Page 2 of 10

Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

INSTRUCTIONS
Answer ALL THREE (3) Questions

1 A coil spring is manufactured from a length of steel bar using the process shown in
Figure 1. The final dimensions of the spring are shown in Figure 2.

Initial Heating Spring Forming Quenching Re-heating Air Cooling

Figure 1: Spring manufacturing process

6 coils total

∅150 mm

∅25 mm

Figure 2: Details of spring

Details of the initial heating process, quenching and final air cooling process are given
in the following table

Process Description Details

Ti = 25 o C
induction heating hc = 100 W/m2 .K
Initial Heating (can be considered uniform Tf = 900 o C
internal heating) T∞ = 1000 o C
Qheat = 1 kW/m (of bar)
Ti = 900 o C
Quenching Oil bath Tf = 200 o C at 2 mm depth
hc = 2500 W/m2 .K
T∞ = 20 o C
Ti = 200 o C
Air Cooling T∞ = 20 o C.
tcool = 5 hours

– Question 1 continues on Page 3 –

 Page 3 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

– Continuation of Question 1 from Page 2 –

(a) Determine an expression for the temperature of the steel bar versus time for the
initial heating process. You may assume a uniform temperature.
(8 Marks)

(b) Is the uniform temperature assumption in Part (a) valid? Comment on your
answer.
(4 Marks)

(c) Using the expression developed in Part (a), find the time taken to heat the bar to
the required hot working temperature.
(3 Marks)

(d) Using an appropriate method, determine the length of time each spring must
spend in the oil-bath during the quenching process.
(6 Marks)

(e) If the maximum cooling rate for the oil is 25 kW, determine how many springs
can be quenched per hour.
(4 Marks)

(f) It has been determined that the springs are safe to handle when their temperature
falls below 35 o C. What is the required convective heat transfer coefficient during
the air-cooling process to meet this cooling requirement for the springs?
(10 Marks)

The following additional information is provided:

(i) Properties of the spring material:

k 25 W/m.K
ρ 7850 kg/m3
c 400 J/kg.K

(ii) You may neglect any curvature in the spring and use its unwrapped length for
calculation purposes.

(iii) You may neglect any thermal radiation effects.

(Total 35 Marks)
 Page 4 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

2 A kiln uses a heat shield to reduce the heat loss to the ambient as shown in Figure 3.
During operation the shield temperature is 350 o C while the kiln surface temperature
is 600 o C.
400 mm

Air Gap

Heat Shield

4m

Kiln wall

Figure 3: Kiln with heat shield

It is necessary to consider both convection and radiation heat transfer modes in the
system. The kiln surface emissivity is 0.65 and is independent of wavelength. The
shield is thin and has a negligible temperature difference between the inside and outside
surfaces.

(a) Determine the convective heat transfer coefficients between

(i) the kiln surface and the heat shield,
(ii) the heat shield and the ambient.
Hence, determine the convective heat transfer rate to and from the heat shield.
(9 Marks)

(b) Determine expressions for the radiative heat transfer between

(i) the kiln surface and the heat shield,
(ii) the heat shield and the ambient.
(6 Marks)

(c) Using an appropriate heat balance and calculations, determine the emissivity of
the heat shield.
(10 Marks)

(d) Calculate the reduction in heat loss due to the shield and comment on the effectiveness
of the heat shield. It is not necessary to recalculate the convective heat transfer
coefficients.
(10 Marks)

– Question 2 continues on Page 5 –

 Page 5 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

– Continuation of Question 2 from Page 4 –

The following additional information is provided:

(i) The heat transfer correlation for two vertical surface of height L, separated by a
distance of δ, is
 −1/4  0.28
L Pr
Nuδ = 0.22 Raδ
δ 0.2 + Pr

(ii) The heat transfer correlation for a single vertical surface of height L, is

NuL = 0.56 (GrL Pr)1/4

(iii) The Stefan-Boltzmann constant, σ, is 5.7 × 10−8 .

(iv) Thermal properties of air:

gβ
Tfilm kf Pr × 10−8
ν2
[ oC ] [ W/m.K ] [-] [ 1/K.m2 ]
40 0.0265 0.71 1.010
60 0.0279 0.71 0.782
80 0.0293 0.71 0.600
100 0.0307 0.71 0.472
200 0.0370 0.71 0.164
300 0.0429 0.71 0.0709
400 0.0485 0.72 0.0350
500 0.0540 0.72 0.0193

(Total 35 Marks)
 Page 6 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

3 A simple concentric tube heat exchanger is shown in Figure 4. Condensing steam at a

temperature of 100 o C flows through the internal tube, while water flows through the
annulus.

Water

Ambient Air

Condensing Steam

Figure 4: Simple heat exchanger

The convective heat transfer coefficient between the condensing steam and the inside
tube is sufficiently large that any convective resistance may be ignored. The convective
heat transfer coefficient between the outside surface and the ambient air is 40 W/m2 .K.
The water flows through the annulus at a flow rate of 0.8 litres per second. The tubes
have negligible thickness and the outer and inner diameters of the annulus are 100 mm
and 25 mm respectively. The total length of the heat exchanger is 50 m.

(a) Calculate the heat transfer coefficient between the water and the surfaces of the
annulus.
(4 Marks)

(b) By using a suitable thermal network, calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient
per metre length, from the water to the ambient air. Use the outside diameter of
the annulus as the reference.
(4 Marks)

(c) Working from first principles, derive an expression for the variation of water
temperature along the heat exchanger.
(10 Marks)

(d) Using the expression in Part (c), calculate the water temperature at the exit of the
heat exchanger.
(2 Marks)

– Question 3 continues on Page 7 –

 Page 7 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

– Continuation of Question 3 from Page 6 –

It is proposed to improve the efficiency of the heat exchanger by covering the final
section with insulation. The proposal states that the insulation should start at a point
20 m from the inlet of the heat exchanger.

(e) Comment on whether this distance is the optimal point to begin the insulation.
Support your answer with calculations. You may assume the remainder of the
operating conditions are unchanged.
(10 Marks)

The following additional information is provided:

(i) The material properties are as follows:

Water: µ = 1.00 ×10−3 Ns/m2 , ρ = 1000 kg/m3
k = 0.6 W/m.K, cp = 4180 J/kg.K
µcp
Note: Pr =
k
(ii) The heat transfer correlation for turbulent internal flow in an annulus is
0.8
NuDH = 0.023ReD H
Pr0.3

where the hydraulic radius, DH , is equal to Do − Di , and the Reynolds number

is
ρV DH
ReDH =
µ
(Total 30 Marks)
 Page 8 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

Heisler Charts:

Figure 5: Infinitely long cylinder of radius ro

Position Biot Number Fourier Number Centre Temp. Local Temp. Heat transferred
r hc ro αt
Fig. 7 Fig. 6 Fig. 8
ro ks ro2

Figure 6: Dimensionless local temperature in an infinitely long cylinder of radius ro

 Page 9 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

Figure 7: Dimensionless centre temperature in an infinitely long cylinder of radius ro

 Page 10 of 10
Heat Transfer 431 (302864 v1.) End of Semester 1 Examinations, June 2011

Figure 8: Dimensionless heat transferred for infinitely long cylinder of radius ro

– END OF EXAMINATION PAPER –