1) THE PROCESS OF HEAT TRANSFER

Conduction:-
It’s a phenomenon of heat transfer where the heat flows through a medium without the
movement of the particles.
Each molecule follows 3 types of motions :
a. Translational Motion
b. Rotational Motion and
c. Vibrational Motion

Electrical flow and thermal flow are analogies to each other. Good thermal conductors are
good electrical conductors.

Conduction:-

It is a phenomenon of heat transfer where heat flows through a medium with the motion
of the particles.

Radiation:-

It is defined as transfer of heat flow without any medium in the form of electromagnetic
waves.

Thermal Conductivity (k):-

dq/dA = -k dT/dx

dq/dA = Heat Flux

Thermal Conductivity is not always constant. It maintains linear relationship with temperature.

k=k0 (1+βT)
T2
dq −k 0(1+ βT )
dA
=
dx
∫ dT
T1

q −k 0 β
= [T2-T1 + (T22-T12)]
A Δx 2

Thermal Diffusivity (α):-

The rate at which thermal heat is diffusing is called “Thermal Diffusivity”.

Thermal Conductivity
α=
Thermal Capacity
 k
α=
C P∗ρ

Thermal Conductivity at 0K

Material Thermal
Conductivity (k)
(metallic solids)

Silver 410

Copper 385

Aluminum 202

Nickel 93

Iron 73

Cu-Steel 43

Chromium-Steel 16.3

Non-Metal Solids Thermal

Conductivity (k)

Glass 0.038

Window Glass 0.08

Liquids Thermal
Conductivity (k)

Water 0.556

Gases Thermal
Conductivity (k)

Air 0.024
Problems :-

A ball 20mm thick with a cross sectional area of 0.1 mm 2 maintained at 350C and other at 950C. The
W W
thermal conductivity at 350C end is 48 and on the other is 57 .
m−℃ m−℃

Sol:-

q −K 0 β
= [(T2-T1 ) + (T22 – T12)]
A Δx 2

K avg =

ΔT∗A
q = -k Δx

52.5 ( 95−35 ) 0.1

=- 20∗0.0001

= 15.75 KW

Rate of Heat Transfer Through a Composite wall:-

q q

A B C

Ka Kb Kc

T1 BA T2 BB T3 BC T4

Thermal conductivities are ka, kb, kc

Thicknesses are Ba, Bb, Bc

Temperature drop in the 1st slab A is 𝛥T1

Temperature drop in the 2nd slab B is 𝛥T2

Temperature drop in the 3rd slab C is 𝛥T3

 ( T 1−T 2 ) A
q = -ka
Ba

q
T1-T2 = BA
Ka∗A

q
T2-T3 = Bb
Kb∗A

q
T3-T4 = Bc
Kc∗A

T1-T2+T2-T3+T3-T4= (𝛥T) OVERALL

qaBa qbBb qc Bc
(𝛥T) OVERALL = Ka A + Kb A + Kc A

But q=qa=qb=qc

q Ba Bb Bc
[
(𝛥T) OVERALL = A Ka + Kb + Kc ]
(ΔT ) OVERALL
q
= Ba + Bb + Bc
A [
Ka Kb Kc ]
Heat flow is analogous to electrical flow

q ΔT 1 Δ T 2 Δ T 3 (ΔT ) OVERALL
= = = =
A R1 R2 R3 R 1+ R 2+ R 3

Overalltemperature difference
q=
∑ of all Resistances
Individual temperature dif ference
= Individual Resistance

T 1−T 4 T 1−T 2 T 2−T 3 T 1−T 4

q = R 1+ R 2+ R 3 = R1
= R2 = R3

Problems:
 1. A flat furnace wall is constructed of a 4.5 inch (114 mm) layer of silver brim of thermal
Btu
conductivity of 0.08 (i.e. 0.138 W/m-0C) backed by a 9 inch (229 mm) layer of
hr−f t−oF
common brick of thermal conductivity 0.8 Btu/hr-ft-0F(i.e. 1.38 W/m-0C). The temperature of
inner face of the wall is 14000F (760 0C) and that of outer face is 1700F (76.60C).
a) What is the heat loss through wall
b) What is the temperature of interface between refractor brick and common
brick
c) Supposing that the contact between the two brick layers is cool and that a
contact resistance of 0.5 0F-hr-ft2/Btu (0.088 m2 0C/W) is present. What would
be the heat loss.

Sol:-

From the fig,

ΔT
q/A =
R 1+ R 2

but R1= B1/k1A

R2 = B2/k2A

R1 = 0.114/0.138*1 = 0.826086

R2 = 0.229/1.38*1 = 0.16594

q/A = 683.4/.826086+.16594 = 688.8932

q = 688.392 W/m2. (A = 1m2)

2. A wall 30mm thick is to be constructed from material which has an average thermal conductivity
of 1.38 W/m-0C, the wall is to be insulated with the material having an average thermal
conductivity of 0.38 W/m-0C, the heat loss is formed as 1900W the inside temperature formed as
1900W the inside temperature wall is 13000C and outside is 300C. Find out the thickness of the
insulation required.

Sol:-

Given

q =1900W , A = 1m2
q/A = 𝛥Toverall/ R1+ R2

R1 = BA /kA

R2 = BB/kB

1300−30
1900 = 30
+B
1.38

0.02173 + B/0.38 = 0.668

B=0.2455 m

3. A composite wall is made up of 20 mm Cu plate 3.67 mm layer of asbestos and a 60 mm layer

of fibre glass. The wall is subjected to an overall temperature difference of 600 0C. Find out the
heat flow per unit area through composite wall.

Sol:

Kasbestos = 0.129 Btu/hr-ft0F

=0.129 * 1.7303 = 0.22326 W/m-oC

Kcu = 218 Btu/hr-ft-0F= 377.2 W/m-0C

Kfibre glass = 0.019 Btu/hr-ft-0C = 0.0322 W/m-0C

𝛥T = 6000C, A=1m2

q/A = 𝛥T/R1+ R2+R3

R1= BA/kasb A = 0.02/0.223 = 0.0896

Similarly, R2 = 9.72 * 10-6

R3=1.8248

R1+R2+R3 =1.91442

q/A = 600/1.9142 = 313.4096 W/m2

4. KA = 150 W/m-0C,
KB=30 W/m-0C,
Kc=50 W/m-0C,
KD = 70 W/m-0C
AB= AD
Sol:- R1=B1/KA . A = 25/150*0.1 = 0.00166

RB=BB/KB. AB= 0.075/30*0.05 = 0.05

RD = BD/KD . AD=0.075/70*0.05 = 0.0214

R2= RBRD/RB+RD = 0.075*0.075/0.05*70*0.075+30*0.075

= 0.015

Similarly, R3= 0.050/50*0.1 = 0.01

q = (𝛥T)total/R1+R2+R3

= 370-66/0.00166+0.014+0.01 = 11875 = 11.8 KW

5. A furnace wall consists of 200mm of refractory clay brick , 100 mm of caroline brick and 6
mm of steel plate. The fire side of the refractory is 1150 0C and outside of the coal is 300C. An
accurate heat balance over the furnace shows the heat loss from the wall 300 W/m 2. It is
known that there may be thin layers between the layers of brick and steel. To how many mm
of caroline are these air layers equivalent.

Sol : B1 = 200 mm, B2 = 100 mm, B3 = 6 mm

T1 = 11500C, T4 = 300C
q/A = 300 W/m2
k1 = 0.113 Btu/hr-ft2 = 0.19557 W/hr-m2
k2 = 0.765 Btu/hr-ft2 = 1.324 W/hr-m2
k3 = 41 Btu/hr-ft2 = 70.9599 W/hr-m2
q/A = T1-T4/(R1+R2+R3) = T1 – T2/R1 = T2-T3/R2 =T3-T4/R3= 0.765
1120∗1.73073
q =
0.261438+0.8849+0.0004634+ B /0.113

1.938 .4176
300 =
1.14648+ B /0.113

1.14648+B/0.113 = 6.4614

B/0.113 = 5.3149

B = 0.6m

Steady state heat flow through a hollow cylinder:

Let us consider long cylinder with inner radius r i and outside radius of ro. The length of the cylinder
is ‘l’. The cylinder is so long that the length is far greater than the diameter of the cylinder. The inside
temperature is Ti and outside temperature is To. The inside temperature is Ti is greater than the outside
temperature To in such a way that the heat flows from inside to outside. As the length of the cylinder is
very high when compared with diameter the flow of heat is in radial direction r

As per the Fourier’s Law of Heat Conduction,

dq/dA = -k dT/dx

dq = -k dA. dT/dx

= -k 2πrl dT/dr

In the above equation, we cannot take either r i or ro as the radius of the cylinder and the lines of
heat flow are not parallel to each other because of curvature in the cylinder compound to plane in wall

Hence consider a differential element of thickness dr. dr is very small and hence the lines of heat
flow are parallel at a distance r from the centre

T = Ti r = ri

T = To r = ro

q/2πrl = -k dT/dr

q/2πrl dr = -k dT
ri Ti

∫ dr /r = -2πkl/q ∫ dT
ro ¿

ln ro/ri = -2πkl/q (To – Ti)

2 πkl(Ti−¿)
q = ro
ln( )
ri

but q = 𝛥T/R

ro
ln
R= ri
2 πkl

dT
q = -k A
dx

−k à L(T i−T o)
q =
ro−ri

here ÃL = Logarithmic Mean Area

 ÃL = 2πlřL

řL = Logarithmic Mean Radius

ro−ri
řL = ro
ln
ri

Steady state heat flow through a compound cylinder:-

Let us consider a composite cylinder with 3 layers.

The inside radius is ‘ri’, immediate radii of the layers are ‘r 2’,’r3’ and ‘r4’.

The temperatures of the junctions are ‘T 1’,’T2’,’T3’,’T4’ respectively. The length of the cylinder is ‘L’. The
length of the composite cylinder is very high when compared to the diameter of the cylinder. The
thermal conductivities are k1, k2, k3, k4. The heat flows from inside to outside

2 πLk 1(T 1−T 2)

q1 = r2
ln
r1

2 πLk 2(T 2−T 3)

q2 = r3
ln
r2

2 πLk 3(T 3−T 4 )

q3 = r4
ln
r3

By rewriting these equations

T1-T2 =
ln ( rr 21 ) q 1
2 πLk 1

T2-T3 =
ln ( rr 32 ) q 2
2 πLk 2

T3 – T4 =
ln ( rr 21 ) q 3
2 πLk 3
By adding and simplifying the three equations we get

r2 r3 r4
T1-T4 =
1 ln
2 πL
[ ( )
r1
q 1 ln
+
r2
q2( )
+¿
ln
r3
q3
] ( )
k1 k2 k3

In a steady state heat flow

2 πL(T 1−T 4)
r2 r3 r4
q = ln
[
( )
r1
q 1 ln
+
r2 ( )
q 2 ln
+
r3
q3( )
]
k1 k2 k3

( ΔT ) overall ΔT 1 ΔT 2 ΔT 3
q= = = =
ΣR R1 R 2 R3

By simplifying the equations we get,

2 πL(T 1−T 4)
r2 r3 r4
q = ln
[
( ) ( ) ( )
r1
+
ln
r2
+
ln
r3
]
k1 k2 k3

problems:-

1. A hollow cylinder is constructed of aluminum with an inner diameter of 50 mm & outer

diameter of 90 mm . Inside temperature is 1200C and outside the temperature of the cylinder
is 600C. calculate the rate of heat transfer by steady state heat conduction.
K=210W/m-0C,r0=45mm,ri=25mm, L=1m

2 πkl(Ti−¿)
Sol. q= ro ,
ln( )
ri

2 π∗210∗1(120−60)
= 45
ln ( )
25

q = 134620.27 W/m2.

Steady state heat flow through a hollow sphere:

Let us consider a hollow sphere, the inside radius is r i , the outside radius is ro,

Inside temperature is Ti , outside temperature To, ‘k’ is the thermal conductivity of sphere.

Heat flows from inside to outside in radial direction. Because of curvature of sphere lines are not
parallel. Hence consider a thin element ‘dr’ between r i & ro at a distance of ‘r’ from the centre between
ri & ro and ‘dr’ being very thin line of heat flow .

From Fourier law of heat conduction,

dq/dA = -k dT/dx

dq = -k dA. dT/dx

dq = -k (4πr2)dT/dr

dq/r2 = -k 4dT/d