Chapter 2.

Conduction

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Conduction heat transfer

Conduction heat transfer

Due to

Temperature gradient

Calculated by

Fourier’s law

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 2.1. Conduction rate equation
• Fourier’s law is phenomenological; developed from observed phenomena rather than being derived
from first principles → Rate equation as a generalization based on much experimental evidence.

• A cylindrical rod of known material is insulated on its lateral surface, while its end faces are
maintained at different temperatures, with T1 > T2.
• The temperature difference causes conduction heat transfer in the positive x-direction.
• We are able to measure the heat transfer rate qx, and we seek to determine how qx depends on the
following variables: DT, the temperature difference; Dx, the rod length; and A, the cross-sectional
area.
• Conduct measurement of qx with one variable and others keep constant several times for all
variable, got:
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2.1. Conduction
rate equation

• Conduct measurement of qx with different material, got similar correlation:

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2.1. Conduction
rate equation
Fourier’s law

• heat flux is a directional quantity.

• the direction of qx” is normal to the cross-sectional area A. Or, more generally, the direction of
heat flow will always be normal to a surface of constant temperature, called an isothermal
surface.

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2.1. Conduction rate equation
• Cartesian coordinates, the general expression for q” is:

• Each of these expressions relates the heat flux across a surface to the temperature gradient in a
direction perpendicular to the surface.
• medium considered here is isotropic → the value of the thermal conductivity is independent of the
coordinate direction

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 2.1. Conduction rate equation
• Fourier’s law is the cornerstone of conduction heat transfer. Its key features are
summarized as follows:
• It is not an expression that may be derived from first principles; it is instead
a generalization based on experimental evidence.
• It is an expression that defines an important material property, the thermal
conductivity.
• In addition, Fourier’s law is a vector expression indicating that the heat
flux is normal to an isotherm and in the direction of decreasing
temperature.
• Finally, note that Fourier’s law applies for all matter, regardless of its state
(solid, liquid, or gas).

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2.2. Thermal properties of matters
Conduction heat transfer
Depend on

Thermal properties of matter

Which is called
Thermal conductivity k

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2.2.1. Thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity
Changed due to

State of matters
Comprised of
Solid state, and Fluid state

ksolid > kliquid > kgas

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2.2.1. Thermal conductivity
Solid state
Energy carried by

Free e- Atoms bound to lattice

Vibration of atom create energy called
Dominated in phonons
Dominated in
Pure metals Nonconductor or semiconductor

Metals Nonconductor
• Ce is the electron specific heat per unit volume, • Cph is the phonon specific heat per unit volume,
• ce is the mean electron velocity, • cph is the mean speed of sound,
• mfp, e is the electron mean free path,
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• mfp, ph is the phonon mean free path,
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2.2.1. Thermal conductivity

• When electrons and phonons carry thermal energy leading to conduction heat transfer in a solid, the
thermal conductivity may be expressed as

Metals Nonconductor
• ke is inversely proportional to the electrical • kph increases as the frequency of interactions
resistivity, e. between the atoms and the lattice decreases
• The regularity of the lattice arrangement has an
important effect on kph, with crystalline (well-
ordered) materials like quartz having a higher
thermal conductivity than amorphous materials
like glass.
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 2.2.1. Thermal conductivity
• The temperature dependence of k

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 k depend on scale:
2.2.1. Thermal conductivity • bulk
• micro scale
• With dopants

Boundaries scatted energy

carrier and redirect their
propagation

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 k depend on scale:
2.2.1. Thermal conductivity • bulk
Large scale → Bulk → L/mfp is large • micro scale
Micro scale → L/mfp is small • With dopants
Microscale in x direction → kx < ky < k bulk
kx and ky are reduced from the bulk value as indicated in Equations 2.9 a,b

For L/mfp < 1 → No guideline for calculating kx and ky

With dopants → chemical embedded → scatted and reflected energy carrier → reduce thermal
conductivity
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Values of the mean free path and critical film thicknesses Lcrit below which
microscale effects must be considered for several materials at T = 300 K.

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• Thermal conductivity of a bulk, nanostructured yttria-stabilized zirconia material shown in Figure 2.7.
• This particular ceramic is widely used for insulation purposes in high-temperature combustion devices.
Conduction is dominated by phonon transfer, and the mean free path of the phonon energy carriers is mfp
= 25 nm at 300 K.
• As the grain sizes are reduced to characteristic dimensions less than 25 nm (and more grain boundaries are
introduced in the material per unit volume), significant reduction of the thermal conductivity occurs.

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Conduction for Fluid state

• k fluid < k solid

• Fluid has intermolecular spacing is larger, and motion of molecules is
more random → k is lower

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Conduction for Fluid state
The effect of temperature, pressure, and chemical species on the thermal conductivity of a
gas may be explained in terms of the kinetic theory of gases

d is the diameter of the gas molecule

p is the pressure.
The mean molecular speed, c , can be determined from the kinetic theory of gases

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• Note that the thermal conductivity is independent of pressure except
in extreme cases as, for example, when conditions approach that of a
perfect vacuum.
• Accordingly, k presented in Table A.4 may be used over a much
wider pressure
• Molecular conditions associated with the liquid state are more difficult
to describe, and physical mechanisms for explaining the thermal
conductivity are not well understood [11].
• The thermal conductivity of nonmetallic liquids generally decreases
with increasing temperature.
• The thermal conductivity of liquids is usually insensitive to pressure
except near the thermodynamic critical point.
• Also, thermal conductivity generally decreases with increasing
molecular weight.
• Liquid metals are commonly used in high heat flux applications, such
as occur in nuclear power plants. The thermal conductivity of such
liquids 3/23/2021
are much larger than those of the nonmetallic liquids [12] 19
The Fluid State: Micro- and Nanoscale Effects
• The bulk thermal conductivity of a fluid may be modified when the characteristic
dimension of the system becomes small, in particular for small values of L/mfp.
• the molecular mean free path is restricted when a fluid is constrained by a small
physical dimension, affecting conduction across a thin fluid layer.
• Mixtures of fluids and solids can also be formulated to tailor the transport
properties of the resulting suspension.
• Ex: nanofluids are base liquids that are seeded with nanometer-sized solid
particles. Their very small size allows the solid particles to remain suspended
within the base liquid for a long time.
• A nanofluid exploits the high thermal conductivity that is characteristic of most
solids to boost the relatively low thermal conductivity of base liquids,
• Common nanofluids involve liquid water seeded with nominally spherical
nanoparticles of Al2O3 or CuO.

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Other properties of matters (beside k)
• Thermodynamic properties: transport and thermodynamic
• The transport properties include the diffusion rate coefficients such as k, the thermal
conductivity (for heat transfer), and  , the kinematic viscosity (for momentum transfer).
• Thermodynamic properties pertain to the equilibrium state of a system. Density () and
specific heat (cp) are two such properties used extensively in thermodynamic analysis.
In heat transfer analysis, the ratio of the thermal conductivity to the heat capacity is an
important property termed the thermal diffusivity , which has units of m2/s:

• It measures the ability of a material to conduct thermal energy relative to its ability to store
thermal energy (.cp).
• Materials of large α will respond quickly to changes in their thermal environment, whereas
materials α of small will respond more sluggishly, taking longer to reach a new equilibrium
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condition.
• Ex. 2.1 and Ex. 2.2

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 Insulation system
• Thermal insulations consist of low thermal conductivity materials combined to achieve an
even lower system thermal conductivity
• Heat transfer through any of these insulation systems may include several modes:
• conduction through the solid materials;
• conduction or convection through the air in the void spaces; and
• radiation exchange between the surfaces of the solid matrix.
• In conventional fiber-, powder-, and flake-type insulations, the solid material is finely
dispersed throughout an air space.
• Such systems are characterized by an effective thermal conductivity, which depends on
the thermal conductivity and surface radiative properties of the solid material, as well as
the nature and volumetric fraction of the air or void space.
• A special parameter of the system is its bulk density (solid mass/total volume), which
depends strongly on the manner in which the material is packed.
• The effective thermal conductivity accounts for all of these processes of heat transfer in the
insulation materials
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Insulation material
Rockwool And Glasswool

• Glass wool insulation products and rock wool insulation products have now
become the main insulation materials. Household needs, industrial needs, and
major businesses also use various insulation materials
• Glass wool, also known as fibreglass is made from a mixture of natural and
recycled glass (recycled bottles, car windscreens and window panes) which is
melted at 1,450 °C, and is then spun quickly to create fibres. These fibres are
then bound together to be used as insulation. The glass fibres create pockets of
air which act as barriers to prevent heat loss, because air is a poor conductor of
heat. Glass wool can be found in batts and rolls and also within insulation boards.

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Insulation system
• Rigid insulation: Small voids or hollow spaces are formed by
bonding or fusing portions of the solid material. When these
spaces are sealed from each other, the system is referred to as
a cellular insulation.
• Examples of such rigid insulations are foamed systems, particularly
those made from plastic and glass materials.

(https://www.basf.com/global/en/who-we-are/innovation/our-
innovations/high-performance-insulation.html)

• Reflective insulations are composed of multilayered, parallel,

thin sheets or foils of high reflectivity, which are spaced to
reflect radiant energy back to its source.
• The spacing between the foils is designed to restrict the motion of air,
and in high-performance insulations, the space is evacuated.
material that is composed of approximately 5%
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by volume solid material and 95% by25volume air
that is trapped within pores of L = 20 nm
Insulation system

• In all types of insulation, evacuation of the air in the void

space will reduce the effective thermal conductivity of the
system.
• Thin films, micro- and nanoscale effects can influence the
effective thermal conductivity of insulating materials.
• k of nanoscale insulation material is reduced to extremely
small values relative to the thermal conductivities of
conventional matter (reported in Figure 2.4)

material that is composed of approximately 5%

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by volume solid material and 95% by26volume air
that is trapped within pores of L = 20 nm
 • The temperature distribution in the incompressible (constant
2.3. Heat diffusion density), and homogeneous medium (no bulk motion -
advection)
• The temperature distribution expressed in Cartesian coordinates:
T(x, y, z)
• Following the four-step methodology of applying conservation
of energy:
• define an infinitesimally small (differential) control volume, dx,
dy, dz. Formulate the first law at an instant of time:

• consider the energy processes that are relevant to this control

volume: In the absence of motion, there are no changes in
mechanical energy and no work being done on the system. Only
thermal forms of energy need be considered.
• Specifically, if there are temperature gradients, conduction heat
transfer will occur across each of the control surfaces.
• The conduction heat rates perpendicular to each of the control
surfaces at the x-, y-, and z-coordinate locations are indicated by
the terms qx, qy, and qz, respectively.
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• The conduction heat rates at the opposite surfaces can then
27
be
expressed as a Taylor series expansion:
2.3. Heat diffusion
• The temperature distribution in the
incompressible (constant density), and
homogeneous medium (no bulk motion -
advection)
• The temperature distribution expressed in
Cartesian coordinates: T(x, y, z)
• Following the four-step methodology of
applying conservation of energy:
• define an infinitesimally small (differential)
control volume, dx, dy, dz.
• Formulate the first law at an instant of time:

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2.3. Heat diffusion
• Formulate the first law at an instant of time:

• consider the energy processes that are relevant to this

control volume: In the absence of motion, there are no
changes in mechanical energy and no work being
done on the system. Only thermal forms of energy
need be considered.
• Specifically, if there are temperature gradients,
conduction heat transfer will occur across each of the
control surfaces.
• The conduction heat rates perpendicular to each of the
control surfaces at the x-, y-, and z-coordinate
locations are indicated by the terms qx, qy, and qz,
respectively.
• The conduction heat rates at the opposite surfaces can
then be expressed as a Taylor series expansion:
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 • Change due to thermal energy generation within the medium: The rate of thermal energy
generation:
where q is the rate at which energy is generated per
unit volume of the medium (W/m3)
• Change in the amount of the internal thermal energy stored by the material in the control
volume. If the material is not experiencing a change in phase, latent energy effects are not
pertinent, and the energy storage term reduces to the rate of change of sensible energy:

cp = cv for an incompressible substance

• On a rate basis, the general form of the conservation of energy requirement is

qin = qx + qy + qz
qout = qx+dx +
qy+dy+qz+dz

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 • The conduction heat rates in an isotropic material may be evaluated from Fourier’s law: q = k A
(A: surface area perpendicular to the heat transfer direction)
Substituting Equation 2.17 (below) and dividing out the dimensions of
the control volume (dx dy dz),

obtained

general form of the heat diffusion equation (or heat equation) in

is related to the net conduction heat Cartesian coordinates → provides the basic tool for heat
conduction analysis.
flux into the control volume for the x-coordinate
direction. This equation describes an important physical condition, that is,
conservation of energy. From its solution, we can obtain the
temperature distribution T(x, y, z) as a function of time.

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• states in word: at any point in the medium the net rate of energy transfer by conduction into a unit volume plus
the volumetric rate of thermal energy generation must equal the rate of change of thermal energy stored within
the volume
If the thermal conductivity is constant, the heat equation is

• under steady-state conditions, there can be no change in the amount of energy storage

• if the heat transfer is one-dimensional (e.g., in the x-direction) and there is no energy generation,

under steady-state, one-dimensional conditions with no energy generation, the heat flux is a constant in the
direction of transfer
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Cylindrical Coordinates
In cylindrical
coordinates, i, j,
and k representing
the unit vectors in
the r,  (góc giữa
vector r và x axis)
and z directions

The control
volume has 3
dimensions of
dr, r.d và dz

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 Cylindrical
Coordinates
The general form of the heat flux
vector and hence of Fourier’s law:

Applying an energy balance to the differential control volume of Figure 2.12, the
following general form of the heat equation is obtained:

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 The control volume
Spherical Coordinates has 3 dimensions of
dr, r.d and
r.sin.d

rd

rsind dr

rsin (canh goc vuong bang

canh huyen nhan sin goc doi)

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Spherical Coordinates
The control volume has 3 dimensions
of dr, r.d and r.sin.d
The general form of the heat flux
vector (the radial, polar, and
azimuthal directions) and hence of
Fourier’s law:

Applying an energy balance to the differential control volume of Figure 2.13, the
following general form of the heat equation is obtained:

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 Microscale Effects
• For most practical situations, the heat diffusion equations generated based on Fourier’s
law may be used with confidence.
• However, these equations do not account for the finite speed at which thermal information
is propagated within the medium by the various energy carriers.
• The consequences of the finite propagation speed may be neglected if the heat transfer
events of interest occur over a sufficiently long time scale, Dt, such that

• The heat diffusion equations of this text are likewise invalid for problems where boundary
scattering must be explicitly considered.
• For example, the temperature distribution within the thin film cannot be determined by applying the
foregoing heat diffusion equations.
• Additional discussion of micro- and nanoscale heat transfer applications and analysis
methods is available in the literature [1, 5, 10, 25].

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• Ex. 2.3

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Boundary and Initial Conditions

• the heat equation is second order in

the spatial coordinates, two
boundary conditions must be
X direction, X=0 is the surface Time direction, t is at any time
expressed for each coordinate
needed to describe the system. Heat flux at surface is constant at any time
Heat flux at surface is constant at any time
• Because the equation is first order
in time, however, only one
condition, termed the initial Heat flux at surface is 0
condition, must be specified.
• Three kinds of boundary
conditions commonly encountered Heat flux at surface is effected by convection
in heat transfer .

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• Ex. 2.4. Try to understand how to set up initial condition. Solving the problem may need
software to conduct

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