Homework 2
Due: Wednesday, April 23, 2025, by 6 PM
Maximum Points: 100 Points
(including the points from the bonus
problem after calculating the penalty)
General Homework Instructions:
• Please submit your assignment online in Canvas. It is important that your work
be clearly legible as you will not receive credit if we cannot read your work.
Preferred modes of submittal are:
o Scanned into a PDF document, preferably via a tabletop scanner (phone
scanners can be hard to read)
o Submitted via a tablet or other electronic note taking device.
• Please start each problem on a new page
• For each problem, summarize the problem, and include a sketch of the problem
(if appropriate), a list of given information, and a list of the required quantities
to be determined.
• In your solution, provide enough text to allow the reader to understand your
thought process and assumptions.
• Where possible, solve in symbolic form before substituting numbers and units.
• Always include units on dimensional quantities.
• Report the final answer using a defensible number of significant digits (e.g.,
don’t give four significant figures on your answer if the given data includes
only two).
• Clearly indicate your final answer with a box or a double-underline.
Problems assigned below are from the required text: Fundamentals of Heat
and Mass Transfer, 8th Edition, by Bergman, Lavine, Incropera and Dewitt.
1. Problem 2.25
A composite rod consists of two different materials, A and B, each of length 0.5L.
The thermal conductivity of Material A is half that of Material B, that is, kA/kB = 0.5. Sketch
the steady-state temperature and heat flux distributions, T(x) and qx″, respectively. Assume
constant properties and no internal heat generation in either material.
2. Problem 2.26 (20 pts)
A one-dimensional plane wall of thickness 2L = 80 mm experiences uniform thermal energy
generation of 𝑞̇ =1000 W/m3 and is convectively cooled at x = ±40 mm by an ambient fluid
characterized by T∞ = 30°C. If the steady-state temperature distribution within the wall is
T(x) = a(L2 − x2) + b where a =15°C/m2 and b = 40°C, what is the thermal conductivity of the
wall? What is the value of the convection heat transfer coefficient, h?
3. Problem 2.37 (20 pts)
Consider the steady-state temperature distribution in a radial wall (cylinder or sphere) of inner
and outer radii ri and ro, respectively. The temperature distribution is
T(r)=C1 ln(r/r0) + C2
Is the wall that of a cylinder or sphere? How do the heat flux and heat rate vary with radius?
4. Problem 3.3 (20 pts)
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.
5. Problem 3.5 (20 pts)
In a manufacturing process, a transparent film is being bonded to a substrate as shown in the
sketch. To cure the bond at a temperature T0, a radiant source is used to provide a heat flux
q0′′(W/m2), all of which is absorbed at the bonded surface. The back of the substrate is
maintained at T1 while the free surface of the film is exposed to air at T∞ and a convection heat
transfer coefficient h.
(a) Show the thermal circuit representing the steady-state heat transfer situation. Be sure to label
all elements, nodes, and heat rates. Leave in symbolic form.
(b) Assume the following conditions: T∞ = 20°C, h = 50 W/m2·K, and T1 = 30°C. Calculate the
heat flux q0′′ that is required to maintain the bonded surface at T0 = 60°C.
6. Problem 3.9 (Bonus Problem, 20 pts)
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 rate of 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 rate
occurring with the air temperature at −15°C on the windy day?
