Heat Transfer (ME423)

Chapter 1

Basics of Heat Transfer

Instructor: Dr. Hassan Fagehi

Objectives

• Understand the principle of heat transfer and its area of

applications
• Presenting the commonly used quantities in Heat Transfer
• Understand the basic mechanisms of heat transfer, which are
conduction, convection, and radiation, and Fourier's law of heat
conduction, Newton's law of cooling, and the Stefan–Boltzmann
law of radiation
• Developing the one-dimensional heat conduction equation in a
large plane wall, in a long cylinder and in a sphere.

2
What is heat transfer ?

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

temperature difference.

Whenever a temperature difference exists in a medium or between

media, heat transfer must occur

3
 Heat Transfer Mechanisms
• Heat as the form of energy that can be transferred from one system to another as a result
of temperature difference.
• The transfer of energy as heat is always from the higher-temperature medium to the
lower-temperature one.
• Heat can be transferred in three basic modes:

- Conduction
- Convection
- radiation

4
Application Areas of Heat Transfer

5
Commonly Used Quantities in Heat Transfer

6
 Conduction

Association of conduction heat

The heat flux is then transfer with diffusion of energy
due to molecular activity
Fourier’s law (W/m2)
7
Conduction
Thermal conductivity, k: A measure of the ability
of a material to conduct heat. (W/m.K)
Heat is conducted in the direction of decreasing
temperature, and the temperature gradient becomes
negative when temperature decreases with
increasing x.
A represents the area
normal to the direction
The heat flux is of heat transfer.

8
Conduction
Example 1
The wall of an industrial furnace is constructed from 0.15-m-thick fireclay brick having a
thermal conductivity of 1.7 W/m K. Measurements made during steady-state operation
reveal temperatures of 1400 and 1150 K at the inner and outer surfaces, respectively.
What is the rate of heat loss through a wall that is 0.5 m ͯ 1.2 m on a side ?

The heat flux is determined from Fourier’s law: The area of the wall is:

Then the rate of heat is:

9
 Thermal Conductivity
The thermal conductivity of a material is a
measure of the ability of the material to conduct
heat.
A high value for thermal conductivity indicates
that the material is a good heat conductor, and a
low value indicates that the material is a poor
heat conductor or insulator.

The variation of the thermal

The mechanisms of conductivity of various solids,
heat conduction in liquids, and gases with temperature
different phases of a
substance. 10
Thermal Diffusivity
cp Specific heat, J/kg · °C: Heat capacity
per unit mass
cp Heat capacity, J/m3·°C: Heat capacity
per unit volume
 Thermal diffusivity, m2/s: Represents
how fast heat diffuses through a material

A material that has a high thermal

conductivity or a low heat capacity will
obviously have a large thermal diffusivity.
The larger the thermal diffusivity, the faster
the propagation of heat into the medium.
A small value of thermal diffusivity means
that heat is mostly absorbed by the
material and a small amount of heat is
conducted further.
11
Convection
Convection: The mode of
energy transfer between a solid
surface and the adjacent liquid
or gas that is in motion.
The faster the fluid motion, the
greater the convection heat transfer.
In the absence of any bulk fluid
motion, heat transfer between a
solid surface and the adjacent fluid Heat transfer from a hot surface to air by convection.
is by pure conduction.

12
Convection

Forced convection: If the

fluid is forced to flow over the
surface by external means
such as a fan, pump, or the
wind.
Natural (or free) convection:
If the fluid motion is caused
by buoyancy forces that are
induced by density
differences due to the
variation of temperature in the The cooling of a boiled egg by
fluid. forced and natural convection.

13
Convection
The convective heat flux
(W/m2)
Newton’s law

h convection heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 · °C

Ts the surface temperature
T the temperature of the fluid sufficiently far from the surface.

The convection heat transfer coefficient h is

not a property of the fluid.
It is an experimentally determined parameter
whose value depends on all the variables
influencing convection such as:
- the surface geometry
- the nature of fluid motion
- the properties of the fluid
- the bulk fluid velocity
14
Conduction
Example 2
Calculate the rate of heat transfer by natural convection between a shed roof of area
20 m ͯ 20 m and ambient air, if the roof surface temperature is 27°C, the air temperature
-3°C, and the average convection heat transfer coefficient 10 W/m 2 K

The rate of heat is:

15
 Radiation
• Radiation: The energy emitted by matter in the form of
electromagnetic waves (or photons) as a result of the changes in the
electronic configurations of the atoms or molecules.
• In heat transfer studies we are interested in thermal radiation, which is
the form of radiation emitted by bodies because of their temperature.
• All bodies at a temperature above absolute zero emit thermal
radiation.
• Radiation is a volumetric phenomenon, and all solids, liquids, and
gases emit, absorb, or transmit radiation to varying degrees.

16
 Radiation
Stefan–Boltzmann law

 = 5.670  108 W/m2 · K4 Stefan–Boltzmann constant

Blackbody: The idealized surface that emits radiation at the maximum rate.

Radiation emitted
by real surfaces

Emissivity  : A measure of how closely

a surface approximates a blackbody for
which  = 1 of the surface. 0   1.

Blackbody radiation represents the maximum amount of

radiation that can be emitted from a surface at a
specified temperature. 17
Radiation
Absorptivity : The fraction of the radiation energy incident on a
surface that is absorbed by the surface. 0   1
A blackbody absorbs the entire radiation incident on it ( = 1).
In general, both  and  of a surface depend on the temperature
and the wavelength of the radiation.

18
 Radiation
Net radiation heat transfer: The
difference between the rates of
radiation emitted by the surface and
the radiation absorbed.

When a surface is completely

enclosed by a much larger (or
black) surface at temperature
Tsurr separated by a gas (such
as air) that does not intervene
with radiation, the net rate of
radiation heat transfer between
these two surfaces is given by: Radiation heat transfer between a surface
and the surfaces surrounding it.

19
Conduction
Example 2
A long, cylindrical electrically heated rod, 2 cm in diameter, is installed in a vacuum
furnace as shown in Fig. 1.12. The surface of the heating rod has an emissivity of
0.9 and is maintained at 1000 K, while the interior walls of the furnace are black and
are at 800 K. Calculate the net rate at which heat is lost from the rod per unit length

The rate of heat is:

20
One-dimensional Heat Conduction Equation
Heat conduction in many geometries (wall of a house, the wall of a cylindrical or spherical container) can
be approximated as being one-dimensional since heat conduction through these geometries will be
dominant in one direction and negligible in other directions.

Heat Conduction Equation in a Large Plane Wall

g: is the rate of heat generation

21
Heat Conduction Equation in a Large Plane Wall

Variable conductivity:

Constant conductivity:

22
Heat Conduction Equation in a Long Cylinder

Variable conductivity:

Constant conductivity:

23
Heat Conduction Equation in a Sphere

Variable conductivity:

Constant conductivity:

24