s10.
1 Shell Energy Balances; Boundary Conditions 291
Chapter 10
Shell Energy Balances and
Temperature Distributions in
Solids and Laminar Flow
Shell energy balances; boundary conditions
Heat conduction with an electrical heat source
Heat conduction with a nuclear heat source
Heat conduction with a viscous heat source
Heat conduction with a chemical heat source
Heat conduction through composite walls
Heat conduction in a cooling fin
Forced convection
Free convection
In Chapter 2 we saw how certain simple viscous flow problems are solved by a two-step
procedure: (i) a momentum balance is made over a thin slab or shell perpendicular to the
direction of momentum transport, which leads to a first-order differential equation that
gives the momentum flux distribution; (ii) then into the expression for the momentum
flux we insert Newton's law of viscosity, which leads to a first-order differential equa-
tion for the fluid velocity as a function of position. The integration constants that appear
are evaluated by using the boundary conditions, which specify the velocity or momen-
tum flux at the bounding surfaces.
In this chapter we show how a number of heat conduction problems are solved by
an analogous procedure: (i) an energy balance is made over a thin slab or shell perpen-
dicular to the direction of the heat flow, and this balance leads to a first-order differential
equation from which the heat flux distribution is obtained; (ii) then into this expression
for the heat flux, we substitute Fourier's law of heat conduction, which gives a first-order
differential equation for the temperature as a function of position. The integration con-
stants are then determined by use of boundary conditions for the temperature or heat
flux at the bounding surfaces.
It should be clear from the similar wording of the preceding two paragraphs that the
mathematical methods used in this chapter are the same as those introduced in Chapter
2-only the notation and terminology are different. However, we will encounter here a
number of physical phenomena that have no counterpart in Chapter 2.
After a brief introduction to the shell energy balance in §10.1, we give an analysis of
the heat conduction in a series of uncomplicated systems. Although these examples are
somewhat idealized, the results find application in numerous standard engineering cal-
culations. The problems were chosen to introduce the beginner to a number of important
physical concepts associated with the heat transfer field. In addition, they serve to show
how to use a variety of boundary conditions and to illustrate problem solving in Carte-
sian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinates. In §§10.2-10.5 we consider four kinds of heat
sources: electrical, nuclear, viscous, and chemical. In 9510.6 and 10.7we cover two topics
with widespread applications-namely, heat flow through composite walls and heat
loss from fins. Finally, in §§10.8 and 10.9, we analyze two limiting cases of heat transfer
in moving fluids: forced convection and free convection. The study of these topics paves
the way for the general equations in Chapter 11.
$10.1 SHELL ENERGY BALANCES; BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
The problems discussed in this chapter are set up by means of shell energy balances. We
select a slab (or shell), the surfaces of which are normal to the direction of heat conduc-
] ]
tion, and then we write for this system a statement of the law of conservation of energy.
(rate
energy
of in
by convective
energy
of out
by convective
)+
For steady-state (i.e., time-independent) systems, we write:
- [rate ("te of
energy in
by molecular
- (rate of
energy out
)
by molecular
+
transport transport transport transport
rate of
The convective transport of energy was discussed in 59.7, and the molecular transport (heat
conduction) in 99.1. The molecular work terms were explained in s9.8. These three terms
can be added to give the "combined energy flux" el as shown in Eq. 9.8-6. In setting up
problems here (and in the next chapter) we will use the e vector along with the expres-
sion for the enthalpy in Eq. 9.8-8. Note that in nonflow systems (for which v is zero) the e
vector simplifies to the q vector, which is given by Fourier's law.
The energy production term in Eq. 10.1-1 includes (i) the degradation of electrical en-
ergy into heat, (ii) the heat produced by slowing down of neutrons and nuclear frag-
ments liberated in the fission process, (iii) the heat produced by viscous dissipation, and
(iv) the heat produced in chemical reactions. The chemical reaction heat source will be
discussed further in Chapter 19. Equation 10.1-1 is a statement of the first law of thermo-
dynamics, written for an "open" system at steady-state conditions. In Chapter 11 this
same statement-extended to unsteady-state systems-will be written as an equation of
change.
After Eq. 10.1-1 has been written for a thin slab or shell of material, the thickness of
the slab or shell is allowed to approach zero. This procedure leads ultimately to an ex-
pression for the temperature distribution containing constants of integration, which we
evaluate by use of boundary conditions. The commonest types of boundary conditions
are:
a. The temperature may be specified at a surface.
b. The heat flux normal to a surface may be given (this is equivalent to specifying
the normal component of the temperature gradient).
c. At interfaces the continuity of temperature and of the heat flux normal to the in-
terface are required.
 s10.2 Heat Conduction with an Electrical Heat Source 293
292 Chapter 10 Shell Energy Balances and Temperature Distributions in Solids and Laminar Flow
Fig. 10.2-1. An electrically heated wire, show-
d. At a solid-fluid interface, the normal heat flux component may be related to the ing the cylindrical shell over which the energy
difference between the solid surface temperature Toand the "bulk" fluid temper- Uniform heat balance is made.
ature Tb: production
(10.1-2) by electrical
q = h(To - Td heating
This relation is referred to as Newton's law of cooling. It is not really a "law" but
rather the defining equation for h, which is called the heat transfer coejyrcient.
Chapter 14 deals with methods for estimating heat-transfer coefficients.
II
I I Iq
4 st!
H q r i r + A r
1 I Heat in by I I Heat out by
I l conduction I I conduction
All four types of boundary conditions are encountered in this chapter. Still other kinds I I
of boundary conditions are possible, and they will be introduced as needed.

I I I I

910.2 HEAT CONDUCTION WITH AN

ELECTRICAL HEAT SOURCE
I I
The first system we consider is an electric wire of circular cross section with radius R and --
electrical conductivity k, ohm-' cm-'. Through this wire there is an electric current with /

current density I amp/cm2. The transmission of an electric current is an irreversible I

process, and some electrical energy is converted into heat (thermal energy). The rate of
heat production per unit volume is given by the expression
This is a first-order differential equation for the energy flux, and it may be integrated to give

The quantity S, is the heat source resulting from electrical dissipation. We assume here
that the temperature rise in the wire is not so large that the temperature dependence of The integration constant C, must be zero because of the boundary condition that
either the thermal or electrical conductivity need be considered. The surface of the wire
is maintained at temperature To.We now show how to find the radial temperature distri- B.C. 1: at r = 0, q, is not infinite (10.2-8)
bution within the wire. Hence the final expression for the heat flux distribution is
For the energy balance we take the system to be a cylindrical shell of thickness Ar I I

and length L (see Fig. 10.2-1). Since v = 0 in this system, the only contributions to the en-
ergy balance are
Rate of heat in This states that the heat flux increases linearly with r.
across cylindrical (2.1rvL)qrlr)= (2.1rvLqr)l, We now substitute Fourier's law in the form 9, = -k(dT/dr) (see Eq. B.2-4) into
surface at r Eq. 10.2-9 to obtain
Rate of heat out
across cylindrical ( 2 d r + Ar)L)(qrlr+Ar)
= (2mLqr)lr+br
surface at r + Ar
Rate of thermal When k is assumed to be constant, this first-order differential equation can be integrated
energy production by (2mArL)S, to give
electrical dissipation
The notation qr means "heat flux in the r direction," and .)lr+8r means "evaluated at
(a

r + Ar." Note that we take "in" and "out" to be in the positive r direction. The integration constant is determined from
We now substitute these quantities into the energy balance of Eq. 9.1-1. Division by
2rLAr and taking the limit as Ar goes to zero gives B.C. 2: atr=R, T=To (10.2-12)
Hence C, = (S,~'/4k) + Toand Eq. 10.2-11 becomes

The expression on the left side is the first derivative of rq, with respect to r, so that Eq.
10.2-5 becomes I I

Equation 10.2-13 gives the temperature rise as a parabolic function of the distance r from
the wire axis.
 510.2 Heat Conduction with an Electrical Heat Source 295
294 Chapter 10 Shell Energy Balances and Temperature Distributions in Solids and Laminar Flow
To illustrate further problems in electrical heating, we give two examples concern-
Once the temperature and heat flux distributions are known, various information ing the temperature rise in wires: the first indicates the order of magnitude of the heating
about the system may be obtained:
effect, and the second shows how to handle different boundary conditions. In addition,
(i) Maximum temperature rise (at r = 0) in Problem 10C.2 we show how to take into account the temperature dependence of the
thermal and electrical conductivities.

(ii) Average temperature rise

A copper wire has a radius of 2 mm and a length of 5 m. For what voltage drop would the
temperature rise at the wire axis be 10°C,if the surface temperature of the wire is 20°C?
Voltage Required for a
Given Temperature Rise SOLUTION
in a Wire Heated by an
Electric Current Combining Eq. 10.2-14 and 10.2-1 gives

Thus the temperature rise, averaged over the cross section, is half the maximum temper-
ature rise.
(iii) Heat outflow at the surface (for a length L of wire) The current density is related to the voltage drop E over a length L by

This result is not surprising, since, at steady state, all the heat produced by electrical dis- Hence
sipation in the volume TR'L must leave through the surface r = R.
The reader, while going through this development, may well have had the feeling of
de'ja vu. There is, after all, a pronounced similarity between the heated wire problem and from which
the viscous flow in a circular tube. Only the notation is different:
-

Tube flow Heated wire For copper, the Lorenz number of 59.5 is k/keTo= 2.23 X lo-' V O ~ P / Therefore,
K~. the voltage
drop needed to cause a 10°Ctemperature rise is
First integration gives r,(d 9Ay)
Second integration gives UJY) T(r) - To
E = 2(5000
2 mm
m m ) ~ 2 . 2 3X 10- - K
v-
8 volt
(293)(10)K
Boundary condition at r = 0 rrz= finite q, = finite
Boundary condition at r = R v, = 0 T-To=O = (5000)(1.49 X 1oP4)(54.1)
= 40 volts
Transport property E". k
Source term (9'0 - 9'L)/L s,
Assumptions p = constant k, k, = constant
EXAMPLE 10.2.2 Repeat the analysis in 510.2, assuming that To is not known, but that instead the heat flux at
the wall is given by Newton's "law of cooling" (Eq. 10.1-2).Assume that the heat transfer co-
That is, when the quantities are properly chosen, the differential equations and the Heated Wire with efficient h and the ambient air temperature Tairare known.
boundary conditions for the two problems are identical, and the physical processes are Specified Heat Transfer
said to be "analogous." Not all problems in momentum transfer have analogs in energy Coefficient and SOLUTION I
and mass transport. However, when such analogies can be found, they may be useful in Ambient Air
taking over known results from one field and applying them in another. For example, Temperature The solution proceeds as before through Eq. 10.2-11, but the second integration constant is de-
the reader should have no trouble in finding a heat conduction analog for the viscous termined from Eq. 10.1-2:
flow in a liquid film on an inclined plane. dT
There are many examples of heat conduction problems in the electrical industry.' B.C. 2': atr=R, -k-=h(T-TaiJ (10.2-22)
dr
The minimizing of temperature rises inside electrical machinery prolongs insulation life.
One example is the use of internally liquid-cooled stator conductors in very large Substituting Eq. 10.2-11 into Eq. 10.2-22 gives C2 = (SeR/2h)+ (S,R2/4k) + Tair,and the tem-
(500,000 kw) AC generators. perature profile is then

M. Jakob, H e a t Transfer, Vol. 1, Wiley, New York (19491, Chapter 10, pp. 167-199. From this the surface temperature of the wire is found to be Ta,,+ SJV2h.
296 Chapter 10 Shell Energy Balances and Temperature Distributions in Solids and Laminar Flow s10.3 Heat Conduction with a Nuclear Heat Source 297

SOLUTION II Rate of heat out

Another method makes use of the result obtained previously in Eq. 10.2-13. Although To is by conduction qlF)lr+Ar 4 v ( r + A d 2 = ( 4 d q l F ' )
not known in the present problem, we can nonetheless use the result. From Eqs. 10.1-2 and a t r + Ar
10.2-16 we can get the temperature difference Rate of thermal
energy produced S, - 4 d Ar
by nuclear fission
Substitution of these terms into the energy balance of Eq. 10.1-1 gives, after dividing by
Substraction of Eq. 10.2-24 from Eq. 10.2-13enables us to eliminate the unknown To and gives r and taking the limit as Ar + 0
4 ~ Ar
Eq. 10.2-23.

s10.3 HEAT CONDUCTION WITH A NUCLEAR HEAT SOURCE Taking the limit and introducing the expression in Eq. 10.3-1 leads to
We consider a spherical nuclear fuel element as shown in Fig. 10.3-1. It consists of a
sphere of fissionable material with radius R'~', surrounded by a spherical shell of alu-
minum "cladding" with outer radius R"'. Inside the fuel element, fission fragments are
produced that have very high kinetic energies. Collisions between these fragments and The differential equation for the heat flux qlc' in the cladding is of the same form as Eq.
the atoms of the fissionable material provide the major source of thermal energy in the 10.3-6, except that there is no significant source term:
reactor. Such a volume source of thermal energy resulting from nuclear fission we call S,,
(cal/cm3. s). This source will not be uniform throughout the sphere of fissionable mater-
ial; it will be the smallest at the center of the sphere. For the purpose of this problem, we
assume that the source can be approximated by a simple parabolic function Integration of these two equations gives

Here S,,, is the volume rate of heat production at the center of the sphere, and b is a di-
mensionless positive constant.
We select as the system a spherical shell of thickness Ar within the sphere of fission-
able material. Since the system is not in motion, the energy balance will consist only of in which c;" and CjC'are integration constants. These are evaluated by means of the
heat conduction terms and a source term. The various contributions to the energy bal- boundary conditions:
ance are: B.C. I:
B.C. 2:
Evaluation of the constants then leads to

Coolant

These are the heat flux distributions in the fissionable sphere and in the spherical-shell
cladding.
Into these distributions we now substitute Fourier's law of heat conduction (Eq.
B.2-7):

Fig. 10.3-1. A spherical nuclear fuel assembly, showing

the temperature distribution within the system.

298 Chapter 10 Shell Energy Balances and Temperature Distributions in Solids and Laminar Flow
These equations may be integrated for constant Ic'~' and k(" to give
The integration constants can be determined from the boundary conditions
B.C. 3:
B.C. 4:
where To is the known temperature at the outside of the cladding. The final expressions
for the temperature profiles are
ko find the maximum
temperature in the sphere of fissionable material, all we have to do is set r equal to zero
in Eq. 10.3-20.This is a quantity one might well want to know when making estimates of
thermal deterioration.
This problem has illustrated two points: (i) how to handle a position-dependent
source term, and (ii) the application of the continuity of temperature and normal heat
flux at the boundary between two solid materials.
510.4 HEAT CONDUCTION WITH A VISCOUS HEAT SOURCE
Next we consider the flow of an incompressible Newtonian fluid between two coaxial
cylinders as shown in Fig. 10.4-1. The surfaces of the inner and outer cylinders are main-
tained at T = To and T = Tb, respectively. We can expect that T will be a function of r
alone.
Outer cylinder moves with
angular velocity 51
-----
Fig. 10.4-1. Flow between cylinders with viscous
heat generation. That part of the system enclosed
within the dotted lines is shown in modified form
in Fig. 10.4-2.
g10.4 Heat Conduction with a Viscous Heat Source 299
T~~ surface moves with velocity vb = ~a Fig. 10.4-2. Modification of a portion of the flow
system in Fig. 10.4-1, in which the curvature of the
bounding surfaces is neglected.
~tationar$surface
As the outer cylinder rotates, each cylindrical shell of fluid "rubs" against an adja-
cent shell of fluid. This friction between adjacent layers of the fluid produces heat; that
is, the mechanical energy is degraded into thermal energy. The volume heat source re-
sulting from this "viscous dissipation," which can be designated by S,, appears automat-
ically in the shell balance when we use the combined energy flux vector e defined at the
end of Chapter 9, as we shall see presently.
If the slit width b is small with respect to the radius R of the outer cylinder, then the
problem can be solved approximately by using the somewhat simplified system de-
picted in Fig. 10.4-2. That is, we ignore curvature effects and solve the problem in Carte-
sian coordinates. The velocity distribution is then v, = vb(x/b),where vb = flR.
We now make an energy balance over a shell of thickness Ax, width W, and length L.
Since the fluid is in motion, we use the combined energy flux vector e as written in Eq.
9.8-6. The balance then reads
Dividing by WL Ax and letting the shell thickness Ax go to zero then gives
This equation may be integrated to give
Since we do not know any boundary conditions for ex, we cannot evaluate the integra-
tion constant at this point.
We now insert the expression for e, f;om Eq. 9.8-6. Since the velocity component in
the x direction is zero, the term (ipv2+ pLnv can be discarded. The x-component of q is
-k(dT/dx) according to Fourier's law. The x-component of [T . v] is, as shown in Eq.
9.8-1, T,,v, + ~~~v~ + T,,v,. Since the only nonzero component of the velocity is v, and
since T, = -p(dv,/dx) according to Newton's law of viscosity, the x-component of [T .vl
is -pu,(dv,/dx). We conclude, then, that Eq. 10.4-3becomes
When the linear velocity profile v, = vb(x/b)is inserted, we get
) ~ be identified as the rate of viscous heat production per unit volume S,.
in which p ( ~ [ , / b can
When Eq. 10.4-5 is integrated we get
300 Chapter 10 Shell Energy Balances and Temperature Distributions in Solids and Laminar Flow

The two integration constants are determined from the boundary conditions
B.C. 1:
B.C. 2:
+
This yields finally, for Tb To

Here Br = pz;/k(Tb - To)is the dimensionless Brinkman number,' which is a measure of

the importance of the viscous dissipation term. If Tb = To, then Eq. 10.4-9 can be written
as

and the maximum temperature is at x/b = $.

If the temperature rise is appreciable, the temperature dependence of the viscosity
has to be taken into account. This is discussed in Problem 10C.l.
The viscous heating term S, = p(vb/b)' may be understood by the following argu-
ments. For the system in Fig. 10.4-2, the rate at which work is done is the force acting on
the upper plate times the velocity with which it moves, or (-T~=WL)(V~). The rate of en-
ergy addition per unit volume is then obtained by dividing this quantity by WLb, which
gives (-7,,vb/b) = p ( ~ ~ / bThis
) ~ .energy all appears as heat and is hence S,.
In most flow problems viscous heating is not important. However if there are large
velocity gradients, then it cannot be neglected. Examples of situations where viscous
heating must be accounted for include: (i) flow of a lubricant between rapidly moving
parts, (ii) flow of molten polymers through dies in high-speed extrusion, (iii) flow of
highly viscous fluids in high-speed viscometers, and (iv) flow of air in the boundary
layer near an earth satellite or rocket during reentry into the earth's atmosphere. The
first two of these are further complicated because many lubricants and molten plastics
are non-Newtonian fluids. Viscous heating for non-Newtonian fluids is illustrated in
Problem 10B.5.

510.5 HEAT CONDUCTION WITH A CHEMICAL HEAT SOURCE

A chemical reaction is being carried out in a tubular, fixed-bed flow reactor with inner
radius X as shown in Fig. 10.5-1. The reactor extends from z = - to z = 63 and is di- +
vided into three zones:
Zone I: Entrance zone packed with noncatalytic spheres
Zone 11: Reaction zone packed with catalyst spheres, extending from z = 0 to z = L
Zone 111: Exit zone packed with noncatalytic spheres
It is assumed that the fluid proceeds through the reactor tube in "plug flowM-that is,
with axial velocity uniform at a superficial value vo = w / m - ~ (see
~~ text below Eq. 6.4-1
for the definition of "superficial velocity"). The density, mass flow rate, and superficial

'H. C. Brinkman, Appl. Sci. Research, A2,120-124 (1951), solved the viscous dissipation heating
problem for the Poiseuille flow in a circular tube. Other dimensionless groups that may be used for
characterizing viscous heating have been summarized by R. B. Bird, R. C. Armstrong, and 0.Hassager,
Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids, Vol. 1,2nd edition, Wiley, New York (1987),pp. 207-208.