Steady Heat Conduction

Plane Wall

1)Considerable temperature difference

between the inner and the outer surfaces
of the wall (significant temperature
gradient in the x direction).
2)The wall surface is nearly isothermal.

Steady one-dimensional modeling approach is justified.

1
Assuming heat transfer is the only energy interaction and there
is no heat generation, the energy balance can be expressed as
Zero for steady
operation

Rate of Rate of Rate of change

heat transfer - heat transfer = of the energy
into the wall out of the wall of the wall
or
 0
dEwall (1)
Q in  Q out  0
dt
The rate of heat transfer through the wall must
be constant ( Q cond , wall  constant ).

2
 Then Fourier’s law of heat conduction for the wall can
be expressed as
dT
Qcond , wall   kA
 (W) (2)
dx
Remembering that the rate of conduction heat transfer
and the wall area A are constant it follows
dT/dx=constant

The temperature through the wall varies linearly with x.

Integrating the above equation and rearranging yields
T1  T2
Qcond , wall  kA
 (W) (3) 3
L
Thermal Resistance Concept: Conduction Resistance

• Equation 3 for heat conduction through a plane

wall can be rearranged as
T1  T2
Qcond , wall 
 (W) (4)
Rwall
• Where Rwall is the conduction resistance
expressed as
L
Rwall  (  C/W) (5)
kA
4
 Analogy to Electrical Current Flow

• Eq. 5 is analogous to the relation for electric current flow

I, expressed as
V1  V2
I (6)
Re

Heat Transfer Electrical current flow

Rate of heat transfer  Electric current
Thermal resistance  Electrical resistance
Temperature difference  Voltage difference
5
Thermal Resistance Concept: Convection Resistance

Thermal resistance can also be applied to convection

processes.
Newton’s law of cooling for convection heat transfer
rate (Q conv  hAs  Ts  T  ) can be rearranged as
Ts  T
Qconv 
 (W) (7)
Rconv
Rconv is the convection resistance
1
Rconv  (C/W) (8)
hAs
6
Thermal Resistance Concept: Radiation Resistance

The rate of radiation heat transfer between a surface and

the surrounding
Ts  Tsurr
4
 4

Qrad   As Ts  Tsurr  hrad As (Ts  Tsurr ) 

Rrad
(W)

1 (9)
Rrad  (K/W)
hrad As (10)
Q rad
hrad 
As (Ts  Tsurr )
 2

  Ts2  Tsurr  Ts  Tsurr  (W/m2  K)
(11)
7
 Thermal Resistance Concept:
Radiation and Convection Resistance
A surface exposed to the surrounding might involves
convection and radiation simultaneously.
The convection and radiation resistances are parallel to
each other.
When Tsurr≈T∞, the radiation
effect can properly be
accounted for by replacing h
in the convection resistance
relation by
hcombined = hconv+hrad (W/m2K)
(12) 8
 Thermal Resistance Network
• Consider steady one-dimensional heat transfer
through a plane wall that is exposed to convection on
both sides.
• Under steady conditions we have
Rate of Rate of Rate of
heat convection = heat conduction = heat convection
into the wall through the wall from the wall

or
Q  h1 A  T ,1  T1  
T1  T2
kA  h2 A  T2  T ,2 
L
(13)

9
Rearranging and Adding
 T  T  Q  R
  ,1 1 conv ,1
 T  T  Q  R
1 2 wall

T  T
 2  ,2   R
Q conv ,2

T ,1  T ,2  Q( Rconv ,1  Rwall  Rconv ,2 )  Q  Rtotal

T ,1  T ,2
Q
 (W) (`14)
Rtotal
where
1 L 1 
Rtotal  Rconv ,1  Rwall  Rconv ,2    ( C/W)
h1 A kA h2 A
(15)
10
• It is sometimes convenient to express heat transfer
through a medium in an analogous manner to
Newton’s law of cooling as

Q  UAT (W) (16)

• where U is the overall heat transfer coefficient.

• Note that
1
UA  (C/K)
Rtotal (17)

11
 Multilayer Plane Walls
• In practice we often encounter plane walls that consist
of several layers of different materials.
• The rate of steady heat transfer through this two-layer
composite wall can be expressed as below; the total
thermal resistance is-

Rtotal  Rconv ,1  Rwall ,1  Rwall ,2  Rconv ,2

1 L1 L2 1
   
h1 A k1 A k2 A h2 A

(18)

12
 Thermal Contact Resistance
• In reality surfaces have some roughness.
• When two surfaces are pressed against each other, the
peaks form good material contact but the valleys form
voids filled with air.
• As a result, an interface contains
numerous air gaps of varying sizes
that act as insulation because of the
low thermal conductivity of air.
• Thus, an interface offers some
resistance to heat transfer, which
is termed the thermal contact
resistance, Rc.
13
• The value of thermal contact resistance
depends on the
– surface roughness,
– material properties,
– temperature and pressure at the interface,
– type of fluid trapped at the interface.
• Thermal contact resistance is observed to
decrease with decreasing surface roughness
and increasing interface pressure.
• The thermal contact resistance can be
minimized by applying a thermally conducting
liquid called a thermal grease.
14
 Generalized Thermal Resistance Network
• The thermal resistance concept can be used to solve
steady heat transfer problems that involve parallel
layers or combined series-parallel arrangements.
• The total heat transfer of two parallel layers

T1  T2 T1  T2  1 1 
Q  Q1  Q2 
      T1  T2    
R1 R2  R1 R2 

1  1 1  R1 R2
     Rtotal =
Rtotal  R1 R2  R1  R2

15
 Combined Series-Parallel Arrangement

The total rate of heat transfer

Through the composite system
T1  T
Q

Rtotal

Where
R1 R2
Rtotal  R12  R3  Rconv   R3  Rconv
R1  R2
L1 L L 1
R1  ; R2  2 ; R3  3 ; Rconv 
k1 A1 k2 A2 k3 A3 hA3

16
 Heat Conduction in Cylinders

Consider the long cylindrical layer

Assumptions:
– the two surfaces of the cylindrical
layer are maintained at constant
temperatures T1 and T2,
– no heat generation,
– constant thermal conductivity,
– one-dimensional heat conduction.
Fourier’s law of heat conduction
dT
Qcond ,cyl   kA
 (W)
dr
17
 dT
Qcond ,cyl  kA
 (W)
dr
Separating the variables and integrating from r=r1,
where T(r1)=T1, to r=r2, where T(r2)=T2
r2
Q cond ,cyl T2


r  r1
A
dr   
T T1
kdT

Substituting A =2rL and performing the integrations

give T1  T2
Qcond ,cyl  2 Lk

ln  r2 / r1 
T1  T2
Qcond ,cyl 

Since the heat transfer rate is constant- Rcyl
Thermal Resistance for Cylinder :

Thermal Resistance for Sphere : 18

 Thermal Resistance with Convection
Steady one-dimensional heat transfer through a
cylindrical or spherical layer that is exposed to
convection on both sides
T ,1  T ,2
Q
 (19)
Rtotal

where

Rtotal  Rconv ,1  Rcyl  Rconv ,2 

1 ln  r2 / r1  1
  
 2 r1L  h1 2 Lk  2 r2 L  h2 19
Multilayered Cylinders

• Steady heat transfer through

multi-layered cylindrical or
spherical shells can be
handled just like multilayered plane.
• The steady heat transfer rate through a three-layered
composite cylinder of length L with convection on both
sides is expressed by Eq. 19, where:
Rtotal  Rconv ,1  Rcyl ,1  Rcyl ,3  Rcyl ,3  Rconv ,2 
1 ln  r2 / r1  ln  r3 / r2  ln  r4 / r3  1
    
 2 r1L  h1 2 Lk1 2 Lk 2 2 Lk3  2 r2 L  h2 20
 Critical Radius of Insulation

• Adding more insulation to a wall or to the attic

always decreases heat transfer.
• Adding insulation to a cylindrical pipe or a spherical
shell, however, is a different matter.
• Adding insulation increases the conduction resistance
of the insulation layer but decreases the convection
resistance of the surface because of the increase in the
outer surface area for convection.
• The heat transfer from the pipe may increase or
decrease, depending on which effect dominates.

21
• A cylindrical pipe of outer radius r1
whose outer surface temperature T1 is
maintained constant.
• The pipe is covered with an insulator
(k and r2).
• Convection heat transfer at T∞ and h.
• The rate of heat transfer from the insulated pipe to the
surrounding air can be expressed as
T1  T T1  T
Q
 
Rins  Rconv ln  r2 / r1  1

2 Lk h  2 r2 L 
22
• The variation of the heat transfer rate with the outer
radius of the insulation r2 is shown
in the figure.
• The value of r2 at which Q
reaches a maximum is
determined by  dQ
0
dr2
• Performing the differentiation
and solving for r2 yields
k
rcr ,cylinder  (m)
h
• Thus, insulating the pipe may actually increase the
23
rate of heat transfer instead of decreasing it.
Problem

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