HEAT & TEMPERATURE

In the simplest of terms, heat transfer is concerned with only two things: temperature,
and the flow of heat energy. Temperature represents the amount of thermal energy
available, whereas heat flow represents the movement of thermal energy from point to
point.

Furthermore, Heat and Temperature are different concepts, although related. Heat is
the total energy of molecular motion in a substance, while temperature is a measure of
its average molecular energy. Heat depends on the speed of the particles, their number,
size and type. Temperature does not depend on the size, number or type.

The transfer of energy – heat – always goes from the higher temperature medium to the
lower temperature medium, and stops when the two media have the same temperature
and reach therefore a state of thermal equilibrium.

The study of science that deals with the amount of heat transfer from one initial
equilibrium state to another is covered in Thermodynamics, and makes no reference
or indication to the duration of the process. Thermodynamic analysis simply tells us how
much heat must be transferred to make a change from a specific state of equilibrium to
another, to satisfy the principle of conservation of energy. What we are really interested
in is the rate of heat transfer. The determination of the heat transfer rates to or from a
system and, therefore, the heating or cooling times and temperature variation is the
subject of the science of heat transfer.

Heat transfer helps us resolve the engineering issues and plays a decisive role in the
design of virtually all the equipment and devices that surround us: our appliances such
as cookers must consider heat transfer rates so they heat but do not overheat; building
our homes, a heat transfer study is carried out, based on which the thickness of the
thermal insulation or the heating system is determined; in the industrial sector,
equipment such as heat exchangers, boilers, furnaces, condensers, batteries, heaters,
etc are mainly designed on the basis of heat transfer analysis; and sophisticated
equipment such as cars and planes require these studies to prevent engines or cabins
from overheating.

Heat transfer processes not only increase, decrease or maintain the temperatures of the
affected bodies, they can also produce phase changes, such as melting ice or boiling
water. Thus, in engineering, heat transfer processes are often designed to take
advantage of these phenomena. The transfer of heat is therefore the process by which
energy is exchanged in the form of heat between different bodies, or between different
parts of the same body at different temperatures. This heat can be transferred in three
ways: by conduction, convection or radiation. Although these three transfer methods
take place many times simultaneously, usually one of the mechanisms predominates
over the other two.
MODES OF HEAT TRANSFER

The transfer of heat can occur in three ways: conduction, convection, and radiation.
Heat transfer occurs between states of matter whenever a temperature difference exists
and heat transfer occurs only in the direction of decreasing temperature, meaning from
a hot object to a cold object.

Heat transfer as engineering course is a discipline of thermal engineering that

concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy (heat)
between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such
as thermal conduction, thermal convection ( may include transfer of energy with
phase change from liquid-vapor or vapor-liquid) and thermal radiation. Engineers also
consider the transfer of mass, either cold or hot, to achieve heat transfer. While these
mechanisms have distinct characteristics, they often occur simultaneously in the same
system.

Conduction

Conduction is the transfer of heat by direct contact between bodies or through the same
body. In conduction, there is no transfer of matter, only energy. Molecules vibrate or
move with greater speed in a region at a higher temperature. When interacting with
neighboring molecules of a lower temperature, they transfer part of their energy,
whether within the same body or from another body in contact with the first.

In 1822, the French mathematician Joseph Fourier formulated a precise mathematical

expression known today as Fourier’s law of heat conduction. This law states that the
conduction rate or heat transfer through a body per unit cross section is proportional to
the temperature gradient that exists in the body:
 Q = – A dT/dX Fourier’s Equation

Q = – k A dT/dX

The proportionality factor, k in W/m K, is the thermal conductivity of the material and
indicates the amount of heat transferred per unit time (Q), temperature (T) and distance
(X). and area normal to direction of heat flow (A).

Note: Materials such as gold, silver or copper have high thermal conductivities and
conduct heat well, while materials such as glass or wood have smaller conductivities
and conduct heat very slow. Therefore, the materials involved, their thermal conductivity
and dimensions in the temperatures of the process need to be known well, as the
conduction heat transfer takes place through them.