SCS138 Heat Transfer

Outline:
Ø Modes of heat transfer
• Conduction
• Convection
• Radiation
Ø Thermal properties
• Thermal expansion
 Heat and Temperature
Ø Internal energy is all system’s energy associated with
microscopic motions (translation, vibration, rotation and
potential energy)
Ø Heat is the energy that is transferred between a system and
its environment because of temperature difference between
them.
Ø Temperature is the level of hotness of the system, but not
how much internal energy the system has.
Ø Heat is like water, and temperature is like water level (or
pressure of the water)
 Measuring Heat: various unit
Ø The SI unit of heat is Joule (J), other units are

• 1 calorie (cal) = 4.186 J

• 1 Calorie (Cal) = 4186 J

• 1 Btu (British thermal unit) = 1055 J = 252 cal

(1 Btu = energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 lb of water 1
degree Fahrenheit)

Ø The SI unit of temperature is Kelvin (K)

K = 273.15 + ° C
 Modes of heat transfer
Ø Three mechanisms for heat transfer due to temperature
difference (also called temperature gradient)
1. Conduction (through stationary media – solids)
2. Convection (through moving media – fluids)
3. Radiation (no media needed)

Natural flow (or transfer of heat) is always from higher

temperature regions to cooler ones.
Mode of heat transfer: Conduction
Ø Rate of energy transfer through
a slab of a thickness dx, cross-
sectional area of A, temperature
difference Th – Tc is

Q T
P A or
t x

dT
P  kA
dx
where k is the thermal conductivity
which depends on slab material
 Quick quiz § You have two rods of the same length
and diameter, but they are formed
from different materials. The rods
are used to connect two regions at
different temperatures as shown.
§ In which case is the rate of energy
transfer by conduction of heat
larger?

Hint: In case (b), heat can flow on both channels. In case (a), even heat can flow
very fast in one of the rods, its flow will be bottle-necked by the other rod.
 Example
Ø A bar of gold is in thermal contact with a bar of silver of the
same length and area. One end of the compound bar is
maintained at 80.0°C while the opposite end is at 30.0°C. When
the energy transfer reaches steady state, what is the
temperature at the junction?
 Example
Ø Two slabs with thickness L1 and L2 , and
thermal conductivities k1 and k2 contact
with each other as shown. Determine
temperature at the interface between the
two slabs, and the rate of energy transfer
by conduction in the steady-state
condition.
Ans:

Hint:
•Steady-state means that its temperature behavior does not change
with time any more.
•This means that the rate of heat entering any point is equal to the rate
of heat leaving that point. Otherwise, there will be a build-up or
depletion of heat in given area, resulting in change in temperature
distribution (not steady).
•The rate of heat flowing through the 1st slab must be equal to the rate
of heat flowing through the 2nd slab.
 Thermal Resistance to
Heat Conduction ( R-value )
Ø Often one is interested in poor conduction of heat e.g. in home
insulation -> useful to define thermal resistance or the R-value of
insulating materials
R  L/k T T
and P  kA A
x R
Ø K and L are the coefficient of thermal conductivity and the
thickness of the material.
Ø Note analogy between voltage V and temperature gradient T and
Power P to the current I in an electrical circuit. Thermal R is similar
to electrical R and combine the same way.
 Example
Ø Do the previous example, this time using
series combination of thermal resistance
R1 and R2 to find the rate of heat flow P.
Mode of heat transfer: Convection
Ø Heat transferred by convection
occurs when a fluid, such as air
or water, expands as a result of
heat source.
Ø This expanded fluid has less
density than the surrounding
cooler fluid.
Ø It is displaced by the cooler
and denser surrounding fluid.
Ø Heat is transferred to the
surrounding by this mass
movement of the media
Mode of heat transfer: Radiation
Ø All objects radiate energy continuously in the form of
electromagnetic waves produced by thermal vibration of molecules

Ø The rate at which an object radiates energy is given as

P AeT 4

Where s is a constant = 5.67x10-8 W/m2K4 and e is the emissivity of

the object (e=1 for ideal emitter) and T is the surface temperature in
unit of Kelvin.
Example
Ø If, the Earth’s average surface temperature is about 255 K.
Treating Earth as a spherical black body having radius of about
6300 km. What is the energy emitted per unit area per second?
Where does this huge amount of energy come from?

Ans: P ~ 240 Watts/m2. In reality, Earth also has atmospheric gases which absorb
long wavelength radiation raising the average temperature up to about 288 K 15
Example
Ø A student is trying to decide what to wear. The surroundings (his bedroom)
are at 20.0 °C.
Ø If the skin temperature of the unclothed student is 35 °C, what is the net
energy loss from his body in 10.0 minutes by radiation? Assume that the
emissivity of skin is 0.900 and that the surface area of the student is 1.50 m2
Ans: Total heat loss = 7.5 x 104 J
 Thermal properties of objects
Ø Thermal expansion

a) Linear expansion (dL/L)/dT

b) Volume expansion (dV/V)/dT

Ø E.g. in building aircraft, rivets and

bolts are cooled in dry ice before
insertion into the structure – so that
at normal working temperature, those
joints are tight fit.
 Thermal Expansion (quantitative)
Ø Linear expansion

L L T
a is a constant called coefficient of
linear expansion

Ø Volume expansion

V  V T
b is a constant called coefficient of
volume expansion. For solid, b = 3a
Example
Ø A steel rod has a length of exactly 20 cm at 30 C.
How much longer is it at 50 C.
 Example
Ø The area A of a rectangular plate is ab. Its coefficient of linear
expansion is a. After a temperature rise T, side a is longer by  a and
side b is longer by b .
Ø Show that if we neglect the small quantity a b/ab then A = 2aA T
Ø This is equivalent to showing that coefficient of area expansion g = 2a
Example
Ø In Iraq’s gulf where the temperature is 40 C, a tanker ship is
filled with 10,000 barrels of crude oil which will be delivered at
Port of Mabtaphut, Rayong where temperature is 5 C lower.
Given that the coefficient of volume expansion for crude oil is
9.5 x 10-4 / C.
Ø What is the volume of the crude oil at Mabtaphut port?
Self-practice
Ø A copper wire and a lead wire are joined together, end to end.
The compound wire has an effective coefficient of linear
expansion of 20.0 x 10-6 (°C-1).
Ø What fraction of the length of the compound wire is copper?