Heat Transfer I: Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)
Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course Syllabus
 Introduction: Basic modes of heat transfer; Thermal
properties of materials.
 Conduction: Law of conduction, Heat conduction equations

of one, two and three dimensions; Solution of steady one
dimensional heat flow without & with heat generation; Steady
two dimensional heat flow with and without heat generation
and with simple boundary conditions, Consideration of
variable thermal conductivity; Composite walls, fins of
uniform cross-sections, critical thickness and insulation;
 Unsteady heat conduction (Transient & Periodic):

Analytical solution; Numerical solution; Relaxation method,
emphasis on negligible thermal resistance; cases with practical
exercise; Use of Heisler’s chart.
Text books
 Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer
by Frank P. Incropera and David P. DeWitt
 Heat and Mass Transfer: Fundamentals
and Applications
by Yunus Cengel , Afshin Ghajar
 Heat Transfer
by Jack P. Holman
 Heat Transfer: A Basic Approach
by M. Necati. Ozisik
Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
 Heat: The form of energy that can be transferred from one
system to another as a result of temperature difference.
 Thermodynamics is concerned with the amount of heat
transfer as a system undergoes a process from one
equilibrium state to another.
 Heat Transfer deals with the determination of the rates of
such energy transfers as well as variation of temperature.
 The transfer of energy as heat is always from the higher-
temperature medium to the lower-temperature one.
 Heat transfer stops when the two mediums reach the same
temperature.
Thermodynamics tells us -
How much heat (dQ) is transferred
How much work (dW) is done
Final state of the system
Heat transfer tells us –

How (with what modes) heat (dQ) is transferred
At what rate heat (dQ) is transferred
Temperature distribution inside the body
Application Areas of Heat Transfer
Historical • Kinetic theory: Treats molecules
Background as tiny balls that are in motion
and thus possess kinetic energy.
• Heat: The energy associated
with the random motion of
atoms and molecules.
• Caloric theory: Heat is a
fluidlike substance called the
caloric that is a massless,
colorless, odorless, and tasteless
substance that can be poured
from one body into another
• It was only in the middle of the nineteenth century that we had a true physical
understanding of the nature of heat. Careful experiments of the Englishman
James P. Joule published in 1843 convinced the skeptics that heat was not a
substance after all, and thus put the caloric theory to rest.
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.
Different modes of heat transfer
• Conduction is the transfer of energy from the more
energetic particles of a substance to the adjacent less
energetic ones as a result of interactions between the
particles.
• Convection is the mode of

energy transfer between a solid
surface and the adjacent liquid
or gas that is in motion, and it
involves the combined effects
of conduction and fluid motion.
• Radiation is the energy emitted by matter in the form
of electromagnetic waves (or photons) as a result of
the changes in the electronic configurations of the
atoms or molecules.
• Unlike conduction and convection, the transfer of
heat by radiation does not require the presence of an
intervening medium.
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)

Professor
CONDUCTION HEAT TRANSFER
When a temperature gradient exists in a body, experience has
shown that there is an energy transfer from the high-temperature
region to the low-temperature region. Thus we conclude that
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.
That is,
(Area)(Tem perature difference )
Rate of heat conduction 
Thickness
Or,
the constant of proportionality k is the thermal conductivity of

the material, which is a measure of the ability of a material to
conduct heat.
The above equation is called Fourier’s law of heat conduction

after the French mathematical physicist Joseph Fourier, who
expressed it first in his heat transfer text in 1822
and made very significant contributions to the analytical
treatment of conduction heat transfer.
Thermal Conductivity
• Fourier’s law of heat conduction for the rate of

conduction heat transfer under steady conditions can
also be viewed as the defining equation for thermal
conductivity.
• Thus the thermal conductivity of a material can be
defined as the rate of heat transfer through a unit
thickness of the material per unit area per unit
temperature difference.
• The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of
the ability of the material to conduct heat.
Thermal Conductivity
Thermal
Conductivity
Thermal Diffusivity
The product ρcp which is frequently encountered in heat
transfer analysis, is called the heat capacity of a
material. Both the specific heat cp and the heat capacity
ρcp represent the heat storage capability of a material.
Another material property that appears in the transient
heat conduction analysis is the thermal diffusivity,
which represents how fast heat diffuses through a
material and is defined as
Thermal Diffusivity
We consider the general case where the
temperature may be changing with time
and heat sources may be present within
the body. For the element of thickness
dx, the following energy balance may be
made:
Energy conducted in left face + heat

generated within element = change in
internal energy + energy conducted out
right face Figure: Elemental volume for
one-dimensional heat
conduction analysis.
These energy quantities are given as follows:
Energy in left face =
Energy generated within element = qA dx
Change in internal energy =
Energy out right face

• Combining the relations above gives
Or,
This is the one-dimensional heat-conduction equation.

To treat more than one-dimensional

heat flow, we need consider only the
heat conducted in and out of a unit
volume in all three coordinate
directions, as shown in the figure.
The energy balance yields

And the energy quantities are given by ,
So that the general three-dimensional heat-conduction
equation is,
For constant thermal conductivity, the above equation is

written
where the quantity α = k/ρc is called the thermal

diffusivity of the material.
• Cylindrical coordinates:
• Spherical coordinates:
• Steady-state one-dimensional heat flow (no heat
generation):
• Steady-state one-dimensional heat flow in

cylindrical coordinates (no heat generation):
• Steady-state one-dimensional heat flow with heat

sources:
• Two-dimensional steady-state conduction without

heat sources:
BOUNDARY AND INITIAL
CONDITIONS
The description of a heat transfer problem in a medium is not
complete without a full description of the thermal conditions at
the bounding surfaces of the medium.
Boundary conditions: The mathematical expressions of the
thermal conditions at the boundaries.
The temperature at any point on the wall at a specified time
depends on the condition of the geometry at the beginning of the
heat conduction process.
Such a condition, which is usually specified at time t = 0, is called
the initial condition, which is a mathematical expression for the
temperature distribution of the medium initially.
CONDITIONS
CONDITIONS
• Specified Temperature Boundary Condition

• Specified Heat Flux Boundary Condition
• Convection Boundary Condition
• Radiation Boundary Condition
• Interface Boundary Conditions
• Generalized Boundary Conditions
Specified Temperature Boundary
Condition ( B. C. First kind)
• The temperature of an exposed surface can usually be
measured directly and easily.
• Therefore, one of the easiest ways to specify the thermal
conditions on a surface is to specify the temperature.
• For one-dimensional heat transfer through a plane wall of
thickness L, for example, the specified temperature boundary
conditions can be expressed as
where T1 and T2 are the specified temperatures at surfaces at x = 0

and x = L, respectively.
The specified temperatures can be constant, which is the case for
steady heat conduction, or may vary with time.
Specified Temperature Boundary
Condition ( B. C. First kind)
When the value of temperature
is prescribed at the boundary
surface, the boundary
condition is said to be of the
first kind.
Similar consideration are

applicable for boundary
condition at the surface of a
cylinder and sphere.
Specified Heat Flux Boundary Condition
( B. C. Second kind)
The heat flux in the positive
x-direction anywhere in the
medium, including the
boundaries, can be expressed
by
Specified Heat Flux Boundary Condition
( B. C. Second kind)
For a plate of thickness L subjected to heat flux of 50
W/m2 into the medium from both sides, for example, the
specified heat flux boundary conditions can be
expressed as
When the heat flux is prescribed at a boundary surface,

the boundary condition is said to be of the second kind.
Special Case: Insulated Boundary
A well-insulated surface can be modeled
as a surface with a specified heat flux of
zero. Then the boundary condition on a
perfectly insulated surface (at x = 0, for
example) can be expressed as
On an insulated surface, the first

derivative of temperature with respect to
the space variable (the temperature
gradient) in the direction normal to the
insulated surface is zero.
Another Special Case: Thermal
Symmetry
Some heat transfer problems possess
thermal symmetry as a result of the
symmetry in imposed thermal
conditions.
For example, the two surfaces of a
large hot plate of thickness L
suspended vertically in air is
subjected to the same thermal
conditions, and thus the temperature
distribution in one half of the plate is
the same as that in the other half.
Another Special Case: Thermal
Symmetry
That is, the heat transfer problem in this plate possesses thermal
symmetry about the center plane at x = L/2.
Therefore, the center plane can be viewed as an insulated surface,
and the thermal condition at this plane of symmetry can be
expressed as
which resembles the insulation or zero heat flux boundary

condition.
In the case of cylindrical (or spherical) bodies having thermal
symmetry about the center line (or midpoint), the thermal
symmetry boundary condition requires that the first derivative of
temperature with respect to r (the radial variable) be zero at the
centerline (or the midpoint).
Convection Boundary Condition ( B. C.
Third kind)
The convection boundary condition is based on a
surface energy balance expressed as
For one-dimensional heat transfer in the x-direction in a

plate of thickness L, the convection boundary conditions
on both surfaces can be expressed as
and
Convection Boundary Condition ( B. C.
Third kind)
Radiation Boundary Condition
Radiation boundary condition
on a surface:
For one-dimensional heat transfer

in the x-direction in a plate of
thickness L, the radiation boundary
conditions on both surfaces can be
expressed as
Interface Boundary Conditions
The boundary conditions at an
interface are based on the
requirements that
(1) two bodies in contact must have
the same temperature at the area of
contact and
(2) an interface (which is a surface)
cannot store any energy, and thus the
heat flux on the two sides of an
interface must be the same.
The boundary conditions at the
interface of two bodies A and B in
perfect contact at x = x0 can be
expressed as
Generalized Boundary Conditions
In general, however, a surface may involve convection,

radiation, and specified heat flux simultaneously.
The boundary condition in such cases is again obtained
from a surface energy balance, expressed as
Problem No.: 3.2
Problem No.: 3.3
PROBLEMS
3.
PROBLEMS
4.
PROBLEMS
5.
PROBLEMS
6.
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)

Professor
STEADY HEAT CONDUCTION IN PLANE WALLS
• Heat transfer through the wall of a house can be
modeled as steady and one-dimensional.
• The temperature of the wall in this case depends
on one direction only (say the x-direction) and
can be expressed as T(x).
for steady operation
• In steady operation, the rate of heat transfer

through the wall is constant.
Fourier’s law of
heat conduction
STEADY HEAT CONDUCTION IN PLANE
WALLS
The rate of heat conduction through a plane wall is

proportional to the average thermal conductivity, the
wall area, and the temperature difference, but is
inversely proportional to the wall thickness.
Once the rate of heat conduction is available, the
temperature T(x) at any location x can be determined by
replacing T2 by T, and L by x.
Thermal Resistance Concept
Conduction resistance of the wall:

Thermal resistance of the wall
against heat conduction.
Thermal resistance of a medium Analogy between thermal and electrical
depends on the geometry and the resistance concepts.
thermal properties of the medium.
rate of heat transfer  electric current
thermal resistance  electrical resistance
Electrical resistance temperature difference  voltage difference
4
Newton’s law of cooling
Convection resistance of the surface:

Thermal resistance of the surface
against heat convection.
Schematic for convection resistance at a surface.
When the convection heat transfer coefficient is very large (h → ),

the convection resistance becomes zero and Ts  T.
That is, the surface offers no resistance to convection, and thus it
does not slow down the heat transfer process.
This situation is approached in practice at surfaces where boiling
and condensation occur.
5
Radiation resistance of the surface:
Thermal resistance of the surface
against radiation.
Radiation heat transfer coefficient
Combined heat transfer

coefficient
Schematic for
convection and radiation
resistances at a surface. 6
Thermal Resistance Network
The thermal resistance network for heat transfer through a plane wall subjected to
convection on both sides, and the electrical analogy.
7
Temperature drop
U overall heat
transfer coefficient
Once Q is evaluated, the

surface temperature T1 can
be determined from
The temperature drop across a layer is

proportional to its thermal resistance.
8
Multilayer
Plane
Walls
The thermal resistance
network for heat transfer
through a two-layer plane
wall subjected to
convection on both sides.
9
10
THERMAL CONTACT RESISTANCE
Temperature distribution and heat flow lines along two solid plates
pressed against each other for the case of perfect and imperfect contact. 11
• When two such surfaces are
pressed against each other,
the peaks form good material
contact but the valleys form
voids filled with air.
• These numerous air gaps of
varying sizes act as
insulation because of the low
thermal conductivity of air.
• Thus, an interface offers
some resistance to heat
transfer, and this resistance
per unit interface area is
called the thermal contact
resistance, Rc.
A typical experimental setup for the
determination of thermal contact resistance
12
The value of thermal
contact resistance
hc thermal contact depends on:
conductance • surface roughness,
• material properties,
• temperature and
pressure at the
interface
• type of fluid trapped
at the interface.
Thermal contact resistance is significant and can even dominate the

heat transfer for good heat conductors such as metals, but can be
disregarded for poor heat conductors such as insulations.
13
The thermal contact resistance can be
minimized by applying
• a thermal grease such as silicon oil
• a better conducting gas such as
helium or hydrogen
• a soft metallic foil such as tin, silver, Effect of metallic coatings on
copper, nickel, or aluminum thermal contact conductance 14
The thermal contact conductance is highest (and thus the contact
resistance is lowest) for soft metals with smooth surfaces at high pressure.
15
GENERALIZED THERMAL RESISTANCE NETWORKS
Thermal
resistance
network for two
parallel layers. 16
Two assumptions in solving complex
multidimensional heat transfer
problems by treating them as one-
dimensional using the thermal
resistance network are
(1) any plane wall normal to the x-axis is
isothermal (i.e., to assume the
temperature to vary in the x-direction
only)
(2) any plane parallel to the x-axis is
adiabatic (i.e., to assume heat transfer Thermal resistance network for
to occur in the x-direction only) combined series-parallel
Do they give the same result? arrangement. 17
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)

Professor
HEAT CONDUCTION IN CYLINDERS AND SPHERES
Heat transfer through the pipe
can be modeled as steady
and one-dimensional.
The temperature of the pipe
depends on one direction only
(the radial r-direction) and can
be expressed as T = T(r).
The temperature is
independent of the azimuthal
angle or the axial distance.
This situation is approximated
in practice in long cylindrical
Heat is lost from a hot-water pipe to
pipes and spherical
the air outside in the radial direction,
containers.
and thus heat transfer from a long
pipe is one-dimensional.
2
A long cylindrical pipe (or spherical
shell) with specified inner and outer
surface temperatures T1 and T2.
Conduction resistance of the cylinder layer

3
A spherical shell
with specified
inner and outer
surface
temperatures T1
and T2.
Conduction resistance of the spherical layer

4
for a cylindrical layer
for a spherical layer

network for a cylindrical (or
spherical) shell subjected
to convection from both the
inner and the outer sides.
5
Multilayered Cylinders and Spheres:

network for heat transfer
through a three-layered
composite cylinder subjected
to convection on both sides.
6
Once heat transfer rate Q has been
calculated, the interface temperature
T2 can be determined from any of the
following two relations:
7
CRITICAL RADIUS OF INSULATION
Adding more insulation to a wall or
to the attic always decreases heat
transfer since the heat transfer area
is constant, and adding insulation
always increases the thermal
resistance of the wall without
increasing the convection resistance.
In a cylindrical pipe or a spherical
shell, the additional insulation
increases the conduction resistance
of the insulation layer but decreases An insulated cylindrical pipe exposed to
the convection resistance of the convection from the outer surface and the
surface because of the increase in thermal resistance network associated with
the outer surface area for convection. it.
The heat transfer from the pipe may
increase or decrease, depending on
which effect dominates.
8
The critical radius of insulation for
a cylindrical body:
The critical radius of insulation

for a spherical shell:
The largest value of the critical

radius we are likely to encounter
is
We can insulate hot-water or steam

pipes freely without worrying about The variation of heat transfer rate
the possibility of increasing the heat with the outer radius of the
transfer by insulating the pipes. insulation r2 when r1 < rcr.
9
Problem No.: 3.4
Problem No.: 3.5
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)
Professor
Heat Transfer from Extended Surfaces
The term extended surface is an important special
case involving heat transfer by conduction within a
solid and heat transfer by convection (and/or
radiation) from the boundaries of the solid.
Heat Transfer from Extended Surfaces
Although there are many different situations that involve
such combined conduction–convection effects, the most
frequent application is one in which an extended surface is
used specifically to enhance heat transfer between a solid
and an adjoining fluid. Such an extended surface is termed
a fin.
HEAT TRANSFER FROM FINNED SURFACES
Newton’s law of cooling: The rate of heat
transfer from a surface to the surrounding
medium
When Ts and T are fixed, two ways to increase the rate of heat transfer are
• To increase the convection heat transfer coefficient h. The convection
coefficient h could be increased by increasing the fluid velocity. This
may require the installation of a pump or fan, or replacing the existing
one with a larger one, but this approach may or may not be practical.
Besides, it may not be adequate.
• To increase the surface area As by attaching to the surface extended
surfaces called fins made of highly conductive materials such as
aluminum.
Or,
• To reduce the fluid temperature T, but this is often impractical.
The thin
plate fins of
a car
radiator
greatly
increase the
rate of heat
transfer to
the air.
Fin Equation
Differential
Volume element of a fin at location x having equation
a length of x, cross-sectional area of Ac, and Temperature
perimeter of p. excess
The general solution of the
differential equation
Boundary condition at fin base
1. Infinitely Long Fin

(Tfin tip = T):
Boundary condition at fin tip
The variation of temperature along the fin
The steady rate of heat transfer from the entire fin

Under steady conditions, heat transfer
from the exposed surfaces of the fin is
equal to heat conduction to the fin at the
base.
The rate of heat transfer from the fin could also be
determined by considering heat transfer from a
differential volume element of the fin and integrating
it over the entire surface of the fin:
A long circular fin of uniform

cross section and the variation of
temperature along it.
2. Negligible Heat Loss from the Fin Tip
(Adiabatic fin tip, Qfin tip = 0):
Fins are not likely to be so long that their temperature approaches the
surrounding temperature at the tip. A more realistic assumption is for heat
transfer from the fin tip to be negligible since the surface area of the fin tip is
usually a negligible fraction of the total fin area.
Boundary condition at fin tip
The variation of temperature along the fin
Heat transfer from the entire fin

3. Specified Temperature (Tfin,tip = TL):
In this case the temperature at the end of the fin (the fin tip) is fixed at a
specified temperature TL.
This case could be considered as a generalization of the case of Infinitely
Long Fin where the fin tip temperature was fixed at T.
4. Convection from Fin Tip:
The fin tips, in practice, are exposed to the surroundings, and thus the proper
boundary condition for the fin tip is convection that may also include the effects
of radiation. Consider the case of convection only at the tip. The condition
at the fin tip can be obtained from an energy balance at the fin tip.
A practical way of accounting for the heat
loss from the fin tip is to replace the fin
length L in the relation for the insulated
tip case by a corrected length defined as
t the thickness of the rectangular fins

D the diameter of the cylindrical fins
Corrected fin length Lc is defined such that
heat transfer from a fin of length Lc with
insulated tip is equal to heat transfer from the
actual fin of length L with convection at the
fin tip.
Fin Efficiency
Zero thermal resistance or infinite
thermal conductivity (Tfin = Tb)
Efficiency of straight fins of rectangular, triangular, and parabolic profiles.
Efficiency of annular fins of constant thickness t.
• Fins with triangular and parabolic profiles contain less material
and are more efficient than the ones with rectangular profiles.
• The fin efficiency decreases with increasing fin length. Why?
• How to choose fin length? Increasing the length of the fin
beyond a certain value cannot be justified unless the added
benefits outweigh the added cost.
• Fin lengths that cause the fin efficiency to drop below 60 percent
usually cannot be justified economically.
• The efficiency of most fins used in practice is above 90 percent.
Fin
Effectiveness
The
effectiveness
of a fin
• The thermal conductivity k of the fin

should be as high as possible. Use
aluminum, copper, iron.
• The ratio of the perimeter to the cross-
sectional area of the fin p/Ac should be
as high as possible. Use slender pin fins.
• Low convection heat transfer coefficient
h. Place fins on gas (air) side.
The total rate of heat transfer from a
finned surface
Overall effectiveness for a finned surface
The overall fin effectiveness depends

on the fin density (number of fins per
unit length) as well as the
effectiveness of the individual fins.
The overall effectiveness is a better
measure of the performance of a Various surface areas associated
finned surface than the effectiveness with a rectangular surface with
of the individual fins. three fins.
Proper Length of a Fin
mL = 5  an infinitely long fin

mL = 1 offer a good compromise
between heat transfer
Because of the gradual temperature drop
performance and the fin size.
along the fin, the region near the fin tip makes
little or no contribution to heat transfer.
A common approximation used in the analysis of fins is to assume the fin
temperature to vary in one direction only (along the fin length) and the
temperature variation along other directions is negligible.
Perhaps you are wondering if this one-dimensional approximation is a
reasonable one.
This is certainly the case for fins made of thin metal sheets such as the fins
on a car radiator, but we wouldn’t be so sure for fins made of thick
materials.
Studies have shown that the error involved in one-dimensional fin analysis
is negligible (less than about 1 percent) when
where  is the characteristic thickness of the fin, which is taken to

be the plate thickness t for rectangular fins and the diameter D for
cylindrical ones.
• Heat sinks: Specially
designed finned surfaces
which are commonly used in
the cooling of electronic
equipment, and involve one-
of-a-kind complex
geometries.
• The heat transfer
performance of heat sinks is
usually expressed in terms of
their thermal resistances R.
• A small value of thermal
resistance indicates a small
temperature drop across the
heat sink, and thus a high fin
efficiency.
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)
Professor
Conduction with thermal energy generation
• A number of interesting applications of the
principles of heat transfer are concerned with
systems in which heat may be generated internally.
• Nuclear reactors are one example; electrical

conductors and chemically reacting systems are
others.
• At this point we shall confine our discussion to one-

dimensional systems, or, more specifically, systems
where the temperature is a function of only one
space coordinate.
• Plane Wall with Heat Geration:
Consider the plane wall, in which
there is uniform energy generation
per unit volume ( is constant) and
the surfaces are maintained at Ts,1
and Ts,2. For constant thermal
conductivity k, the Governing
equation is,
• The general solution is
where C1 and C2 are the constants of

integration.
For the prescribed boundary conditions,
The constants become,

• The temperature distribution is
therefore
• Simplifications:
When
Then the temperature distribution is
The maximum temperature exists at the

midplane
• The temperature distribution may be

expressed as
• At the plane of symmetry in Figure,

the temperature gradient is zero,
(dT/dx)x=0 = 0.
• So, there is no heat transfer across

this plane, and it may be represented
by the adiabatic surface.
• Cylinder with Heat Generation

The Governing equation
• We rewrite the above equation,
• Separating variables and assuming

uniform generation, this expression may
be integrated to obtain,
• Repeating the procedure,the general solution for the
temperature distribution becomes
• To obtain the constants of integration C1 and C2, we

apply the boundary conditions
• From the first boundary condition, C1=0.

• From the second boundary condition above,
• The final solution for the temperature distribution is

then,
or,
where T0 is the temperature at r = 0 and is given by

Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)
Professor
(Ans.)
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)
Professor
Steady State Heat Conduction in Two
Dimensions
For steady state with no heat generation,
assuming constant thermal conductivity. The solution to

this equation may be obtained by analytical, numerical,
or graphical techniques.
Analytical solution methods are limited to highly
simplified problems in simple geometries. Even in
simple geometries, heat transfer problems cannot be
solved analytically if the thermal conditions are not
sufficiently simple.
The solution to Equation (3-1) will give the
temperature in a two-dimensional body as a
function of the two independent space
coordinates x and y. Then the heat flow in the x
and y directions may be calculated from the
Fourier equations
These heat-flow quantities are directed either in

the x direction or in the y direction.
• The total heat flow at any point in the material is the
resultant of the qx and qy at that point.
• Thus the total heat-flow vector is directed so that it is
perpendicular to the lines of constant temperature in
the material, as shown in Figure 3-1.
Steady State Heat Conduction in Two
Dimensions- Analytical Solution
• Consider the rectangular

plate shown in Figure 3-2.
Three sides of the plate are
maintained at the constant
temperature T1, and the
upper side has some
temperature distribution
impressed upon it. This
distribution could be simply
a constant temperature or
something more complex,
such as a sine-wave distribution. We shall consider both cases.
Methods Separation of Variables
• To solve Equation (3-1), the separation-of-
variables method is used.
• The essential point of this method is that the
solution to the differential equation is assumed
to take a product form,
First consider the
boundary conditions
with a sine-wave
temperature
distribution impressed
on the upper edge of
the plate
where Tm is the amplitude of the sine function.

Substituting Equation (3-4) in (3-1) gives
Observe that each side of Equation (3-6) is

independent of the other because x and y are
independent variables.
This requires that each side be equal to some
constant.
We may thus obtain two ordinary differential
equations in terms of this constant,
where λ2 is called the separation constant. Its value must
be determined from the boundary conditions.
Note that the form of the solution to Equations (3-7) and

(3-8) will depend on the sign of λ2; a different form
would also result if λ2 were zero.
The only way that the correct form can be determined is
through an application of the boundary conditions of the
problem.
For λ2 = 0:
This function cannot fit the sine-function boundary

condition, so the λ2 = 0 solution may be excluded.
For λ2 < 0:
Again, the sine-function boundary condition cannot be

satisfied, so this solution is excluded also.
For λ2 > 0:
Now, it is possible to satisfy the sine-function

boundary condition; so we shall attempt to satisfy
the other conditions.
The algebra is somewhat easier to handle when

the substitution
Applying these conditions, we have
Accordingly,
and from (c),

This requires that
Recall that λ was an undetermined separation

constant. Several values will satisfy Equation
(3-13), and these may be written
where n is an integer.
The solution to the differential equation may thus be
written as a sum of the solutions for each value of n.
This is an infinite sum, so that the final solution is the
infinite series
where the constants have been combined and the

exponential terms converted to the hyperbolic function.
The final boundary condition may now be applied:
which requires that Cn = 0 for n > 1.

The final solution is therefore
We now consider the set of boundary conditions

Using the first three boundary conditions, we obtain the
solution in the form of Equation (3-15):
Applying the fourth boundary condition gives
This is a Fourier sine series, and the values of the Cn

may be determined by expanding the constant
temperature difference T2 − T1 in a Fourier series over
the interval 0 < x < W.
This series is
Upon comparison of Equation (3-18) with Equation (3-

19), we find that
and the final solution is expressed as

Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)
Professor
STEADY STATE HEAT CONDUCTION IN
TWO DIMENSIONS
For steady state with no heat generation,
assuming constant thermal conductivity. The solution to

this equation may be obtained by analytical, numerical,
or graphical techniques.
NUMERICAL METHOD OF ANALYSIS
Numerical Solution in 2D
We thus have nine equations and nine unknown nodal temperatures. If we write a matrix
notation for the above system of nine unknown node. Then:
After solving the above matrix, we will obtained the following results.
Solution Techniques
Heat Transfer I
(ME 3105)

Professor
Unsteady State Heat Conduction
• In many practical application, the heat transfer
problems are time dependent as well as position. In
general, the temperature of a body varies with time as
well as position.
• We now recognize that many heat transfer problems
are time dependent. Such unsteady, or transient,
problems typically arise when the boundary
conditions of a system are changed.
• For example, a hot metal billet that is removed from a
furnace and exposed to a cool airstream.
• Energy is transferred by convection and radiation
from its surface to the surroundings.
• The final properties of the metal will depend
significantly on the time-temperature history that
results from heat transfer.
• Controlling the heat transfer is one key to fabricating
new materials with enhanced properties.
• For example, in metallurgy, the heat treating process
can be controlled to directly affect the characteristics
of the processed materials. Annealing (slow cool) can
soften metals and improve ductility and quenching
(rapid cool) can harden the strain boundary and
increase strength.
• Our objective in this chapter is to develop procedures
for determining the time dependence of the
temperature distribution within a solid during a
transient process, as well as for determining heat
transfer between the solid and its surroundings.
• The nature of the procedure depends on assumptions
that may be made for the process.
• We start this chapter with the analysis of lumped
systems in which the temperature of a body varies
with time but remains uniform throughout at any
time.
Lumped heat capacity analysis
• Interior temperature of some bodies remains
essentially uniform at all times during a heat
transfer process.
• The temperature of such bodies can be taken to
be a function of time only, T(t).
• This type of analysis is called the lumped-heat-
capacity method.
A=surface area
Solid body
V=Volume
Cp=Specific Heat
=Density
T(t)= Temperature
Ambient
T0=initial Temperature
fluid T, h
The geometry and parameters involved in the lumped

system analysis.
dT t 
AhT  T t   c pV
Or, dt
dT t  Ah
 T  T t   0 for t  0 ( 4  2a )
dt c pV
The equations may be used to determine the time

required for the solid to reach a temperature T or to
compute the temperature reached by the solid at time t.
The foregoing results indicate that the difference

between the solid and fluid temperatures must decay
exponentially to zero as t approaches infinity. This
behavior is shown by plotting dimensionless
temperature as function of time.
Dimensionless temperature as function of time.

The lumped system analysis certainly provides

great convenience in heat transfer analysis, and
naturally we would like to know when it is
appropriate to use it.
The first step in establishing a criterion for the

applicability of the lumped system analysis is to
define a characteristic length and a
dimensionless Biot number.
• Biot Number:
hLs
Bi 
ks
V
Where, Ls = Characteristic length 
A
Lumped system analysis is applicable for situation in which
h
Bi   0.1
k s / Ls

Heat Transfer I: Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

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Heat Transfer I

Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

 Conduction: Law of conduction, Heat conduction equations

 Unsteady heat conduction (Transient & Periodic):

Heat transfer tells us –

• All modes of heat transfer require the

• Convection is the mode of

Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

the constant of proportionality k is the thermal conductivity of

The above equation is called Fourier’s law of heat conduction

• Fourier’s law of heat conduction for the rate of

Energy conducted in left face + heat

Change in internal energy =

Energy out right face

This is the one-dimensional heat-conduction equation.

To treat more than one-dimensional

The energy balance yields

For constant thermal conductivity, the above equation is

where the quantity α = k/ρc is called the thermal

• Steady-state one-dimensional heat flow in

• Steady-state one-dimensional heat flow with heat

• Two-dimensional steady-state conduction without

• Specified Temperature Boundary Condition

where T1 and T2 are the specified temperatures at surfaces at x = 0

Similar consideration are

When the heat flux is prescribed at a boundary surface,

On an insulated surface, the first

which resembles the insulation or zero heat flux boundary

For one-dimensional heat transfer in the x-direction in a

For one-dimensional heat transfer

In general, however, a surface may involve convection,

Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

for steady operation

• In steady operation, the rate of heat transfer

The rate of heat conduction through a plane wall is

Conduction resistance of the wall:

Convection resistance of the surface:

Schematic for convection resistance at a surface.

When the convection heat transfer coefficient is very large (h → ),

Radiation heat transfer coefficient

Combined heat transfer

Once Q is evaluated, the

The temperature drop across a layer is

Thermal contact resistance is significant and can even dominate the

Dr. Mohammad Sultan Mahmud

Conduction resistance of the cylinder layer

Conduction resistance of the spherical layer

for a spherical layer

The thermal resistance

The critical radius of insulation

The largest value of the critical

We can insulate hot-water or steam

Boundary condition at fin base

1. Infinitely Long Fin

The variation of temperature along the fin

The steady rate of heat transfer from the entire fin

A long circular fin of uniform

Boundary condition at fin tip

The variation of temperature along the fin

Heat transfer from the entire fin

t the thickness of the rectangular fins

• The thermal conductivity k of the fin