Fundamentals of Heat and

Mass Transfer

Chapter 1. Introduction
What and How?

What is heat transfer?

Heat transfer (or heat) is thermal energy in transit due to a spatial temperature difference.

What is thermal energy?

Thermal energy is associated with the translation, rotation, vibration and electronic states of the
atoms and molecules that comprise matter. It represents the cumulative effect of microscopic
activities and is directly linked to the temperature of matter.

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What and How?
DO NOT confuse or interchange the meanings of Thermal Energy, Temperature and Heat Transfer

Quantity Meaning Symbol Units

Thermal Energy Energy associated with microscopic behavior of matter U or u J or J/kg

A means of indirectly assessing the amount of thermal

Temperature T K or °C
energy stored in matter

Heat Transfer Thermal energy transport due to temperature gradients

Amount of thermal energy transferred over a

Heat Q J
time interval  t  0

Heat Rate Thermal energy transfer per unit time q W

Heat Flux Thermal energy transfer per unit time and surface area q W/m2
+
U  Thermal energy of system
u  Thermal energy per unit mass of system 2
Modes of Heat Transfer

Conduction: Heat transfer in a solid or a stationary fluid (gas or liquid) due to the random motion of its
constituent atoms, molecules and /or electrons.

Convection: Heat transfer due to the combined influence of bulk and random motion for fluid flow over a
surface.

Radiation: Energy that is emitted by matter due to changes in the electron configurations of its atoms or
molecules and is transported as electromagnetic waves (or photons).

• Conduction and convection require the presence of temperature variations in a material medium.
• Although radiation originates from matter, its transport does not require a material medium and occurs
most efficiently in a vacuum.
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Heat Transfer Rates: Conduction

Conduction: energy transfer from the more energetic to the less energetic particles,
atomic and molecular activity
Assumption: no bulk, or macroscopic, motion

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Heat Transfer Rates: Conduction

Conduction: General (vector) form of Fourier’s law:

q  kT

Heat flux Thermal conductivity Temperature gradient

W/m2 W/m  K °C/m or K/m

Application to one-dimensional, steady conduction across a plane wall of constant thermal conductivity:

dT T T
qx  k  k 2 1
dx L

T1  T2 T
qx  k k (1.2)
L L

Heat rate (W): qx  qx  A

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Conduction: Example 1.1

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Conduction: Example

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Heat Transfer Rates: Convection

Convection: Random molecular motion(diffusion) Bulk, or macroscopic, motion (advection)

Relation of convection to flow over a surface and development of velocity and thermal boundary layers:

Newton’s law of cooling: q  h Ts  T  (1.3a)

h : Convection heat transfer coefficient (W/m 2  K)

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Heat Transfer Rates: Convection

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Heat Transfer Rates: Radiation

Radiation: Involves radiation emission from the surface and may also involve the absorption of
radiation incident from the surroundings (irradiation, G ), as well as convection  if Ts  T  .
Energy outflow due to emission:
E   Eb   Ts4 (1.5)

E : Emissive power  W/m 2 

 : Surface emissivity  0    1
Eb : Emissive power of a blackbody (the perfect emitter)
 : Stefan-Boltzmann constant  5.67 10-8 W/m 2  K 4 

Energy absorption due to irradiation:

Gabs   G (1.6)

Gabs : Absorbed incident radiation (W/m 2 )

 : Surface absorptivity  0    1
G : Irradiation  W/m 2 
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Heat Transfer Rates: Radiation(cont.)
Irradiation: Special case of surface exposed to large surroundings of uniform temperature, Tsur

G  Gsur   Tsur4

If α = ε (a gray surface), the net radiation heat flux from the surface due to exchange with the
surroundings is:

   Eb Ts    G   Ts4  Tsur4 

qrad 1.7 
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Heat Transfer Rates: Radiation(cont.)

Alternatively,

  hr Ts  Tsur 
qrad (1.8)

hr : Radiation heat transfer coefficient  W/m 2  K 

hr   Ts  Tsur  Ts2  Tsur2  (1.9)

For combined convection and radiation,

q  qconv   h Ts  T   hr Ts  Tsur 

  qrad (1.10)

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Radiation: Example 1.2

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Radiation: Example 1.2

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Thermal Resistance

T
q  qA  1.11
Rt

Rt: thermal resistance

T T
For conduction,
qx  kA 
L Rt

L
 Rt , cond 
kA

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First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation of Energy)

Total energy
E tot

Internal energy
U

Other Thermal energy Mechanical energy

+ = E
(chemical, nuclear) Ut ME

Sensible Latent Kinetic Potential

U sens U lat KE PE

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First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation of Energy)

• For a closed system (a region of fixed mass), there are only two ways energy can cross the
system boundary: heat transfer through the boundaries and work done on or by the system.

• For an open system (or control volume, a region of space bounded by a control surface
through which mass may flow), mass entering and leaving the CV carries energy with it
(energy advection)

• An important tool in heat transfer analysis, often providing the basis for determining the
temperature of a system.

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Application to a Control Volume

• At an Instant of Time:
Note representation of system by a control surface
(dashed line) at the boundaries.
Surface Phenomena
E in , E out : rate of thermal and/or mechanical energy transfer across the control surface due to heat
transfer, fluid flow and/or work interactions.
Volumetric Phenomena

Eg : rate of thermal energy generation due to conversion from another energy form (e.g., electrical,
nuclear, or chemical); energy conversion process occurs within the system.

E st : rate of change of energy storage in the system.

Conservation of energy
dEst
E in E
out
E 
g dt
E
st (Rate equation) Ein  Eout  Eg  Est (over a time interval ∆t)
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Application to a Control Volume: Closed System
Steady state: E  E  E  dEst  E  0
in out g dt st

• Special Cases (Linkages to Thermodynamics)

(i) Transient Process for a Closed System of Mass (m) Assuming Heat Transfer to the System (Inflow) and
Work Done by the System (Outflow).

Over a time interval At an instant

Q  W  Esttot (1.12a)

q W 
dU t
dt
For negligible changes in potential or kinetic energy

Q  W  U t

Internal thermal energy

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Application to a Control Volume: Open System

(ii) Steady State for Flow through an Open System

without Phase Change or Generation:

At an Instant of Time:
 2  •
m  ut  p  V  gz   q m  ut  p  V
2
 gz   W  0
 2 in 
2
out

•  p   flow work
Figure 1.9
•  ut  p   i  enthalpy

• For an ideal gas with constant specific heat:

iin  iout  c p Tin  Tout 
• For systems with significant heat transfer:
• For an incompressible liquid:
uin  uout  c Tin  Tout     
V
2
2 in
 V
2
2 out
0

 p in   p out  0  unless P is extremely large   gz in   gz out  0

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Example 1.4 Application to thermal response of a conductor with Ohmic heating (generation)

Assumptions:
1. At any time t, the temperature of the rod is uniform.
2. Constant properties   , cv ,    
3. Radiation exchange between the outer surface of the
rod and the surroundings is between a small surface
and a large enclosure.

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Example 1.4 Application to thermal response of a conductor with Ohmic heating (generation)

First Law:

Thermal energy generation:

Convection and net radiation from the surface:

Change in energy storage is due only to sensible energy change

dU sens dT dT
Est   mcv  Vcv
dt dt dt

Substitute the rate eqns into energy balance:

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The Surface Energy Balance
A special case for which no volume or mass is encompassed by the control surface.

Conservation of Energy (Instant in Time):

Ein  Eout  0 (1.13)

• With no mass and volume, energy storage and

generation are not pertinent to the energy balance,
even if they occur in the medium bounded by the
surface. (Applies for steady-state and transient
conditions.)

  qconv
qcond   qrad
  0

k
T1  T2
L
 
 h T2  T    2 T24  Tsur
4
0

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Second Law of Thermodynamics
• An important tool to determine how heat transfer affects the efficiency of energy conversion.

For a reversible heat engine neglecting heat transfer effects between the heat engine and large reservoirs,
the Carnot efficiency is

W Q T
C   1  out  1  c (1.15, 1.16)
Qin Qin Th

where Tc and Th are the absolute temperatures of large cold

and hot reservoirs, respectively.

For an internally reversible heat engine with heat transfer to

and from the large reservoirs properly accounted for, the
modified Carnot efficiency is

where Tc,i  Tc and Th ,i  Th are the absolute temperatures

W Qout qout Tc,i
m   1  1  1 (1.17) seen by the internally reversible heat engine. Note that qout
Qin Qin qin Th,i
and qin are heat transfer rates (J/s or W).
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Second Law of Thermodynamics
• Heat transfer resistances associated with, for example, walls separating the internally
reversible heat engine from the hot and cold reservoirs relate the heat transfer rates to
temperature differences:

Th  Th,i   qin Rt ,h Tc,i  Tc   qout Rt ,c (1.18 a,b)

In reality, heat transfer resistances (K/W) must be non-zero since according to the rate equations,
for any temperature difference only a finite amount of heat may be transferred.

The modified Carnot efficiency may ultimately be expressed as

Tc  m  nC only if Rtot could be made infinitely small.

m  1  where Rtot  Rt , h  Rt ,c
Th  qin Rtot  For realistic situations (Rtot  0), m  nc .
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Second Law of Thermodynamics
In addition to the efficiency, another important parameter to consider is the power output of the
heat engine:

 Tc 
W  qinm  qin 1   1.22 
 Th  q in tot 
R

To increase W , qin must be increased at the expense of decreased efficiency.

If fuel is inexpensive (e.g. waste heat), a case could be made for sacrificing efficiency to
maximize power output.

If fuel is expensive or emissions are detrimental (e.g. fossil fuel), the efficiency of the energy
conversion may be as or more important than the power output.

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Example 1.7
In a large steam power plant, the combustion of coal provides a heat rate of qin = 2500 MW at a flame
temperature of Th = 1000 K. Heat is rejected from the plant to a river flowing at Tc = 300 K. Heat is transferred
from the combustion products to the exterior of large tubes in the boilers by way of radiation and convection,
through the boiler tubes by conduction, and then from the interior tube surface to the working fluid (water) by
convection. On the cold side, heat is extracted from the power plant by condensation of steam on the exterior
condenser tube surfaces, through the condenser tube walls by conduction, and from the interior of the
condenser tubes to the river water by convection. Hot and cold side thermal resistances account for the
combined effects of conduction, convection, and radiation and, under design conditions, they are Rt ,h  8 108 K W
and Rt ,c  2 108 K W , respectively.

1. Determine the efficiency and power output of the power plant, accounting for heat transfer effects to and
from the cold and hot reservoirs. Treat the power plant as an internally reversible heat engine.

2. Over time, coal slag will accumulate on the combustion side of the boiler tubes. This fouling process
increases the hot side resistance to Rt ,h  9 108 K W . Concurrently, biological matter can accumulate on the
river water side of the condenser tubes, increasing the cold side resistance to Rt ,c  2.2 108 K W . Find the
efficiency and power output of the plant under fouled conditions.

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Example 1.7

1. Steady-state conditions.
2. Power plant behaves as an internally reversible
heat engine, so its efficiency is the modified
efficiency.

Modified efficiency:

1. Answer:

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Example 1.7

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