CHAPTER ONE BASICS OF HEAT TRANSFER

1-1 Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

1-2 Engineering Heat Transfer
1-3 Heat and Other Forms of Energy
Specific Heats of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
1-4 Heat Transfer Mechanisms
1-5 Conduction
1-6 Convection
1-6 Radiation
Problem-Solving Technique

1
1-1 Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
You will recall from thermodynamics that energy exists in various forms. In this text we are primarily
interested in heat, which is the form of energy that can be transferred from one system to another as a
result of temperature difference.
The science that deals with the determination of the rates of such energy transfers is heat transfer.
You may be wondering why we need to undertake a detailed study on heat transfer. After all, we can
determine the amount of heat transfer for any system undergoing any process using a thermodynamic
analysis alone. The reason is that thermodynamics is concerned with the amount of heat transfer as a
system undergoes a process from one equilibrium state to another, and it gives no indication about
how long the process will take. A thermodynamic analysis simply tells us how much heat must be
transferred to realize a specified change of state to satisfy the conservation of energy principle.
In practice we are more concerned about the rate of heat transfer (heat transfer per unit time) than we
are with the amount of it. For example, we can determine the amount of heat transferred from a
thermos bottle as the hot coffee inside cools from 90°C to 80°C by a thermodynamic analysis alone.
But a typical user or designer of a thermos is primarily interested in how long it will be before the hot
coffee inside cools to 80°C, and a thermodynamic analysis cannot answer this question. Determining
the rates of heat transfer to or from a system and thus the times of cooling or heating, as well as the
variation of the temperature, is the subject of heat transfer (Fig. 1–1).
1-2 Engineering Heat Transfer
1-3 Heat and Other Forms of Energy Specific Heats of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
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EXAMPLE 1–1 Heating of a Copper Ball
A 10-cm diameter copper ball is to be heated from 100°C to an average temperature of 150°C in 30
minutes (Fig. 1–12). Taking the average density and specific heat of copper in this temperature range
to be ρ= 8950 kg/m3 and Cp = 0.395 kJ/kg · °C, respectively, determine (a) the total amount of heat
transfer to the copper ball, (b) the average rate of heat transfer to the ball, and (c) the average heat
flux.
(a) The amount of heat transferred to the copper ball is simply the change in its
internal energy, and is determined from
Energy transfer to the system = Energy increase of the system

Therefore, 92.6 kJ of heat needs to be transferred to the copper ball to heat it from 100°C to 150°C.

(b) The rate of heat transfer normally changes during a process with time. However,
we can determine the average rate of heat transfer by dividing the total
amount of heat transfer by the time interval. Therefore,

(c) Heat flux is defined as the heat transfer per unit time per unit area, or the rate of heat transfer per
unit area. Therefore, the average heat flux in this case is
1-4 Heat Transfer Mechanisms
A- CONDUCTION
EXAMPLE 1–2 The Cost of Heat Loss through a Roof

(a) Noting that heat transfer through the roof is by conduction and the
area of the roof is A = 6 m × 8 m = 48 m2, the steady rate of heat
transfer through the roof is determined to be

(b) The amount of heat lost through the roof during a 10-hour period and its
cost are determined from

Discussion The cost to the home owner of the heat loss through the roof that
night was $1.35. The total heating bill of the house will be much larger since
the heat losses through the walls are not considered in these calculations.
A layer of material of known thickness and
area can be heated from one side by an
electric resistance heater of known output. If
the outer surfaces of the heater are well
insulated, all the heat generated by the
resistance heater will be transferred through
the material whose conductivity is to be
determined. Then measuring the two surface
temperatures of the material when steady
heat transfer is reached and substituting
them into equation

Eq. 1–22 together with other known

quantities give the thermal conductivity (Fig.
1–25).
The mechanism of heat conduction in a liquid is complicated by the fact that the molecules are more
closely spaced, and they exert a stronger intermolecular force field. The thermal conductivities of
liquids usually lie between those
of solids and gases. The thermal conductivity of a substance is
normally highest in the solid phase and lowest in the gas phase.
Unlike gases, the thermal conductivities of most liquids decrease
with increasing temperature, with water being a notable exception.
Like gases, the conductivity of liquids decreases with increasing
molar mass. Liquid metals such as mercury and sodium have high
thermal conductivities and are very suitable for use in applications
where a high heat transfer rate to a liquid is desired, as in nuclear
power plants.
In solids, heat conduction is due to two effects: the lattice
vibrational waves induced by the vibrational motions of the
molecules positioned at relatively fixed positions in a periodic
manner called a lattice, and the energy transported via the free flow
of electrons in the solid (Fig. 1–27). The thermal conductivity of a
solid is obtained by adding the lattice and electronic components.
The relatively high thermal conductivities of pure metals are
primarily due to the electronic component. The lattice component
of thermal conductivity strongly depends on the way the molecules
are arranged. For example, diamond, which is a highly ordered
crystalline solid, has the highest known thermal conductivity at
room temperature.
1-6 Convection
Convection is the mode of energy transfer between a solid surface and the
adjacent liquid or gas that is in motion, and it involves the combined effects
of conduction and fluid 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 is by pure
conduction. The presence of bulk motion of the fluid enhances the heat
transfer between the solid surface and the fluid, but it also complicates the
determination of heat transfer rates.
Consider the cooling of a hot block by blowing cool air over its top surface
(Fig. 1–31). Energy is first transferred to the air layer adjacent to the block
by conduction. This energy is then carried away from the surface by
convection, that is, by the combined effects of conduction within the air
that is due to random motion of air molecules and the bulk or macroscopic
motion of the air that removes the heated air near the surface and replaces
it by the cooler air. Convection is called forced convection if the fluid is
forced to flow over the surface by external means such as a fan, pump, or
the wind. In contrast, convection is called 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 fluid (Fig. 1–32).
Despite the complexity of convection, the rate of convection heat transfer is observed to be
proportional to the temperature difference, and is conveniently expressed by Newton’s law of cooling
as

where h is the convection heat transfer coefficient in W/m2 · °C or

Btu/h · ft2 · °F, As is the surface area through which convection heat
transfer takes place, Ts is the surface temperature, and T is the
temperature of the fluid sufficiently far from the surface. Note that at
the surface, the fluid temperature equals the surface temperature of
the solid.
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, and the bulk
fluid velocity. Typical values of h are given in Table 1–5.
EXAMPLE 1–2 Measuring Convection Heat Transfer Coefficient
A 2-m-long, 0.3-cm-diameter electrical wire extends across a room at 15°C, as shown in Fig. below.
Heat is generated in the wire as a result of resistance heating, and the surface temperature of the wire
is measured to be 152°C in steady operation. Also, the voltage drop and electric current through the
wire are measured to be 60 V and 1.5 A, respectively. Disregarding any heat transfer by radiation,
determine the convection heat transfer coefficient for heat transfer between the outer surface of the
wire and the air in the room.
the rate of heat loss from the wire will equal the rate
of heat generation in the wire as a result of
resistance heating. That is,

The surface area of the wire is

Newton’s law of cooling for convection heat transfer is expressed as

Disregarding any heat transfer by radiation and thus assuming all the heat loss from the
wire to occur by convection, the convection heat transfer coefficient is determined to be
 1-6 Radiation
Radiation is 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. Unlike conduction and
convection, the transfer of energy by radiation does not require the
presence of an intervening medium. In fact, energy transfer by radiation is
fastest (at the speed of light) and it suffers no attenuation in a vacuum.
This is how the energy of the sun reaches the earth. In heat transfer
studies we are interested in thermal radiation, which is the form of
radiation emitted by bodies because of their temperature. It differs from
other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays, gamma rays,
microwaves, radio waves, and television waves that are not related to
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.
The maximum rate of radiation that can be emitted from a surface at an
absolute temperature Ts (in K or R) is given by the Stefan–Boltzmann law
as

where σ =5.67x10-8 W/m2.K4 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant.

The idealized surface that emits radiation at this maximum rate is
called black body radiation.
The radiation emitted by all real surfaces is less than the radiation emitted by a blackbody at the same
temperature, and is expressed as

where ε is the emissivity of surface. The property emissivity, whose value is in the range 0≤ε≤1 is a
measure of how closely a surface approximate a blackbody for which ε =1. The emissivities of some
surfaces are given in Table below
To calculate the heat exchange between two surfaces at
absolute temperatures of T1 and T2 respectively by radiation
can be use the following relation.
When a surface of emissivity and surface area As at an absolute
temperature Ts is completely enclosed by a much larger (or
black) surface at absolute temperature T surr 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
EXAMPLE 1–3 Radiation Effect on Thermal Comfort
It is a common experience to feel “chilly” in winter and “warm” in summer in our homes even when
the thermostat setting is kept the same. This is due to the so called “radiation effect” resulting from
radiation heat exchange between our bodies and the surrounding surfaces of the walls and the ceiling.
Consider a person standing in a room maintained at 22°C at all times. The inner surfaces of the walls,
floors, and the ceiling of the house are observed to be at an average temperature of 10°C in winter and
25°C in summer. Determine the rate of radiation heat transfer between this person and the
surrounding surfaces if the exposed surface area and the average outer surface temperature of the
person are 1.4 m2 and 30°C, respectively