c04.

qxd 3/6/06 10:36 AM Page 209

4.3
The Conduction Shape Factor 209

TABLE 4.1 Conduction shape factors and dimensionless conduction heat rates for selected
systems.
(a) Shape factors [q
Sk(T1  T2)]

System Schematic Restrictions Shape Factor

Case 1 T2
Isothermal sphere buried in z z
D/2 2D
a semi-infinite medium
T1 1  D/4z
D

Case 2 T2
2L
Horizontal isothermal L
D
cylinder of length L buried z cosh1 (2z/D)
in a semi-infinite medium L
D
L 2L
T1 D z
3D/2 ln (4z/D)

Case 3 T2
Vertical cylinder in a
L
D 2L
semi-infinite medium L ln (4L/D)
T1

Case 4 D1
T1 D2
Conduction between two 2L
cylinders of length L in T2 L
D1, D2
infinite medium w L
w cosh1  4w2  D21  D22
2D1D2 
Case 5 ∞ T2 ∞
Horizontal circular cylinder
z
of length L midway between
parallel planes of equal
z T1 D z
D/2 2L
length and infinite width
∞ ∞ L
z ln (8z/D)
T2

T2
Case 6 D
Circular cylinder of length L
w w
D 2L
centered in a square solid of equal length
L
w ln (1.08 w/D)
T1

Case 7 d T1
T2
Eccentric circular D
cylinder of length L
in a cylinder of z 2L
D
d
equal length
L
D cosh 
1
D 2  d 2  4z 2
2Dd 
c04.qxd 3/6/06 10:36 AM Page 210

210 Chapter 4
Two-Dimensional, Steady-State Conduction

TABLE 4.1 Continued

System Schematic Restrictions Shape Factor

L T2
Case 8
D
Conduction through the
edge of adjoining walls D
5L 0.54D
T1
L

Case 9
L L
Conduction through corner of
three walls with a temperature L  length and
0.15L
difference T12 across L width of wall
the walls

D
Case 10 T1
Disk of diameter D and temperature T1
on a semi-infinite medium of thermal
conductivity k and temperature T2 k None 2D
T2

Case 11 L W 2L
w  1.4 0.785 ln (W/w)
Square channel of length L T1
W 2L
T2
w  1.4 0.930 ln (W/w)  0.050
w
W L
W

(b) Dimensionless conduction heat rates [q
q*ss kAs(T1  T2)/Lc; Lc
(As/4)1/2]

System Schematic Active Area, As q*ss

Case 12
Isothermal sphere of diameter D T1 D D2 1
and temperature T1 in an infinite T2
medium of temperature T2
Case 13 T1 D 2 22
Infinitely thin, isothermal disk
2   0.900
of diameter D and temperature T1 D
in an infinite medium of T2
temperature T2
Case 14
Infinitely thin rectangle of L 2wL 0.932
length L, width w, and w
temperature T1 in an T1
infinite medium of T2
temperature T2
Case 15
Cuboid shape of height d D 2D2  4Dd d/D q*ss
with a square footprint of 0.1 0.943
width D and temperature T1 T1 1.0 0.956
in an infinite medium d T2 2.0 0.961
of temperature T2 10 1.111