INTRODUCTION TO HEAT

AND MODES OF TRANSFER

LECTURE 1
BY
DR. AFSHAN KHALID(PT)
BSPT,DPT,MSCPT
SENIOR LECTURER
DIPMR
DUHS OJHA CAMPUS
 HEAT

The form of energy transfer from one body to

another as a result of a difference in temperature
or a change in phase.
 TEMPERATURE

The sensation or perception of such energy as

warmth or hotness.
OR
The degree of hotness or coldness of a body or
environment.
 PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HEAT

⚫ Increased metabolism
According to van’t hoff’s statement that any chemical
change is accelerated by a rise in temperature.
⚫ Increased blood supply
As a result of increased metabolism the out put of
waste products from cells is increased, these include
metabolites which act on the walls of capillaries and
arterioles causing dilatation of these vessels. In
addition heat has direct effect on blood vessels
causing vasodilatation.
⚫ Effect of heating on nerves
Heat appears to produce sedative effect, and thermal
stimulation may effect the pain sensation.

⚫ Increase activity of sweat glands

⚫ Superficial thermal agents are those that
primarily change the temperature of the skin
and of superficial subcutaneous tissue.

⚫ Deep heating agents increase the

temperature of deeper tissue including large
muscles and periarticular structures.
 Specific heat

Specific heat is the amount of energy required to

raise the temperature of a given weight of a
material by a given number of degrees. The specific
heat of different materials and body tissues differs
⚫ For example skin has higher specific heat than fat
or bone
⚫ Water has higher specific heat than air
⚫ Materials with high specific heat require more
energy to heat up and hold more energy at a given
temperature than materials with low specific heat
 MODES OF HEAT TRANSFER

Heat transfer occurs by

1- conduction
2- convection
3-conversion
4- radiation
5- evaporation
Heating agents transfer heat to the body whereas
cooling agents transfer heat away from the body
 1- CONDUCTION

Heating by conduction is the result of

energy exchange by direct collision between
the molecules of two materials at different
temperatures
Heat is conducted from the material at the
higher temperature to the material at the
lower temperature.
Heat transfer continues until the temperature
and the speed of molecular movement of both
materials become equal.
Heat transfer by conduction occurs only
between materials of different temperatures
that are in direct contact with each other.
e.g hot pack and paraffin transfer heat by
conduction
⚫ RATE OF HEAT TRANSFER:
⚫ The rate of heat transfer depends on
⚫ temperature difference between the
materials
⚫ their thermal conductivity
⚫ their area of contact.
 GUIDELINES FOR HEAT
TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION

⚫ The greater the temperature difference between a

heating and cooling agent and the body part it is
applied to, the faster the rate of heat transfer for
e.g the higher the temperature of a hot pack the
more rapidly the temperature of the area of the
patient’s skin in contact with the hot pack will
increase.
⚫ material with high thermal conductivity transfer
heat faster than those with low thermal
conductivity water has moderate thermal
conductivity and air has low thermal conductivity.
⚫ Heating and cooling agents generally are
composed of materials with moderate thermal
conductivity to provide a safe and effective rate of
heat transfer.
⚫ Material with low thermal conductivity can be
used as insulators to limit the rate of heat transfer.
⚫ If the pack is applied directly to a patients
skin, the patient probably will soon feel
uncomfortably hot and could easily be
burned.
⚫ Therefore towel or terry cloth hot pack
covers that trap air which has low thermal
conductivity are placed between the pack
and the patient to limit the rate of heat
transfer usually 6 to 8 layers of towel are
placed between hot pack and patient
Metal has high thermal conductivity , metal
jewelry should be removed from any area that
will be in contact with a conductive thermal
agent.
The larger the area of contact between a
thermal agent and patient the greater the
heat transfer .
The rate of temperature rise decreases in
proportion to tissue thickness ,skin
temperature increases the most and deeper
tissue are progressively less effective
2-CONVECTION:
Heat transfer by convection occur as the
result of direct contact between a
circulating medium and another material
of different temperature.
As a result heat transfer by convection
transfer more heat in the same period of
time than heat transfer by conduction.
E.g.:
whirlpools and fluidotherapy transfer heat
by convection.
 3-CONVERSION:
Heat transfer by conversion involves a non
thermal form of energy such as mechanical ,
electrical or chemical energy in to heat.
⚫In Ultrasound a mechanical form of energy is
converted in to heat.
⚫When using diathermy an electromagnetic
energy is converted in to heat .
Diathermy
4-RADIATION:
Heating by radiation involves the direct
transfer of energy from a material with a
higher temperature to one with a lower
temperature without the need for an
intervening medium or contact.
The rate of temperature increase caused by
radiation depends on
1- intensity of the radiation
2- relative size of the radiation source
3- area being treated
4- The distance of the source from the
treatment area
5- Angle of the radiation to the tissue.
infra red lamp transfer heat by radiation.
5-EVAPORATION:

A material must absorb energy to evaporate and

thus change form from a liquid to a gas or vapor.

This energy is absorbed in the form of heat derived

from the material itself or from an adjoining
material resulting in a decrease in temperature .
For e.g. when a vapocoolant spray is heated by the
warm skin of the body it changes from its liquid
form to a vapor at its specific evaporation
temperature . During this process the spray absorbs
heat and thus cools the skin
 REFERENCE BOOKS

⚫ CLAYTON’S ELECTROTHERAPY

⚫ PHYSICAL AGENTS IN REHABILITATION

(4th EDITION)