Introduction to Heat Transfer & Modes

15MEC312

Heat Transfer

SIVANESAN M
 Heat Transfer

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 Heat Transfer
➢ The basic requirement for heat transfer is the presence of a temperature
difference.
➢ There can be no net heat transfer between two bodies that are at the same
temperature.
➢ The temperature difference is the driving force for heat transfer, just as the
voltage difference is the driving force for electric current flow and pressure
difference is the driving force for fluid flow.
➢ The rate of heat transfer in a certain direction depends on the magnitude of the
temperature gradient (the temperature difference per unit length or the rate of
change of temperature) in that direction.
➢ The larger the temperature gradient, the higher the rate of heat transfer.

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 Applications of Heat Transfer

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 Heat Transfer Rate
➢ We will refer to the thermal energy as heat and the transfer of thermal energy
as heat transfer.
➢ The amount of heat transferred during the process is denoted by 𝑄.
➢ The amount of heat transferred per unit time is called heat transfer rate, and is
denoted by 𝑄.ሶ
➢ The heat transfer rate 𝑄ሶ has the unit J/s, which is equivalent to W

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 Heat Transfer Modes

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 Conduction
➢ As a result of interaction between two particles of a substance, the energy
transfer will takes place from more energetic particles to the adjacent less
energetic ones.
➢ Conduction can take place in solids, liquids, or gases.
➢ The rate of heat conduction through a medium depends on the geometry of the
medium, its thickness, and the material of the medium, as well as the
temperature difference across the medium.

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 Heat Conduction Mechanism
➢ 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.

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 Heat Conduction Mechanism – Diffusion

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 Heat Conduction
➢ Thickness, ∆𝑥 = 𝐿
➢ Area, 𝐴
➢ Temperature Difference across the wall, ∆𝑇 = 𝑇2 − 𝑇1
➢ It is proven that the rate of heat transfer 𝑄ሶ through the
wall is doubled when the temperature difference ∆T
across the wall or the area A normal to the direction of
heat transfer is doubled, but is halved when the wall
thickness L is doubled.

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 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
(𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎)(𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒)
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ∝
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠

𝑇1 − 𝑇2 ∆𝑇
𝑄ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 𝑘𝐴 = −𝑘𝐴
∆𝑥 ∆𝑥
𝑘 - Thermal conductivity of the material, which is a measure of the
ability of a material to conduct heat
➢ Heat is conducted in the direction of decreasing temperature,
and the temperature gradient becomes negative when
temperature decreases with increasing x.
➢ The negative sign ensures that heat transfer in the positive x
direction is a positive quantity
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 Fourier’s law of heat conduction
𝑑𝑇
𝑄ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = −𝑘𝐴
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑇
is temperature gradient
𝑑𝑥

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 Thermal Conductivity
➢ Thermal conductivity k is a measure of a material’s ability to conduct heat
➢ Specific heat cp for water is 4.18 kJ/kg·°C and 0.45 kJ/kg·°C for iron at room
temperature, which indicates that water can store almost 10 times the energy
that iron can per unit mass.
➢ Thermal conductivity k for water is 0.607 W/m·K and 80.2 W/m·K for iron at
room temperature, which indicates that iron conducts heat more than 100
times faster than water can.
➢ Thus we say that water is a poor heat conductor relative to iron, although water
is an excellent medium to store thermal energy.
∆𝑇 ∆𝑥
ሶ
𝑄𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = −𝑘𝐴 ሶ
⇒ 𝑘 = 𝑄𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
∆𝑥 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝑇
➢ 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

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 Thermal Conductivity
➢ A high value for thermal conductivity indicates that the material is a good heat
conductor.
➢ A low value indicates that the material is a poor heat conductor or insulator

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 Thermal Conductivity Range

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 Variation of the thermal conductivity with temperature

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 Example Problem
The inner and outer surfaces of a 4-m x 7-m brick wall of thickness 30 cm and
thermal conductivity 0.69 W/m· °C are maintained at temperatures of 26°C and
8°C, respectively. Determine the rate of heat transfer through the wall, in W.

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 Example Problem
The roof of an electrically heated home is 6 m long, 8 m wide, and 0.25 m thick,
and is made of a flat layer of concrete whose thermal conductivity is k is 0.8 W/m·
°C. The temperatures of the inner and the outer surfaces of the roof one night are
measured to be 15°C and 4°C, respectively, for a period of 10 hours. Determine (a)
the rate of heat loss through the roof that night and (b) the cost of that heat loss
to the home owner if the cost of electricity is Rs. 2.4/kWh.

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