1. How does the science of heat transfer differ from the science of thermodynamics?

Thermodynamics deals with the amount of heat transfer as a system undergoes a process from
one equilibrium state to another. Heat transfer, on the other hand, deals with the rate of heat transfer as
well as the temperature distribution within the system at a specified time.

2. How does transient heat transfer differ from steady heat transfer? How does one-dimensional
heat transfer differ from two-dimensional heat transfer?
The term steady implies no change with time at any point within the medium while transient
implies variation with time or time dependence. Therefore, the temperature or heat flux remains
unchanged with time during steady heat transfer through a medium at any location although both
quantities may vary from one location to another. During transient heat transfer, the temperature and
heat flux may vary with time as well as location. Heat transfer is one-dimensional if it occurs primarily in
one direction. It is two- dimensional if heat transfer in the third dimension is negligible.

3. Is heat transfer a scalar or a vector quantity? Explain. Answer the same for temperature.

Heat transfer is a vector quantity since it has direction as well as magnitude. Therefore, we
must specify both direction and magnitude in order to describe heat transfer completely at a point.
Temperature, on the other hand, is a scalar quantity.

4.Does a heat flux vector at a point P on an isothermal surface of a medium have to be

perpendicular to the surface at that point? Explain.

Yes, the heat flux vector at a point P on an isothermal surface of a medium has to be
perpendicular to the surface at that point.

5. From a heat transfer point of view, what is the difference between isotropic and anisotropic
materials?

Isotropic materials have the same properties in all directions, and we do not need to be
concerned about the variation of properties with direction for such materials. The properties of
anisotropic materials such as the fibrous or composite materials, however, may change with
direction.

6. What is heat generation in a solid? Give examples.

In heat conduction analysis, the conversion of electrical, chemical, or nuclear energy into heat
(or thermal) energy in solids is called heat generation.

7. Heat generation is also referred to as energy generation or thermal energy generation.

What do you think of these phrases?
 The phrase “thermal energy generation” is equivalent to “heat generation,” and they are used
interchangeably. They imply the conversion of some other form of energy into thermal energy. The
phrase “energy generation,” however, is vague since the form of energy generated is not clear.

8. Consider a round potato being baked in an oven. Would you model the heat transfer to the
potato as one-, two-, or three-dimensional? Would the heat transfer be steady or transient?
Also, which coordinate system would you use to solve this problem, and where would you
place the origin? Explain.

Heat transfer to a potato in an oven can be modeled as one-dimensional since temperature

differences (and thus heat transfer) will exist in the radial direction only because of symmetry about
the center point. This would be a transient heat transfer process since the temperature at any point
within the potato will change with time during cooking. Also, we would use the spherical coordinate
system to solve this problem since the entire outer surface of a spherical body can be described by a
constant value of the radius in spherical coordinates. We would place the origin at the center of the
potato.

9. Consider an egg being cooked in boiling water in a pan. Would you model the heat transfer
to the egg as one-, two-,or three-dimensional? Would the heat transfer be steady or transient?
Also, which coordinate system would you use to solve this problem, and where would you
place the origin? Explain.

Assuming the egg to be round, heat transfer to an egg in boiling water can be modeled as one-
dimensional since temperature differences (and thus heat transfer) will primarily exist in the radial
direction only because of symmetry about the center point. This would be a transient heat transfer
process since the temperature at any point within the egg will change with time during cooking. Also,
we would use the spherical coordinate system to solve this problem since the entire outer surface of
a spherical body can be described by a constant value of the radius in spherical coordinates. We
would place the origin at the center of the egg.

10. Consider a hot dog being cooked in boiling water in a pan. Would you model the heat
transfer to the hot dog as one-,two-, or three-dimensional? Would the heat transfer be steady
or transient? Also, which coordinate system would you use to solve this problem, and where
would you place the origin? Explain.

Heat transfer to a hot dog can be modeled as two-dimensional since temperature differences (and
thus heat transfer) will exist in the radial and axial directions (but there will be symmetry about the
center line and no heat transfer in the azimuthal direction. This would be a transient heat transfer
process since the temperature at any point within the hot dog will change with time during cooking.
Also, we would use the cylindrical coordinate system to solve this problem since a cylinder is best
described in cylindrical coordinates. Also, we would place the origin somewhere on the center line,
possibly at the center of the hot dog. Heat transfer in a very long hot dog could be considered to be
one-dimensional in preliminary calculations.
11. Write down the one-dimensional transient heat conduction equation for a plane wall with
constant thermal conductivity and heat generation in its simplest form, and indicate

The one-dimensional transient heat conduction equation for a plane wall with constant thermal ∂2T
g& 1∂T conductivity and heat generation is ∂x2 + k = α ∂t . Here T is the temperature, x is the space
variable, g is the heat generation per unit volume, k is the thermal conductivity, α is the thermal
diffusivity, and t is the time.

12. Write down the one-dimensional transient heat conduc- tion equation for a long cylinder
with constant thermal con- ductivity and heat generation, and indicate what each variable
represents.

The one-dimensional transient heat conduction equation for a plane wall with constant thermal 1 ∂
⎛ ∂ T ⎞ g& 1 ∂ T conductivity and heat generation is r ∂r ⎜⎝ r ∂r ⎟⎠ + k = α ∂t . Here T is the
temperature, r is the space variable, g is the heat generation per unit volume, k is the thermal
conductivity, α is the thermal diffusivity, and t is the time.

13. Starting with an energy balance on a rectangular vol- ume element, derive the one-
dimensional transient heat conduction equation for a plane wall with constant thermal
conductivity and no heat generation.

We consider a thin element of thickness Δx in a large plane wall (see Fig. 2-13 in the text). The density
of the wall is ρ, the specific heat is C, and the area of the wall normal to the direction of heat transfer
is A. In the absence of any heat generation, an energy balance on this thin element of thickness Δx
during a small time interval Δt can be expressed as
14. What is a boundary condition? How many boundary conditions do we need to specify for
a two-dimensional heat conduction problem?

The mathematical expressions of the thermal conditions at the boundaries are called the
boundary conditions. To describe a heat transfer problem completely, two boundary conditions
must be given for each direction of the coordinate system along which heat transfer is significant.
Therefore, we need to specify four boundary conditions for two-dimensional problems.

15. What is an initial condition? How many initial conditions do we need to specify for a two-
dimensional heat conduction problem?

The mathematical expression for the temperature distribution of the medium initially is
called the initial condition. We need only one initial condition for a heat conduction problem
regardless of the dimension since the conduction equation is first order in time (it involves the first
derivative of temperature with respect to time). Therefore, we need only 1 initial condition for a two-
dimensional problem.

16. What is a thermal symmetry boundary condition? How is it expressed mathematically?

A heat transfer problem that is symmetric about a plane, line, or point is said to have thermal
symmetry about that plane, line, or point. The thermal symmetry boundary condition is a
mathematical expression of this thermal symmetry. It is equivalent to insulation or zero heat flux
boundary condition, and isexpressedatapointx0 as ∂T(x0,t)/∂x=0.

17. How is the boundary condition on an insulated surface expressed mathematically?

18. It is claimed that the temperature profile in a medium must be perpendicular to an

insulated surface. Is this a valid claim? Explain.

Yes, the temperature profile in a medium must be perpendicular to an insulated surface since
the slope ∂T / ∂x = 0 at that surface.

19. Why do we try to avoid the radiation boundary conditions in heat transfer analysis?

We try to avoid the radiation boundary condition in heat transfer analysis because it is a non-
linear expression that causes mathematical difficulties while solving the problem; often making it
impossible to obtain analytical solutions.
20. It is stated that the temperature in a plane wall with constant thermal conductivity and no
heat generation varies linearly during steady one-dimensional heat conduction. Will this still
be the case when the wall loses heat by radiation from its surfaces?

Yes, the temperature in a plane wall with constant thermal conductivity and no heat
generation will vary linearly during steady one-dimensional heat conduction even when the wall
loses heat by radiation from its surfaces. This is because the steady heat conduction equation in a
plane wall is d 2 T / dx 2 = 0 whose solution is T(x) = C1x + C2 regardless of the boundary conditions.
The solution function represents a straight line whose slope is C1.

21. Consider one-dimensional heat conduction through a large plane wall with no heat
generation that is perfectly insulated on one side and is subjected to convection and radiation
on the other side. It is claimed that under steady conditions, the temperature in a plane wall
must be uniform (the same everywhere). Do you agree with this claim? Why?
Ans: Yes, this claim is reasonable since in the absence of any heat generation the rate of heat transfer
through a plain wall in steady operation must be constant. But the value of this constant must be zero
since one side of the wall is perfectly insulated. Therefore, there can be no temperature difference
between different parts of the wall; that is, the temperature in a plane wall must be uniform in steady
operation.

22. Consider a solid cylindrical rod whose side surface is maintained at a constant
temperature while the end surfaces are perfectly insulated. The thermal conductivity of the
rod material is constant and there is no heat generation. It is claimed that the temperature in
the radial direction within the rod will not vary during steady heat conduction. Do you agree
with this claim? Why?
Ans: Yes, this claim is reasonable since no heat is entering the cylinder and thus there can be no heat
transfer from the cylinder in steady operation. This condition will be satisfied only when there are
no temperature differences within the cylinder and the outer surface temperature of the cylinder is
the equal to the temperature of the surrounding medium.

23. Consider a solid cylindrical rod whose ends are maintained at constant but different
temperatures while the side surface is perfectly insulated. There is no heat generation. It is
claimed that the temperature along the axis of the rod varies linearly during steady heat
conduction. Do you agree with this claim? Why?
Ans: Yes, in the case of constant thermal conductivity and no heat generation, the temperature in a
solid cylindrical rod whose ends are maintained at constant but different temperatures while the side
surface is perfectly insulated will vary linearly during steady one-dimensional heat conduction. This
is because the steady heat conduction equation in this case is d T dx 2 2 / = 0 whose solution is T x
Cx C ( ) = + 1 2 which represents a straight line whose slope is C1.

24. What is heat generation? Give some examples.

Ans: Heat generation in a solid is simply conversion of some form of energy into sensible heat energy.
Some examples of heat generations are resistance heating in wires, exothermic chemical reactions in
a solid, and nuclear reactions in nuclear fuel rods.

25. Does heat generation in a solid violate the first law of thermodynamics, which states that
energy cannot be created or destroyed? Explain.
Ans: No. Heat generation in a solid is simply the conversion of some form of energy into sensible heat
energy. For example resistance heating in wires is conversion of electrical energy to heat

26. Consider uniform heat generation in a cylinder and a sphere of equal radius made of the
same material in the same environment. Which geometry will have a higher temperature at
its center? Why?
Ans: The cylinder will have a higher center temperature since the cylinder has less surface area to
lose heat from per unit volume than the sphere.

27. An iron is left unattended and its base temperature rises as a result of resistance heating
inside. When will the rate of heat generation inside the iron be equal to the rate of heat loss
from the iron?
Ans: The rate of heat generation inside an iron becomes equal to the rate of heat loss from the iron
when steady operating conditions are reached and the temperature of the iron stabilizes.

28. Consider the uniform heating of a plate in an environment at a constant temperature. Is it

possible for part of the heat generated in the left half of the plate to leave the plate through
the right surface? Explain.
Ans: No, it is not possible since the highest temperature in the plate will occur at its center, and heat
cannot flow “uphill.

29. Is the thermal conductivity of a medium, in general, constant or does it varies with
temperature?
Ans: The thermal conductivity of a medium, in general, varies with temperature.

30. When the thermal conductivity of a medium varies linearly with temperature, is the
average thermal conductivity always equivalent to the conductivity value at the average
temperature?
Ans: Yes, when the thermal conductivity of a medium varies linearly with temperature, the average
thermal conductivity is always equivalent to the conductivity value at the average temperature.

31. The temperature of a plane wall during steady one dimensional heat conduction varies
linearly when the thermal conductivity is constant. Is this still the case when the thermal
conductivity varies linearly with temperature?
Ans: No, the temperature variation in a plain wall will not be linear when the thermal conductivity
varies with temperature.
32. Consider steady one-dimensional heat conduction in a plane wall in which the thermal
conductivity varies linearly. The error involved in heat transfer calculations by assuming
constant thermal conductivity at the average temperature is (a) none, (b) small, or (c)
significant.
Ans: During steady one-dimensional heat conduction in a plane wall in which the thermal
conductivity varies linearly, the error involved in heat transfer calculation by assuming constant
thermal conductivity at the average temperature is (a) none.

33. Consider steady one-dimensional heat conduction in a plane wall, long cylinder, and
sphere with constant thermal conductivity and no heat generation. Will the temperature in
any of these mediums vary linearly? Explain.
Ans: During steady one-dimensional heat conduction in a plane wall, long cylinder, and sphere with
constant thermal conductivity and no heat generation, the temperature in only the plane wall will
vary linearly.

34. Consider heat conduction through a wall of thickness L and area A. Under what conditions
will the temperature distributions in the wall be a straight line?
Ans: The temperature distribution in a plane wall will be a straight line during steady and one
dimensional heat transfer with constant wall thermal conductivity.

35. Consider heat conduction through a plane wall. Does the energy content of the wall change
during steady heat conduction? How about during transient conduction? Explain.
Ans: (a) If the lateral surfaces of the rod are insulated, the heat transfer surface area of the cylindrical
rod is the bottom or the top surface area of the rod, 4/ 2s = πDA . (b) If the top and the bottom surfaces
of the rod are insulated, the heat transfer area of the rod is the lateral surface area of the rod, A DL =
π.

36. What does the thermal resistance of a medium represent?

Ans: The thermal resistance of a medium represents the resistance of that medium against heat
transfer.

37. Can we define the convection resistance for a unit surface area as the inverse of the
convection heat transfer coefficient?
Ans: Yes. The convection resistance can be defined as the inverse of the convection heat transfer
coefficient per unit surface area since it is defined as Rconv = 1/(hA ) .

38. Consider steady heat transfer through the wall of a room in winter. The convection heat
transfer coefficient at the outer surface of the wall is three times that of the inner surface as a
result of the winds. On which surface of the wall do you think the temperature will be closer
to the surrounding air temperature? Explain.
Ans: Convection heat transfer through the wall is expressed as Q = hAs (Ts – Tinfi) . In steady heat
transfer, heat transfer rate to the wall and from the wall are equal. Therefore at the outer surface
which has convection heat transfer coefficient three times that of the inner surface will experience
three times smaller temperature drop compared to the inner surface. Therefore, at the outer surface,
the temperature will be closer to the surrounding air temperature.

39. How is the combined heat transfer coefficient defined? What convenience does it offer in
heat transfer calculations?
Ans: The combined heat transfer coefficient represents the combined effects of radiation and
convection heat transfers on a surface, and is defined as hcombined = hconvection + hradiation. It
offers the convenience of incorporating the effects of radiation in the convection heat transfer
coefficient, and to ignore radiation in heat transfer calculations.

40. Why are the convection and the radiation resistances at a surface in parallel instead of
being in series?
Ans: The convection and the radiation resistances at a surface are parallel since both the convection
and radiation heat transfers occur simultaneously.
41. Consider steady one-dimensional heat transfer through a plane wall exposed to
convection from both sides to environments at known temperatures T 1 and T 2 with known
heat transfer coefficients h1 and h2. Once the rate of heat transfer has been evaluated, explain
how you would determine the temperature of each surface.

42. Someone comments that a microwave oven can be viewed as a conventional oven with
zero convection resistance at the surface of the food. Is this an accurate statement?
Yes, it is.
43. Consider two cold canned drinks, one wrapped in a blanket and the other placed on a table
in the same room. Which drink will warm up faster?
The blanket will introduce additional resistance to heat transfer and slow down the heat gain of the
drink wrapped in a blanket. Therefore, the drink left on a table will warm up faster.

44. The bottom of a pan is made of a 4-mm-thick aluminium layer. In order to increase the rate
of heat transfer through the bottom of the pan, someone proposes a design for the bottom that
consists of a 3-mm-thick copper layer sandwiched between two 2-mm-thick aluminium
layers. Will the new design conduct heat better? Explain. Assume perfect contact between the
layers.
The new design introduces the thermal resistance of the copper layer in addition to the thermal
resistance of the aluminium which has the same value for both designs. Therefore, the new design
will be a poorer conductor of heat.

45. Consider a surface of area A at which the convection and radiation heat transfer
coefficients are hconv and hrad, respectively. Explain how you would determine (a) the single
equivalent heat transfer coefficient, and (b) the equivalent thermal resistance. Assume the
medium and the surrounding surfaces are at the same temperature.
46. How does the thermal resistance network associated with a single-layer plane wall differ
from the one associated with a five-layer composite
wall?
The thermal resistance network associated with a five-layer composite wall involves five single-layer
resistances connected in series.

47. Consider steady one-dimensional heat transfer through a multilayer medium. If the rate
of heat transfer Q explain how you would determine the temperature drop across each layer.

48. Consider a window glass consisting of two 4-mm thick glass sheets pressed tightly against
each other. Compare the heat transfer rate through this window with that of one consisting of
a single 8-mm-thick glass sheet under identical conditions.
The window glass which consists of two 4 mm thick glass sheets pressed tightly against each other
will probably have thermal contact resistance which serves as an additional thermal resistance to
heat transfer through window, and thus the heat transfer rate will be smaller relative to the one
which consists of
a single 8 mm thick glass sheet.

49. What is thermal contact resistance? How is it related to thermal contact conductance?
The resistance that an interface offers to heat transfer per unit interface area is
called thermal contact resistance, Rc . The inverse of thermal contact resistance is called the thermal
contact conductance.

50. Will the thermal contact resistance be greater for smooth or rough plain surfaces?
The thermal contact resistance will be greater for rough surfaces because an
interface with rough surfaces will contain more air gaps whose thermal conductivity is low.

51. Explain how the thermal contact resistance can be minimized.

Thermal contact resistance can be minimized by (1) applying a thermally
conducting liquid on the surfaces before they are pressed against each other, (2) by replacing the air
at the interface by a better conducting gas such as helium or hydrogen, (3) by increasing the interface
pressure, and (4) by inserting a soft metallic foil such as tin, silver, copper, nickel, or aluminum
between the two surfaces.

52. A wall consists of two layers of insulation pressed against each other. Do we need to be
concerned about the thermal contact resistance at the interface in a heat transfer analysis or
can we just ignore it?
An interface acts like a very thin layer of insulation, and thus the thermal contact resistance has
significance only for highly conducting materials like metals. Therefore, the thermal contact
resistance can be ignored for two layers of insulation pressed against each other.
53. A plate consists of two thin metal layers pressed against each other. Do we need to be
concerned about the thermal contact resistance at the interface in a heat transfer analysis or
can we just ignore it?
An interface acts like a very thin layer of insulation, and thus the thermal contact resistance is
significant for highly conducting materials like metals. Therefore, the thermal contact resistance
must be considered for two layers of metals pressed against each other.

54. Consider two surfaces pressed against each other. Now the air at the interface is evacuated.
Will the thermal contact resistance at the interface increase or decrease as a result?
Heat transfer through the voids at an interface is by conduction and radiation.
Evacuating the interface eliminates heat transfer by conduction, and thus increases the thermal
contact resistance.

55. What are the two approaches used in the development of the thermal resistance network
for two-dimensional problems?
Two approaches used in development of the thermal resistance network in the x direction for multi-
dimensional problems are (1) to assume any plane wall normal to the x-axis to be isothermal and (2)
to assume any plane parallel to the x-axis to be adiabatic.

56. The thermal resistance networks can also be used approximately for multidimensional
problems. For what kind of multidimensional problems will the thermal resistance approach
give adequate results?
The thermal resistance network approach will give adequate results for multidimensional heat
transfer problems if heat transfer occurs predominantly in one direction.

57. When plotting the thermal resistance network associated with a heat transfer problem,
explain when two resistances are in series and when they are in parallel.
Parallel resistances indicate simultaneous heat transfer (such as convection and
radiation on a surface). Series resistances indicate sequential heat transfer (such as two
homogeneous layers of a wall).

58. What is an infinitely long cylinder? When is it proper to treat an actual cylinder as being
infinitely long, and when is it not?
When the diameter of cylinder is very small compared to its length, it can be
treated as an indefinitely long cylinder. Cylindrical rods can also be treated as being infinitely long
when dealing with heat transfer at locations far from the top or bottom surfaces. However, it is not
proper to use this model when finding temperatures near the bottom and the top of the cylinder.

59. Can the thermal resistance concept be used for a solid cylinder or sphere in steady
operation? Explain.
No. In steady-operation the temperature of a solid cylinder or sphere does not
change in radial direction (unless there is heat generation).

60. Consider a short cylinder whose top and bottom surfaces are insulated. The cylinder is
initially at a uniform temperature Ti and is subjected to convection from its side surface to a
medium at temperature T , with a heat transfer coefficient of h. Is the heat transfer in this
short cylinder one- or two dimensional? Explain.
Heat transfer in this short cylinder is one-dimensional since there will be no heat transfer in the axial
and tangential directions.
61. What is the critical radius of insulation? How is it defined for a cylindrical layer?

62. Consider an insulated pipe exposed to the atmosphere. Will the critical radius of insulation
be greater on calm days or on windy days? Why?

63. A pipe is insulated to reduce the heat loss from it. However, measurements indicate that
the rate of heat loss has increased instead of decreasing. Can the measurements be right?
Ans: Yes, the measurements can be right. If the radius of insulation is less than critical radius of
insulation of the pipe, the rate of heat loss will increase

64. Consider a pipe at a constant temperature whose radius is greater than the critical radius
of insulation. Someone claims that the rate of heat loss from the pipe has increased when some
insulation is added to the pipe. Is this claim valid?
Ans: The claim is not valid. Since, at the radius of insulation=critical radius, there only it
experiences a maximum heat transfer, afterwards heat transfer start decreases.

65. A pipe is insulated such that the outer radius of the insulation is less than the critical
radius. Now the insulation is taken off. Will the rate of heat transfer from the pipe increase or
decrease for the same pipe surface temperature?
Ans: It will decrease.

66. Hot air is to be cooled as it is forced to flow through the tubes exposed to atmospheric air.
Fins are to be added in order to enhance heat transfer. Would you recommend attaching the
fins inside or outside the tubes? Why? When would you recommend attaching fins both inside
and outside the tubes?
Ans: Fins should be attached to the outside since the heat transfer coefficient inside the tube will
be higher due to forced convection. Fins should be added to both sides of the tubes when the
convection coefficients at the inner and outer surfaces are comparable in magnitude.

67. What is the reason for the widespread use of fins on surfaces?
Ans: Increasing the rate of heat transfer from a surface by increasing the heat transfer surface area.
68. What is the difference between the fin effectiveness and the fin efficiency?
Ans: The fin efficiency is defined as the ratio of actual heat transfer rate from the fin to the ideal
heat transfer rate from the fin if the entire fin were at base temperature, and its value is between 0
and 1. Fin effectiveness is defined as the ratio of heat transfer rate from a finned surface to the heat
transfer rate from the same surface if there were no fins, and its value is expected to be greater than
1.

69. The fins attached to a surface are determined to have an effectiveness of 0.9. Do you think
the rate of heat transfer from the surface has increased or decreased as a result of the addition
of these fins?
Ans: Heat transfer rate will decrease since a fin effectiveness smaller than 1 indicates that the fin
acts as insulation

70. Explain how the fins enhance heat transfer from a surface. Also, explain how the addition
of fins may actually decrease heat transfer from a surface.
Ans: Fins enhance heat transfer from a surface by increasing heat transfer surface area for
convection heat transfer. However, adding too many fins on a surface can suffocate the fluid and
retard convection, and thus it may cause the overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer to
decrease.

71. How does the overall effectiveness of a finned surface differ from the effectiveness of a
single fin?
Ans: Effectiveness of a single fin is the ratio of the heat transfer rate from the entire exposed
surface of the fin to the heat transfer rate from the fin base area. The overall effectiveness of a finned
surface is defined as the ratio of the total heat transfer from the finned surface to the heat transfer
from the same surface if there were no fins.

72. Hot water is to be cooled as it flows through the tubes exposed to atmospheric air. Fins are
to be attached in order to enhance heat transfer. Would you recommend attaching the fins
inside or outside the tubes? Why?
Ans: Fins should be attached to the outside since the heat transfer coefficient inside the tube will
be higher due to forced convection. Fins should be added to both sides of the tubes when the
convection coefficients at the inner and outer surfaces are comparable in magnitude.

73. Consider two finned surfaces that are identical except that the fins on the first surface are
formed by casting or extrusion, whereas they are attached to the second surface afterwards
by welding or tight fitting. For which case do you think the fins will provide greater
enhancement in heat transfer? Explain.
Ans: Welding or tight fitting introduces thermal contact resistance at the interface, and thus
retards heat transfer. Therefore, the fins formed by casting or extrusion will provide greater
enhancement in heat transfer.
74. The heat transfer surface area of a fin is equal to the sum of all surfaces of the fin exposed
to the surrounding medium, including the surface area of the fin tip. Under what conditions
can we neglect heat transfer from the fin tip? Does the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of a
fin increase or decrease as the fin length is increased?
Ans: If the fin is too long, the temperature of the fin tip will approach the surrounding temperature
and we can neglect heat transfer from the fin tip. Also, if the surface area of the fin tip is very small
compared to the total surface area of the fin, heat transfer from the tip can again be neglected.
Increasing the length of a fin decreases its efficiency but increases its effectiveness.

75. Two pin fins are identical, except that the diameter of one of them is twice the diameter of
the other. For which fin is the (a) fin effectiveness and (b) fin efficiency higher? Explain.
Ans: Increasing the diameter of a fin will increase its efficiency but decrease its effectiveness.

76. Two plate fins of constant rectangular cross section are identical, except that the thickness
of one of them is twice the thickness of the other. For which fin is the (a) fin effectiveness and
(b) fin efficiency higher? Explain.
Ans: The thicker fin will have higher efficiency; the thinner one will have higher effectiveness.

77. Two finned surfaces are identical, except that the convection heat transfer coefficient of
one of them is twice that of the other. For which finned surface is the (a) fin effectiveness and
(b) fin efficiency higher? Explain.
Ans: The fin with the lower heat transfer coefficient will have the higher efficiency and the higher
effectiveness.

78. What is the physical significance of the Biot number? Is the Biot number more likely to be
larger for highly conducting solids or poorly conducting ones?
Ans: Biot number represents the ratio of conduction resistance within the body to convection
resistance at the surface of the body. The Biot number is more likely to be larger for poorly
conducting solids since such bodies have larger resistances against heat conduction.

79. What is lumped system analysis? When is it applicable?

Ans: In heat transfer analysis, some bodies are observed to behave like a "lump" whose entire body
temperature remains essentially uniform at all times during a heat transfer process. The temperature
of such bodies can be taken to be a function of time only. Heat transfer analysis which utilizes this
idealization is known as the lumped system analysis. It is applicable when the Biot number (the ratio
of conduction resistance within the body to convection resistance at the surface of the body) is less
than or equal to 0.1.
80. In what medium is the lumped system analysis more likely to be applicable: in water or in
air? Why?
Ans: The lumped system analysis is more likely to be applicable in air than in water since the
convection heat transfer coefficient and thus the Biot number is much smaller in air.
81) For which solid is the lumped system analysis more likely to be applicable: an actual apple
or a golden apple of the same size? Why?
ANS) The lumped system analysis is more likely to be applicable for a golden apple than for an actual
apple since the thermal conductivity is much larger and thus the Biot number is much smaller for
gold. Lumped system analysis is more likely for substance with least biot number.
82)For which kind of bodies made of the same material is the lumped system analysis more
likely to be applicable: slender ones or well-rounded ones of the same volume? Why?
Ans) The lumped system analysis is more likely to be applicable to slender bodies than the well-
rounded bodies since the characteristic length (ratio of volume to surface area) is relatively less and
thus the Biot number is much smaller for slender bodies.

83) Consider heat transfer between two identical hot solid bodies and the air surrounding
them. The first solid is being cooled by a fan while the second one is allowed to cool naturally.
For which solid is the lumped system analysis more likely to be applicable? Why?.
Ans) The lumped system analysis is more likely to be applicable for the body cooled naturally. As we
know the Biot number is directly proportional to the convection heat transfer coefficient(h) which is
proportional to the air velocity. Hence biot number increases with increase in h. Therefore, the Biot
number is more likely to be less than 0.1 for the case of natural convection. When Biot no is less than
0.1 then only we can apply lumped analysis.

84) Consider heat transfer between two identical hot solid bodies and their environments.
The first solid is dropped in a large container filled with water, while the second one is allowed
to cool naturally in the air. For which solid is the lumped system analysis more likely to be
applicable? Why?
Ans) The lumped system analysis is more likely to be applicable for the body allowed to cool in the
air since the Biot number is proportional to the convection heat transfer coefficient, which is larger
in water than it is in air because of the larger thermal conductivity of water. Therefore, the Biot
number is more likely to be less than 0.1 for the case of the solid cooled in the air. So solid which is
cooled in natural air is more likely to be applicable.

85) Consider a hot baked potato on a plate. The temperature of the potato is observed to drop
by 4°C during the first minute. Will the temperature drop during the second minute be less
than, equal to, or more than 4°C? Why?
Ans) The temperature drop of the potato during the second minute will be less than 4, since the
temperature of a body approaches the temperature of the surrounding medium in a curve like
manner where it changes rapidly at the beginning, but slowly later on.
86) Consider a potato being baked in an oven that is maintained at a constant temperature.
The temperature of the potato is observed to rise by 5°C during the first minute. rise during
the second minute be less than, equal to, or more than 5°C? Why?
Ans) When a potato being baked in an oven is maintained at constant temperature, then the
temperature rise of the potato during the second minute will be less than since the temperature of a
body approaches the temperature of the surrounding medium asymptotically, and thus it changes
rapidly at the beginning, but slowly later on.
88) Consider two identical 4-kg pieces of roast beef. The first piece is baked as a whole, while
the second is baked after being cut into two equal pieces in the same oven. Will there be any
difference between the cooking times of the whole and cut roasts? Why?
Ans) The heat transfer is proportional to the surface area. Two half pieces of the roast have a much
larger surface area than the single piece and thus a higher rate of heat transfer. As a result, the two
half pieces will cook much faster than the single large piece

89) Consider a sphere and a cylinder of equal volume made of copper. Both the sphere and the
cylinder are initially at the same temperature and are exposed to convection in the same
environment. Which do you think will cool faster, the cylinder or the sphere? Why?
Ans)The cylinder will cool faster than the sphere as heat transfer rate is directly proportional to the
surface area and the surface area of a cylinder is greater than that of the sphere for a given volume.

90) An egg is to be cooked to a certain level of doneness by being dropped into boiling water.
Can the cooking time be shortened by turning up the heat and bringing water to a more rapid
boiling?
Ans) the rate of heat transferred can be improved by shortening the cooking time. Therefore, the
cooking time can be shortened by turning up the heat and bringing water to a more rapid boiling.

91) What is an infinitely long cylinder? When is it proper to treat an actual cylinder as being
infinitely long, and when is it not? For example, is it proper to use this model when finding the
temperatures near the bottom or top surfaces of a cylinder? Explain.
Ans) A cylinder whose diameter is small relative to its length is called infinitely long cylinder.When
the diameter and length of the cylinder are comparable, it is not proper to treat the cylinder as being
infinitely long. It is also not proper to use this model when finding the temperatures near the bottom
or top surfaces of a cylinder since heat transfer at those locations can be two-dimensional.

92)What is the physical significance of the Fourier number? Will the Fourier number for a
specified heat transfer problem double when the time is doubled?
Ans) The Fourier number is a measure of heat conducted through a body relative to the heat stored.
Thus a large value of Fourier number indicates faster propagation of heat through body. Since Fourier
number is proportional to time, doubling the time will also double the Fourier number.

93)Why are the transient temperature charts prepared using non dimensionalized quantities
such as the Biot and Fourier numbers instead of the actual variables such as thermal
conductivity and time?
Ans) The solution for determination of the one-dimensional transient temperature distribution
involves many variables that make the graphical representation of the results impractical. In order
to reduce the number of parameters, some variables are grouped into dimensionless quantities.

94)How can we use the transient temperature charts when the surface temperature of the
geometry is specified instead of the temperature of the surrounding medium and the
convection heat transfer coefficient?
Ans) This case can be handled by setting the heat transfer coefficient h to infinity since the
temperature of the surrounding medium in this case becomes equivalent to the surface temperature.

95)The Biot number during a heat transfer process between a sphere and its surroundings is
determined to be 0.02. Would you use lumped system analysis or the transient temperature
charts when determining the midpoint temperature of the sphere? Why?
Ans) When the Biot number is less than 0.1, the temperature of the sphere will be nearly uniform at
all times. Therefore, it is more convenient to use the lumped system analysis in this case.

96) A body at an initial temperature of Ti is brought into a medium at a constant temperature

of T. How can you determine the maximum possible amount of heat transfer between the
body and the surrounding medium?
Ans) The maximum possible amount of heat transfer will occur when the temperature of the body
reaches the temperature of the medium, and can be determined from
Q= mCp(Tinfinity-Ti).