ME 305: Heat Transfer

Steady Heat Conduction:

Concept of Thermal Resistance Network

Dr. Mohammad Nasim Hasan

Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
BUET, Dhaka-1000
Steady 1D Heat Conduction: Conduction Resistance for Plane Wall

Qin  Qout  dEwall ;

dE
Q in  Q out  wall
dt
Q in  Q out  0  As Steady State 
dT
Q in  Q out   kA  Cons tan t
dx

 Q dx    kAdT
in

L T

 
2
Qin dx   kA dT
0 T1

Q in L   kAT2  T1 ;
kAT1  T2 
Q in 
L
T  T  T  T 
Q in  1 2  1 2
L RCond
kA

Unit of Thermal Resistance: C/W or K/W

 Analogy Among Heat, Current & Fluid Flow

P P Pr essure Difference
Q f  1 2 
Rf Fluid Flow Re sis tan ce
128L
R f  Fluid Flow Re sis tan ce  for Poiseulies Flow
d 4

  Vis cos ity of Fluid ;L  Pipe Length; d Pipe Diamater

Thermal Resistance during Steady Convection and Radiation

QConv.  hAs Ts  T  

Ts  T   Ts  T 
1 RConv.
hAs
1
RConv. 
hAs

  
QRad .  As Ts 4  T 4  As Ts 2  T 2 Ts 2  T 2  
QRad .  A T
s s
2
 T 2 T  T T  T 
s  s 

QRad . 
Ts  T  
Ts  T   Ts  T 
1 1 RRad .

As Ts 2  T 2 Ts  T   hrad As

hrad , Radiation Heat Transfer Coefficient   Ts 2  T 2 Ts  T ; 
1
RRad . 
hrad As
 Thermal Resistance
Network for a Plane Wall
subjected to convection
in both sides

Thermal Resistance
Network for a Composite
Wall subjected to
convection in both sides
T,1  T, 2
Q 
RConv.1  R1  R2  RConv. 2
T,1  T, 2

1 L L 1
 1  2 
h1 A k1 A k 2 A h2 A
 Generalized Thermal Resistance Network

T T T T  1 1 
Q  Q1  Q 2  1 2  1 2  T1  T2   
R1 R2  R1 R2 
T T
Q  1 2
RTotal
1 1 1 RR
  ; RTotal  1 2
RTotal R1 R2 R1  R2

Thermal resistance network for two parallel layers

 Generalized Thermal Resistance Network

B, kB
T1 T2
A, kA
C, kC E, kE

Q
D, kD

L1 L2 L3

Thermal resistance network for combined series-parallel arrangement

Steady 1D Heat Conduction: Conduction Resistance for Cylinder
dT dT
Q Cond   kA   k 2rL
dr dr
L :Cylinder Length
QCond dr
 2Lk r 
  dT

QCond r2 dr T2

2Lk r1 r 
  dT
T1

QCond  r2 
ln   T1  T2 
2Lk  1  r
2Lk T1  T2  T1  T2 
QCond  
ln 2  ln 2  2Lk
r r
 r1   r1 
ln 2 
r
T  T 
QCond  1 2 ; RCond,Cyl   1 
r
RCond,Cyl 2Lk
Steady 1D Heat Conduction: Conduction Resistance for Sphere

dT dT
Q Cond  kA  k 4r 2
dr dr
QCond dr
 4k r 2 
  dT

QCond r2 dr T2

4k 1 r r 2 
  dT
T1

QCond  1 1 
    T1  T2 
4k  r1 r2 
Obtain the Conduction 4k T1  T2  T1  T2 
QCond  
Resistance Expression for a  r2  r1 
 
r2  r1  4kr1r2
single layered/multilayered  r1r2 
sphere subjected to T  T  r  r 
convection from both the QCond  1 2 ; RCond,Sph  2 1
RCond,Sph. 4kr1r2
inner and outer sides.
 Thermal Contact Resistance

An interface offers some resistance to heat transfer, and this resistance per
unit interface area is called the thermal contact resistance, Rc. The inverse
of thermal contact resistance is called thermal contact conductance.

Q
Q  hc ATint erface ; hc  A
Tint erface
W / m . C ; R
2 o
c 
hc


Q

1 Tint erface 2 o
m . C /W 
A
 The value of thermal contact resistance (Rc) is determined from experiment.
 Thermal contact resistance depends on:
 surface roughness and material properties
 temperature and pressure at the interface and
 type of fluid trapped at the interface
 Thermal contact resistance is observed to decrease with decreasing surface
roughness and increasing interface pressure, as expected
 Critical Radius of Insulation
Addition of more insulation to a wall always decreases heat transfer. The thicker the
insulation, the lower the heat transfer rate. This is expected, since the heat transfer
area A is constant, and adding insulation always increases the thermal resistance of
the wall without increasing the convection resistance.

Addition of insulation to a cylindrical pipe or a spherical shell, however, is a

different matter. The additional insulation increases the conduction resistance of
the insulation layer but decreases the convection resistance of the surface be cause
of the increase in the outer surface area for convection. The heat transfer from
the pipe/shell may increase or decrease, depending on which effect
dominates.
 Critical Radius of Insulation
T1  T T T
Q   1 
ln r2 r1  1 RT

2Lk h2r2 L 
ln r2 r1  1
RT  
2Lk h2r2 L 
dRT 1 1
  0
dr2 2kL r2 2hLr2 2

r2  k / h

d 2 RT 1 1
  0
dr2 2
2kL r22 hLr2 3

at r2  k / h d 2 RT dRT
"" so RT is min imum at  0;
d 2 RT 1 1 dr2 2 dr2
 
dr2 2
2kL r22 hLr2 2 (k / h) at r2  k / h, RT m min imum;
Q max imum
1 1 1
  
2kL r22 Lr2 2k 2Lr2 2 k
The critical radius of insulation depends
on the thermal conductivity of the
insulation k and the external convection
heat transfer coefficient h.

The rate of heat transfer from the

cylinder increases with the addition of
insulation for r2 < rcr, reaches a maximum
when r2 = rcr, and starts to decrease
for r2 > rcr.

Thus, insulating the pipe may actually

increase the rate of heat transfer from the
pipe instead of decreasing it when r2 < rcr
Problem:1
 A 3-m-high and 5-m-wide wall consists of a long
16 cm  22 cm cross section of horizontal bricks (k =
0.72 W/m·°C) separated by 3-cm-thick plaster layers
(k = 0.22 W/m·°C) on both sides.

There are also 2-cm-thick plaster layers on each side

of the wall, and a 3-cm-thick rigid foam
(k = 0.026 W/m·°C) on the inner side of the wall.

The indoor and the outdoor temperatures are 20°C

and -4°C, and the convection heat transfer
coefficients on the inner and the outer sides are
h1= 10 W/m2·°C and h2 = 25 W/m 2·°C, respectively.

Assuming one-dimensional heat transfer and

disregarding radiation, determine the rate of heat
transfer through the wall.

Problem: 01
 Steam, 40°C
115 kg/hr Steam exiting the turbine of a steam power plant at
40°C is to be condensed in a large condenser by
cooling water flowing through copper pipes (k = 386
W/m·K) of inner diameter 1 cm and outer
diameter of 1.5 cm at an average temperature of
20°C.

The heat of vaporization of water at 40°C is

2407 kJ/kg. The heat transfer coefficients are
13000 W/m2·°C on the steam side and 200 W/m2·°C
on the water side.

Determine the length of the tube required to

condense steam at a rate of 115 kg/hr.

Problem: 02
 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.°C. 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·°C), and

(c) insulated with 2-cm-thick superinsulation

Problem: 03 which has an effective thermal conductivity of
0.00005 W/m·°C.
Problem: 04

Consider a contact resistance of

0.910-4 m2.K/W for the 0.02 mm
thick epoxy joint.
Problem: 05
 Consider a 5-m-high, 8-m-long, and 0.22-m-thick
wall whose representative cross section is as given
in the figure.
The thermal conductivities of various materials
used, in W/m·°C, are kA = kF 2, kB = 8, kC = 20, kD =
15, and kE = 35.
The left and right surfaces of the wall are
maintained at uniform temperatures of 300°C and
100°C, respectively.

Assuming heat transfer through the wall to be

one-dimensional, determine:

(a) the rate of heat transfer through the wall;

(b) the temperature at the point where the

sections B, D, and E meet; and

(c) the temperature drop across the section F.

Disregard any contact resistances at the

Problem: 06 interfaces.
Problem: 07
Problem: 09
Problem: 10