conduction.
and from here, the center temperature becomes Conjointly, numerical evaluations for the mean temperature might
546 A. Campo, J.Y. Chang / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 541e546

be expedited using the six compact correlation Eqs. (9)e(11), which Tm mean temperature,  C
exhibit high fidelity. The two computational avenues are highly V volume, m3
convenient because both facilitate accurate estimates of the
dimensionless total heat transfer for simple solid bodies in a
Greek letters
prompt manner. Undoubtedly, instructors and students of heat
as thermal diffusivity of solid, ks =rs cs , m2/s
transfer courses, as well as practicing thermal engineers may be
l1 first Eigen value
able to employ the findings in this technical article.
q dimensionless temperature, TTf/TinTf
rs density of solid, kg/m3
Nomenclature
t dimensionless time or Fourier number, t/ R2/as
f dimensionless temperature, T Tf/Tc  Tf
A surface area, m2
A1 first Eigen constant
Bi Biot number, hR=ks References
B1 function of Bi in Eq. (5a)
[1] A. Bejan, Heat Transfer, Wiley, New York, 1993.
c geometric parameter: 1 for large plate, 2 for long cylinder
[2] F.P. Incropera, D.P. DeWitt, Introduction to Heat Transfer, fourth ed., Wiley,
and 3 for sphere New York, 2001.
cs specific heat capacity of solid, J/kg C [3] J.P. Holman, Heat Transfer, ninth ed., McGraweHill, New York, 2002.
Fo dimensionless time or Fourier number, t/ R2/as [4] Y.A. Çengel, Heat and Mass Transfer: A Practical Approach, third ed.,
McGraweHill, New York, 2007.
h mean convective coefficient, W/m2  C [5] F. Kreith, R.M. Manglik, M.S. Bohn, Principles of Heat Transfer, seventh ed.,
ks thermal conductivity of solid, W/m  C Cengage Learning, Stamford, CT, 2011.
[6] V. Arpaci, Conduction Heat Transfer, AddisoneWesley, Reading, MA, 1966.
m mass of solid, kg [7] U. Grigull, H. Sandner, Heat Conduction, Hemisphere, New York, 1984.
Qmax initial internal energy in Eq. (7), W € ̧ik, Heat Conduction, second ed., Wiley, New York, 1993.
[8] M.N. Ozis
QT total heat transfer in Eq. (6), W [9] D. Poulikakos, Conduction Heat Transfer, PrenticeeHall, Upper Saddle River,
NJ, 1993.
r coordinate, m [10] U. Grigull, J. Bach, H. Sandner, N€ €sungen der nichtstanionaren
aherungslo
R characteristic length: semi-thickness of large plate, radius Wa €rmeleitung, Forsch. Ingenieurwes. 32 (1966) 11e18.
of long cylinder, radius of sphere, m [11] E. Williamson, L. Adams, Temperature distribution in solids during heating or
cooling, Phys. Rev. 14 (1919) 99e114.
t time, s
[12] M.P. Heisler, Temperature charts for induction and constant temperature
tfin final time, s heating, Trans. ASME 69 (1947) 227e236.
T temperature, T(r, t),  C [13] H. Gro € ber, Einführung in die Lehre von der W€ armeübertragung, Springer,
Tc center temperature, T(0, t),  C Berlin, 1926.
[14] H. Gro €ber, S. Erk, G. Grigull, Fundamentals of Heat Transfer, McGraweHill,
Tf fluid temperature,  C New York, 1961.
Tin initial temperature,  C [15] SAS Procedures Guide, Version 6, third ed., SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC, 1990.