MEF 312 – HEAT TRANSFER

Heat Transfer – is the science that deals with the transfer of a specific form of energy because of
the existence of a temperature difference.
Modes of Heat Transfer
There are three (3) modes of heat transfer namely:

Conduction is the heat transfer within the medium. In solids, particularly metals, conduction is due
to the drift of free electrons and phonon vibration. At low temperatures, phonon vibration, that is
the vibration of the crystalline structure, is the primary mechanism for conduction, and at higher
temperatures electron drift is the primary mechanism. Regardless of the mechanism, energy is
transferred from one atom or molecule to another, resulting in a flow of energy within the
medium. In gas the mechanism for conduction is primarily molecular collision. The conduction is
dependent on the pressure and temperature, which act in obvious ways to increase the chance of
molecular collisions. In liquids the mechanism for conduction is the combination of electron drift
and molecular collision. Conduction in liquids is temperature, not pressure, dependent.

Radiation is the thermal energy flow, via electromagnetic waves, between two bodies separated
by a distance. Electromagnetic waves, which are a function of body-surface temperature, transfer
heat and thus constitute thermal radiation.

Convection is the heat transfer between a solid surface and a fluid. This is a mixed mode, in that
at the solid-fluid interface heat is transferred by conduction, molecular collisions between the
solid and fluid molecules. As a result of these collisions the temperature in the fluid changes, the
density varies, and bulk fluid motion occurs. The high-and-low temperature fluid elements mix,
and heat is transferred between the solid and fluid by convection.

CONDUCTION
Heat maybe conducted at uneven rates, the rate increasing or decreasing; that is; the temperature
difference in the path of heat flow may be increasing or decreasing. This condition is an unsteady
state. However, the study of conduction will be confined to systems in a steady-state, wherein
each point of the system remains at a constant temperature and heat transfer is constant. Also, it
is assumed that the flow of heat is unidirectional.

Fourier’s Law
For steady-state, unidirectional flow, Fourier’s equation gives the heat conduction as

𝒅𝒕
Q = -kA (𝒅𝑳)

where Q (W) is the heat conducted across a surface of A(m2), through a wall of thickness dL(m)
and with a temperature drop of dt(oC) through the distance dL. The term dL/dt is called the
temperature gradient along the path. The negative sign in the equation is used because the
temperature decreases in the direction of heat flow.
The symbol k represents the thermal conductivity, which is the amount of heat (W) transmitted in
unit time across unit area (m2) through unit thickness (m) for unit temperature change (oK). Thus,
the unit ok k is W/m-k (or W/m-C).

CONDUCTION THROUGH A PLANE WALL

ta
k
Fig. 1
Q
tb
L

ta > t b

After a steady state of unidirectional flow has been reached in a single homogenous material,
whose thermal conductivity k is constant, after separation of variables, Fourier’s equation
becomes

QdL = - kAdt

Integration with limits indicated,

𝐿 𝒕
Q∫0 𝑑𝐿 = -kA∫𝒕 𝒃 𝒅𝒕
𝒂

Upon applying the limits after the integration,

QL = - kA(tb – ta)

Solving for Q and applying the negative sign,

𝒌𝑨 (𝒕𝒂 − 𝒕𝒃)
Q= - - - - - - - - - (1)
𝑳

Therefore, the rate of heat flow depends(1) directly upon the temperature difference between
the two surfaces of the wall, (2) directly upon the area of the surface A through which the
transmission occurs, (3) indirectly upon the thickness L of the wall, and (4) directly upon the value
of the thermal conductivity k.

Applying equation (1) to a composite wall made up of three homogenous materials A, B, and C, as
shown in the figure,
 A B C
t1 k1 k2 k3
ta
Fig. 2 tb
Q tc
td
L1 L2 L3 t2

ta > t d

𝒌𝟏 𝑨 (𝒕𝒂 − 𝒕𝒃 ) 𝒌𝟐 𝑨 (𝒕𝒃 − 𝒕𝒄) 𝒌𝟑 𝑨 (𝒕𝒄 − 𝒕𝒅 )

QA = ; QB = ; QC = - - - - - - (a)
𝑳𝟏 𝑳𝟐 𝑳𝟑

Solving for the temperature difference in each of the equation in (a) and since QA = QB = QC = Q for
steady-state flow, then,

𝑸𝑳𝟏
(ta – tb) = 𝒌𝟏 𝑨
𝑸𝑳𝟐
(tb – tc) =
𝒌𝟐 𝑨
𝑸𝑳𝟑
(tc – td) = 𝒌
𝟑𝑨
Adding the three equations gives

𝑸 𝑳𝟏 𝑳𝟐 𝑳𝟑
(ta – td) = [ + + ]
𝑨 𝒌𝟏 𝒌𝟐 𝒌𝟑

Solving for the heat flow Q,

𝑨(𝒕𝒂 − 𝒕𝒃 ) 𝑨 ∆𝒕
Q = 𝑳𝟏 𝑳 𝑳 = 𝑳 - - - - - - - - - - (2)
+ 𝒌𝟐 + 𝒌𝟑 ∑
𝒌
𝒌𝟏 𝟐 𝟑

FILM COEFFICIENT
If on each side of the composite wall of Fig. 2 is a fluid, whose nature is of no concern at the
moment, on the hot side of the wall, the fluid is hotter than the surface at some temperature
t1 > ta ; on the old side, the fluid is colder than the surface, its temperature being t2 < td. Thus,
through thin films of the fluids adjacent to the surfaces, there are temperature drops (t1 – ta) and
(td – t2). The unit rate of heat flow through these films called film coefficient ( and other names
such as film conductance, surface conductance) and is represented by h, whose units are W/m2-K;
that is, h is the rate of heat flow (J/s = W) through an area of 1 m2 when the temperature potential
across the film is 1 K. Its magnitude depends on many variables, to be covered later. At this
moment we are interested in the film coefficient purely in order to obtain a picture of the over-all
fluid to fluid flow of heat. From the definition of h, the heat passing across the films of Fig. 2 is

Q = h1A(t1 – ta) Q = h2A(td - t2) - - - - - - - - - - (b)

Solving again for the temperature difference,

𝑸
(t1 – ta) =
𝒉𝟏 𝑨
𝑸
(td – t2) = 𝒉
𝟐𝑨

When added to the previous 3 equations, the resulting sum will be

𝑸 𝟏 𝑳𝟏 𝑳𝟐 𝑳𝟑 𝟏
(t1 – t2) = 𝑨 [𝒉 + + + + ]
𝟏 𝒌𝟏 𝒌𝟐 𝒌𝟑 𝒉𝟐

Solving for Q,

𝑨 (𝒕𝟏 − 𝒕𝟐 )
Q= 𝟏 𝑳𝟏 𝑳𝟐 𝑳 𝟑 𝟏
+ + + +
𝒉𝟏 𝒌𝟏 𝒌𝟐 𝒌𝟑 𝒉𝟐

𝑨∆𝒕 ∆𝒕
Q= 𝟏 𝑳 = ∑𝑹
----------- (3)
∑ +∑
𝒉 𝒌

where Q is the rate of heat transfer from fluid to fluid through a wall area A m 2. When the
temperature difference between the fluids is ∆𝑡 = t1 – t2 , ∑ 𝑅 is the total thermal resistance, and
the total unit resistance to heat flow is

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= ∑ + ∑ - - - - - - - - - - (c)
𝑼 𝒉 𝒌

1 1
In which ∑ ℎ is the sum of all the surface-layer fluid resistance and ∑ 𝑘 is the sum of all the unit
resistances of the wall. The over-all unit resistance is represented by 1/U and the reciprocal of this
over-all resistance is called transmittance U; also the over-all coefficient of heat transfer and the
over-all (unit)conductance. Since from equation (c),

𝟏
U= 𝟏 𝑳
∑ + ∑𝒌
𝒉

Equation (3) may be written

Q = UA∆𝒕 ----------- (4)

CONDUCTION THROUGH CURVED WALL
Since the area through which heat flows in a curved wall is not constant, Fourier’s equation must
be altered in this connection. Consider a thick cylinder (see Fig. 3) for which the temperature on
the inside surface is ta , the temperature on the outside surface is tb , and the thermal conductivity
is k. The heat flows radially, say, from the inside to the outside, and in doing so, a given quantity
of heat passes across larger and larger areas, since the cylindrical area increase with the radius of
the cylinder. Consider a length of cylinder z and take a very thin element of the cylinder of
thickness dr with radius of r meter. The area of this thin cylindrical surface is 2𝜋𝑟𝑧. The change in
temperature across dr is a differential amount dt. That is

A = 2𝜋𝑟
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕
=
𝒅𝑳 𝒅𝒓

ta ro

ri r

tb dr/r Fig. 3

Thus, Fourier’s equation gives

𝒅𝒕
Q = - k(2𝝅rz)𝒅𝒓
Separating the variables and integrating,

𝒓 𝒅𝒓 𝒕
Q ∫𝒓 𝒐 = -2𝝅zk𝒕 ∫𝒕 𝒃 𝒅𝒕
𝒊 𝒓 𝒂

𝒓
Q ln 𝒓𝒐 = 2𝝅zk(ta – tb)
𝒊

Solving for Q,

𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌( 𝒕𝒂 − 𝒕𝒃 ) 𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌∆𝒕
Q= 𝒓 = 𝑫 - - - - - - - - - - (5)
𝒍𝒏 𝒓𝒐 𝒍𝒏 𝑫𝒐
𝒊 𝒊
where ro is the outer radius of the pipe, ri is the inside radius, and ro/ri = Do/Di .
In equation (5), note that the resistance for the curved wall is
𝒓
∆𝒕 𝒍𝒏 𝒐
𝒓𝒊
R= = - - - - - - - - - - - - (5a)
𝑸 𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌

Setting up an equation for the heat flow a composite curved wall, such as an insulated pipe, is
simple when it is done by summing resistances ∑ 𝑅. Consider Fig. 4, which represents a pipe X
with insulation Y, wherein the inside film coefficient is hi and the outside film coefficient is ho; the
temperature of the fluid on the inside is t1, which in the following discussion, is grater than t2, the
temperature of the fluid on the outside. The film resistance (assuming no film resistance at the
intermediate area A) are

𝟏 𝟏
Ri = 𝑨 𝒉 and Ro = 𝑨
𝒊 𝒊 𝒐 𝒉𝒐

Figure 4

ho rc
t2
r rb
ta

hi t1 ra Da Db Dc

material X
material Y

∆𝒕
Thus, the heat flow is Q = ∑ 𝑹 , or

∆𝒕
Q= 𝑫 𝑫
𝒍𝒏(𝑫𝒃 ) 𝒍𝒏 (𝑫 𝒄 )
𝟏 𝒂 𝟏
+ + 𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌𝒃 + 𝑨 𝒉
𝑨𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌𝒙 𝒚 𝒐 𝒐

or generalizing for any number of laminated cylinders, each with certain inside and outside
diameters of Di and Do , with conductivity k, and z meters long, the equation for steady state is

∆𝒕
Q= 𝑫 - - - - - - - - - - (6)
𝒍𝒏( 𝑫𝒐 )
𝟏 𝒊
∑ +∑
𝑨𝒉 𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌
 1
where ∆t = t1 – t2 is the temperature drop from fluid to fluid, ∑ 𝐴ℎ is the sum of all film resistances
in the path of heat flow, and the other term in the denominator sums all other resistances. The
heat is flowing radially only.
In applying Q = UA∆t to curved walls, the area becomes a convenient reference area; for a single
pipe, either the outside or the inside pipe area. In as much as a certain amount of heat Q is passing
through the wall under steady state operation no matter what area is considered,

Q = Uo Ao ∆t or Q = Ui Ai ∆t

wherein by comparison with equation (6),

𝟏
Uo Ao = Ui Ai = 𝑫
𝒍𝒏( 𝑫𝒐 )
𝟏
∑
𝑨𝒉
+ ∑ 𝟐𝝅𝒛𝒌𝒊

Thus, if the over-all transmittance U is given for a curved wall, the corresponding reference area
should be stated.