MCL242: Heat and Mass Transfer

Tutorial sheet 3

Problem 1: The rear window of an automobile is defogged by passing warm air over its
inner surface.

(a) If the warm air is at T∞,i = 40◦ C and the corresponding convection coefficient is hi = 30
W/m2 ·K, what are the inner and outer surface temperatures of 4 mm-thick window
glass, if the outside ambient air temperature is T∞,o = −10◦ C and the associated
convection coefficient is ho = 65 W/m2 ·K ?

(b) In practice T∞,O and ho vary according to weather conditions and car speed. For
values of ho = 2, 65, and 100 W/m2 K, compute and plot the inner and outer surface
temperatures as a function of T∞,o for −30 ≤ T∞,o ≤ 0◦ C.

Solution: (a) Ts,i = 7.7◦ C, Ts,o = 4.9◦ C

Problem 2: The walls of a refrigerator are typically constructed by sandwiching a layer

of insulation between sheet metal panels. Consider a wall made from fiberglass insulation of
thermal conductivity ki = 0.046 W/m·K and thickness Li = 50 mm and steel panels, each
of thermal conductivity kp = 60 W/m·K and thickness Lp = 3 mm. If the wall separates
refrigerated air at T∞,i = 4◦ C from ambient air at T∞,o = 25◦ C, what is the heat gain per
unit surface area? Coefficients associated with natural convection at the inner and outer
surfaces may be approximated as hi = ho = 5 W/m2 ·K.
Solution: 14.1 W/m2

Problem 3: A technique for measuring convection heat transfer coefficients involves

bonding one surface of a thin metallic foil to an insulating material and exposing the other
surface to the fluid flow conditions of interest. By passing an electric current through the

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foil, heat is dissipated uniformly within the foil and the corresponding flux, Pelec , may be
inferred from related voltage and current measurements. If the insulation thickness L and
thermal conductivity k are known and the fluid, foil, and insulation temperatures (T∞ , Ts , Tb )
are measured, the convection coefficient may be determined. Consider conditions for which
T∞ = Tb = 25◦ C, Pelec
00
= 2000 W/m2 , L = 10 mm, and k = 0.040 W/m·K.

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 (a) With water flow over the surface, the foil temperature measurement yields Ts = 27◦ C.
Determine the convection coefficient. What error would be incurred by assuming all
of the dissipated power to be transferred to the water by convection?

(b) If, instead, air flows over the surface and the temperature measurement yields Ts =
125◦ C, what is the convection coefficient? The foil has an emissivity of 0.15 and is
exposed to large surroundings at 25◦ C. What error would be incurred by assuming all
of the dissipated power to be transferred to the air by convection?

(c) Typically, heat flux gages are operated at a fixed temperature (Ts ), in which case
the power dissipation provides a direct measure of the convection coefficient. For
Ts = 27◦ C, plot Pelec
00
as a function of ho for 10 ≤ ho ≤ 1000 W/m2 ·K. What effect does
ho have on the error associated with neglecting conduction through the insulation?

Solution: (a) h = 996 W/m2 ·K, error = 0.4%, (b) h = 14.5 W/m2 ·K, error = 37.9%

Problem 4: The wind chill, which is experienced on a cold, windy day, is related to
increased heat transfer from exposed human skin to the surrounding atmosphere. Consider
a layer of fatty tissue that is 3 mm thick and whose interior surface is maintained at a
temperature of 36◦ C. On a calm day the convection heat transfer coefficient at the outer
surface is 25 W/m2 ·K, but with 30 km/h winds it reaches 65 W/m2 ·K. In both cases the
ambient air temperature is −15◦ C.

(a) What is the ratio of the heat loss per unit area from the skin for the calm day to that
for the windy day?

(b) What will be the skin outer surface temperature for the calm day? For the windy day?

(c) What temperature would the air have to assume on the calm day to produce the same
heat loss occurring with the air temperature at −15◦ C on the windy day?
q”calm
Solution: (a) q”windy
= 0.533, (b) Ts,2 |calm = 22.1◦ C, Ts,2 |windy = 10.8◦ C, (c) T∞
0
=
−56.3◦ C

Problem 5: A house has a composite wall of wood, fiberglass insulation, and plaster
board, as indicated in the sketch. On a cold winter day the convection heat transfer coef-
ficients are ho = 60 W/m2 ·K and hi = 30 W/m2 ·K. The total wall surface area is 350 m2 .

(a) Determine a symbolic expression for the total thermal resistance of the wall, including
inside and outside convection effects for the prescribed conditions.

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 (b) Determine the total heat loss through the wall.

(c) If the wind were blowing violently, raising ho to 300 W/m2 ·K, determine the percentage
increase in the heat loss.

(d) What is the controlling resistance that determines the amount of heat flow through
the wall?

Solution: (a) Rtot = 1

hi A
+ kLppA + kLb A
b
+ kLssA + ho1A , (b) 4.21 kW, (c) Glass fibre’s resistance

Problem 6: Consider a plane composite wall that is composed of two materials of thermal
conductivities kA = 0.1 W/m·K and kB = 0.04 W/m·K and thicknesses LA = 10 mm and
LB = 20 mm. The contact resistance at the interface between the two materials is known
to be 0.30 m2 ·K/W. Material A adjoins a fluid at 200◦ C for which h = 10 W/m2 ·K, and
material B adjoins a fluid at 40◦ C for which h = 20 W/m2 ·K.

(a) What is the rate of heat transfer through a wall that is 2 m high by 2.5 m wide?

(b) Sketch the temperature distribution.

Solution: (a) 762 W

Problem 7: A steam pipe of 0.12 m outside diameter is insulated with a layer of calcium
silicate.

(a) If the insulation is 20 mm thick and its inner and outer surfaces are maintained at
Ts,1 = 800 K and Ts,2 = 490 K, respectively, what is the heat loss per unit length (q 0 )
of the pipe?

(b) We wish to explore the effect of insulation thickness on the heat loss q 0 and outer
surface temperature Ts,2 , with the inner surface temperature fixed at Ts,1 = 800 K.
The outer surface is exposed to an airflow (T∞ = 25◦ C) that maintains a convection

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 coefficient of h = 25 W/m2 ·K and to large surroundings for which Tsurr = T∞ = 25◦ C.
The surface emissivity of calcium silicate is approximately 0.8. Compute and plot
the temperature distribution in the insulation as function of the dimensionless radial
coordinate, (r − r1 )/(r2 − r1 ), where r1 = 0.06 m and r2 is a variable (0.06 < r2 ≤ 0.20
m). Compute and plot the heat loss as a function of the insulation thickness for
0 ≤ (r2 − r1 ) ≤ 0.14 m.

Solution: (a) q 0 = 603 W/m

Problem 8: An electrical current of 700 A flows through a stainless steel cable having
a diameter of 5 mm and an electrical resistance of 6 × 10−4 Ω/m (i.e., per meter of cable
length). The cable is in an environment having a temperature of 30◦ C, and the total coef-
ficient associated with convection and radiation between the cable and the environment is
approximately 25 W/m2 ·K.

(a) If the cable is bare, what is its surface temperature?

(b) If a very thin coating of electrical insulation is applied to the cable, with a contact
resistance of 0.02 m2 ·K/W, what are the insulation and cable surface temperatures?

(c) There is some concern about the ability of the insulation to withstand elevated tem-
peratures. what thickness of this insulation (k = 0.5 W/m·K) will yield the lowest
value of the maximum insulation temperature? What is the value of the maximum
temperature when the thickness is used?

Solution: (a) Ts = 778.7◦ C, (b) Tins = 778.7◦ C, Ts = 1153◦ C, (c) thickness = 17.5 mm,
Ts = 692.5◦ C

Problem 9: Steam at a temperature of 250◦ C flows through a steel pipe (AISI 1010)
of 60-mm inside diameter and 75-mm outside diameter. The convection coefficient between
the steam and the inner surface of the pipe is 500 W/m2 ·K, while that between the outer
surface of the pipe and the surroundings is 25 W/m2 ·K. The pipe emissivity is 0.8, and the
temperature of the air and the surroundings is 20◦ C. What is the heat loss per unit length
of pipe?
Solution: 1831 W/m

Problem 10: A spherical tank for storing liquid oxygen on the space shuttle is to be
made from stainless steel of 0.80-m outer diameter and 5-mm wall thickness. The boiling
point and latent heat of vaporization of liquid oxygen are 90 K and 213 kJ/kg, respectively.
The tank is to be installed in a large compartment whose temperature is to be maintained

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at 240 K. Design a thermal insulation system that will maintain oxygen losses due to boiling
below 1 kg/day.

Problem 11: The steady-state temperature distribution in a composite plane wall of

three different materials, each of constant thermal conductivity, is shown as follows.

(a) Comment on the relative magnitudes of q200 and q300 and of q300 and q400 .

(b) Comment on the relative magnitudes of kA and kB and of kB and kC .

(c) Sketch the heat flux as a function of x.

00 00 00 00 00
Solution: (a) q2 = q3 and q3 > q4 , q4 = 0, (b) kA < kB , kB > kC

Problem 12: Consider one-dimensional conduction in a plane composite wall. The outer
surfaces are exposed to a fluid at 25◦ C and a convection heat transfer coefficient of 1000
W/m2 ·K. The middle wall B experiences uniform heat generation q̇B , while there is no
generation in walls A and C. The temperatures at the interfaces are T1 = 261◦ C and T2 =
211◦ C.

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 (a) Assuming negligible contact resistance at the interfaces, determine the volumetric heat
generation q̇B and the thermal conductivity kB .

(b) Plot the temperature distribution, showing its important features.

(c) Consider conditions corresponding to a loss of coolant at the exposed surface of material
A (h = 0). Determine T1 and T2 and plot the temperature distribution throughout the
system.

Solution: (a) q̇B = 4 × 106 W/m3 , kB = 15.3 W/m·K, (c) T1 = 835◦ C, T2 = 360◦ C

Problem 13: The exposed surface (x = 0) of a plane wall of thermal conductivity k is

subjected to microwave radiation that causes volumetric heating to vary as

x
 
q̇(x) = q̇0 1−
L

where q̇o (W/m3 ) is a constant. The boundary at x = L is perfectly insulated, while the
exposed surface is maintained at a constant temperature To . Determine the temperature
distribution T (x) in terms of x, L, k, q̇o , and To .
h 2 i
x3
Solution: T (x) = − q̇ko x2 − 6L + q̇2koL
x + To

Problem 14: A long, circular aluminum rod is attached at one end to a heated wall and
transfers heat by convection to a cold fluid.

(a) If the diameter of the rod is tripled, by how much would the rate of heat removal
change?

(b) If a copper rod of the same diameter is used in place of the aluminum, by how much
would the rate of heat removal change?

Solution: (a) 420% increase in heat transfer, (b) 29% increase in heat transfer rate

Problem 15: Consider two long, slender rods of the same diameter but different materials.
One end of each rod is attached to a base surface maintained at 100◦ C, while the surfaces
of the rods are exposed to ambient air at 20◦ C. By traversing the length of each rod with a
thermocouple, it was observed that the temperatures of the rods were equal at the positions
xA = 0.15 m and xB = 0.075 m, where x is measured from the base surface. If the thermal
conductivity of rod A is known to be kA = 70 W/m·K, determine the value of kB for rod B.
Solution: kB = 17.5 W/m·K

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 Problem 16: An experimental arrangement for measuring the thermal conductivity of
solid materials involves the use of two long rods that are equivalent in every respect, except
that one is fabricated from a standard material of known thermal conductivity kA while the
other is fabricated from the material whose thermal conductivity kB is desired. Both rods
are attached at one end to a heat source of fixed temperature Tb , are exposed to a fluid of
temperature T∞ , and are instrumented with thermocouples to measure the temperature at a
fixed distance x1 from the heat source. If the standard material is aluminum, with kA = 200
W/m·K, and measurements reveal values of TA = 75◦ C and TB = 60◦ C at x1 for Tb = 100◦ C
and T∞ = 25◦ C, what is the thermal conductivity kB of the test material?
Solution: kB = 56.6 W/m·K

Problem 17: To defrost ice accumulated on the outer surface of an automobile wind-
shield, warm air is blown over the inner surface of the windshield. Consider an automobile
windshield with thickness of 5 mm and thermal conductivity of 1.4 W/m·K . The outside
ambient temperature is −10◦ C and the convection heat transfer coefficient is 200 W/m2 ·K,
while the ambient temperature inside the automobile is 25◦ C.

Determine the value of the convection heat transfer coefficient for the warm air blowing
over the inner surface of the windshield necessary to cause the accumulated ice to begin
melting.
Solution: hi = 112 W/m2 K

Problem 18: Consider a 15-cm×20-cm epoxy glass laminate (k = 0.17 W/m·◦ C) whose
thickness is 0.13 cm. In order to reduce the thermal resistance across its thickness, cylindrical
copper fillings (k = 386 W/m·◦ C) of 0.05 cm diameter are to be planted throughout the
board, with a center-to-center distance of 0.15 cm.
Determine the new value of the thermal resistance of the epoxy board for heat conduction
across its thickness as a result of this modification.
Solution: .0013 K/W

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 Problem 19: Consider a 1.5-m-high electric hot-water heater that has a diameter of 40
cm and maintains the hot water at 60◦ C. The tank is located in a small room whose average
temperature is 27◦ C, and the heat transfer coefficients on the inner and outer surfaces of the
heater are 50 and 12 W/m2 ·K, respectively. The tank is placed in another 46-cm-diameter
sheet metal tank of negligible thickness, and the space between the two tanks is filled with
foam insulation (k = 0.03 W/m·K). The thermal resistances of the water tank and the
outer thin sheet metal shell are very small and can be neglected. The price of electricity is
$0.08/kWh, and the homeowner pays $280 a year for water heating.

Determine the fraction of the hot-water energy cost of this household that is due to the
heat loss from the tank. Hot-water tank insulation kits consisting of 3-cm-thick fiberglass

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insulation (k = 0.035 W/m·K) large enough to wrap the entire tank are available in the
market for about $30. If such an insulation is installed on this water tank by the homeowner
himself, how long will it take for this additional insulation to pay for itself?
Solution: 15.2%, 1 year 9 months

Problem 20: Chilled water enters a thin-shelled 4-cm-diameter, 200-m-long pipe at 7◦ C

at a rate of 0.98 kg/s and leaves at 8◦ C. The pipe is exposed to ambient air at 30◦ C with a
heat transfer coefficient of 9 W/m2 ·K. If the pipe is to be insulated with glass wool insulation
(k = 0.05 W/m·K) in order to decrease the temperature rise of water to 0.25◦ C, determine
the required thickness of the insulation.
Solution: 5 cm

Problem 21: In a pharmaceutical plant, a copper pipe (kc = 400 W/m·K) with inner
diameter of 20 mm and wall thickness of 2.5 mm is used for carrying liquid oxygen to a
storage tank. The liquid oxygen flowing in the pipe has an average temperature of −200◦ C
and a convection heat transfer coefficient of 120 W/m2 ·K. The condition surrounding the
pipe has an ambient air temperature of 20◦ C and a combined heat transfer coefficient of
20 W/m2 ·K. If the dew point is 10◦ C, determine the thickness of the insulation (ki = 0.05
W/m·K) around the copper pipe to avoid condensation on the outer surface. Assume thermal
contact resistance is negligible.

Solution: 29.4 mm

Problem 22: The boiling temperature of nitrogen at atmospheric pressure at sea level (1
atm pressure) is −196◦ C. Therefore, nitrogen is commonly used in low-temperature scientific
studies since the temperature of liquid nitrogen in a tank open to the atmosphere will remain
constant at −196◦ C until it is depleted. Any heat transfer to the tank will result in the

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evaporation of some liquid nitrogen, which has a heat of vaporization of 198 kJ/kg and a
density of 810 kg/m3 at 1 atm. Consider a 3-m-diameter spherical tank that is initially filled
with liquid nitrogen at 1 atm and −196◦ C. The tank is exposed to ambient air at 15◦ C, with a
combined convection and radiation heat transfer coefficient of 35 W/m2 ·K. The temperature
of the thin-shelled spherical tank is observed to be almost the same as the temperature of
the nitrogen inside. Determine the rate of evaporation of the liquid nitrogen in the tank as a
result of the heat transfer from the ambient air if the tank is (a) not insulated, (b) insulated
with 5-cm-thick fiberglass insulation (k = 0.035 W/m·K), and (c) insulated with 2-cm-thick
superinsulation which has an effective thermal conductivity of 0.00005 W/m·K.

Solution: (a) 1.05 Kg/s (b) 0.021 Kg/s (c) 7.6 × 10−5 Kg/s

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