Lecture 2

Module 1: Fundamental Concepts

Dr. Sharu B K
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Thermal and Energy Engineering
SMEC
Office: SJT 116 A06
Email: sharu.bk@vit.ac.in
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Module 1 – Fundamental Concepts

 Basic principles of heat conduction, convection and thermal

radiation
 Fundamental laws
 Identification of significant modes of heat transfer in
practical applications

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Modes of Heat Transfer
 Heat can be transferred in three different modes:
 Conduction
 Convection
 Radiation
 All modes of heat transfer require the existence of a temperature
difference
 All modes of heat transfer are from the high-temperature medium
to a lower-temperature one

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Conduction, Convection & Radiation
 Conduction refers to the heat transfer that will occur across a
medium when there is a temperature gradient exists in the
stationary medium, which may be a solid or a fluid
 Conduction is by the mechanism of inter-molecular
interactions
 Conduction needs matter and does not require any bulk
motion of matter
 Convection refers to heat transfer that will occur between a
surface and a moving fluid when they are at different
temperatures
 Convection is by the combined mechanisms of intermolecular
interactions and bulk transport
 Convection needs fluid matter 24
Conduction, Convection & Radiation…contd.

 Radiation heat transfer involves the transfer of heat by

electromagnetic radiation between two surfaces at different
temperatures in the absence of an intervening medium
 All surfaces of finite temperature emit energy in the form of
electromagnetic waves
 Radiation does not need matter

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Conduction
 Conduction may be viewed as the transfer of energy from the
more energetic to the less energetic particles of a substance due
to interactions between the particles.
 Conduction can take place in solids, liquids, or gases

 Net energy transfer

could be due to:
 Collisions
 Diffusion

Association of conduction heat transfer with

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diffusion of energy due to molecular activity
Conduction…contd.
 In gases and liquids, conduction is due to the collisions and
diffusion of the molecules during their random motion
 In solids, it is due to the combination of vibrations of the
molecules in a lattice and the energy transport by free electrons
 NOTE: In an electrical nonconductor, the energy transfer is
exclusively via these lattice waves; in a conductor, it is also due to
the translational motion of the free electrons
 Examples of conduction…?

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Rate equation for conduction: Fourier’s law of heat conduction

 The rate of heat conduction through a plane layer is

proportional to the temperature difference across the
layer and the heat transfer area, but is inversely
proportional to the thickness of the layer.

where the constant of proportionality k is the thermal conductivity of the

material and is a characteristic of the wall material
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 Thermal conductivity is a transport property
 It is a physical property of a substance and characterizes the
ability of a material to conduct heat
 Unit: W/mK

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Fourier’s law of heat conduction…contd.

 In the limiting case of , the equation above reduces to the

differential form

 This equation is known as Fourier’s law of heat

conduction
 Equation was first reported in by J Fourier in
his heat transfer text (The Analytical Theory of
Heat, 1822)

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Fourier’s law of heat conduction…contd.

 is the temperature gradient (i.e. the rate of change of with )

 Temperature gradient is the slope of the temperature curve on a

diagram at location
 Heat is conducted in the direction of decreasing temperature, and
the temperature gradient becomes negative when temperature
decreases with increasing x
 The minus sign is a consequence of the fact that heat is transferred
in the direction of decreasing temperature.
 The heat transfer area A is always normal to the direction of heat
transfer 32
Heat flux
Q
Heat Flux (qx ) = lim
Ax ®0 A
x

 For a one-dimensional plane wall having a

temperature distribution , the rate equation is
expressed as:

 The heat flux, is the heat transfer rate in the x-direction per unit
area perpendicular to the direction of heat transfer, and it is
proportional to the
 The heat rate by conduction, through a plane wall of area is
then the product of the flux and the area, 𝒙 33
Steady state one dimensional heat transfer

 Under the steady state conditions where the temperature

distribution is linear, the temperature gradient may be expressed as

 Corresponding heat flux is:

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Example: 1.1
 The wall of an industrial furnace is constructed from 0.15-m-thick
fireclay brick having a thermal conductivity of 1.7 W/m K.
Measurements made during steady-state operation reveal
temperatures of 1400 and 1150 K at the inner and outer surfaces,
respectively. What is the rate of heat loss through a wall that is
0.5 m × 1.2 m on a side?

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Solution- Example: 1.1
Assumptions:
 Steady-state conditions.
 One-dimensional conduction through the wall.
 Constant thermal conductivity.

Analysis
 Since heat transfer through the wall is by
conduction, the heat flux can be determined
from Fourier’s law

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Solution- Example: 1.1

 The heat flux represents the rate of heat transfer through a section
of unit area, and it is uniform (invariant) across the surface of the
wall.
 The heat loss through the wall of area is then

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