PROBLEMS 2

2-1 A wall 2 cm thick is to be constructed from material that has an average thermal
conductivity of 1.3 W/mK. The wall is to be insulated with material having an average
thermal conductivity of 0.35W/mK, so that the heat loss per square meter will not exceed
1830 W. Assuming that the inner and outer surface temperatures of the insulated wall are
1300 and 30°C, calculate the thickness of insulation required.
2-2 A certain material 2.5 cm thick, with a cross-sectional area of 0.1 m2, has one side
maintained at 35°C and the other at 95°C. The temperature at the center plane of the material
is 62°C, and the heat flow through the material is 1 kW. Obtain an expression for the thermal
conductivity of the material as a function of temperature.
2-3 A composite wall is formed of a 2.5-cm copper plate, a 3.2-mm layer of asbestos, and a 5-
cm layer of fiberglass. The wall is subjected to an overall temperature difference of 560°C.
Calculate the heat flow per unit area through the composite structure.
2-5 One side of a copper block 5 cm thick is maintained at 250°C. The other side is covered
with a layer of fiberglass 2.5 cm thick. The outside of the fiberglass is maintained at 35°C,
and the total heat flow through the copper-fiberglass combination is 52 kW. What is the area
of the slab?
2-6 An outside wall for a building consists of a 10-cm layer of common brick and a 2.5-cm
layer of fiberglass [k =0.05 W/mK]. Calculate the heat flow through the wall for a 25°C
temperature differential
2-7 One side of a copper block 4 cm thick is maintained at 175°C. The other side is covered
with a layer of fiberglass 1.5 cm thick. The outside of the fiberglass is maintained at 80°C,
and the total heat flow through the composite slab is 300 W. What is the area of the slab?
2-8 A plane wall is constructed of a material having a thermal conductivity that varies as the
square of the temperature according to the relation k =ko(1+βT2). Derive an expression for the
heat transfer in such a wall.
2-9 A steel tube having k = 46 W/mK has an inside diameter of 3.0 cm and a tube wall
thickness of 2 mm. A fluid flows on the inside of the tube producing a convection coefficient
of 1500W/m2K on the inside surface, while a second fluid flows across the outside of the tube
producing a convection coefficient of 197 W/m2K on the outside tube surface. The inside
fluid temperature is 223°C while the outside fluid temperature is 57°C. Calculate the heat lost
by the tube per meter of length.
2-10 A certain material has a thickness of 30 cm and a thermal conductivity of 0.04 W/mK.
At a particular instant in time, the temperature distribution with x, the distance from the left
face, is T =150x2 −30x, where x is in meters. Calculate the heat-flow rates at x=0 and x=30 cm.
Is the solid heating up or cooling down?
2-11 A 0.025-mm-diameter stainless steel wire having k = 16 W/mK is connected to two
electrodes. The length of the wire is 80 cm and it is exposed to a convection environment at
20°C with h = 500 W/m2K. A voltage is impressed on the wire that produces temperatures at
each electrode of 200°C. Determine the total heat lost by the wire.
2-12 A wall is constructed of 2.0 cm of copper, 3.0 mm of asbestos sheet [k = 0.166 W/mK],
and 6.0 cm of fiberglass. Calculate the heat flow per unit area for an overall temperature
difference of 500°C.
2-13 A certain building wall consists of 6.0 in of concrete [k =1.2 W/mK], 2.0 in of fiberglass
insulation, and 38 in of gypsum board [k =0.05 W/mK]. The inside and outside convection
coefficients are 2.0 and 7.0 Btu/h ft2 °F, respectively. The outside air temperature is 20°F, and
the inside temperature is 72°F. Calculate the overall heat-transfer coefficient for the wall, the
R value, and the heat loss per unit area.
2-14 A wall is constructed of a section of stainless steel [k =16 W/mK] 4.0 mm thick with
identical layers of plastic on both sides of the steel. The overall heat-transfer coefficient,
considering convection on both sides of the plastic, is 120 W/m2K. If the overall temperature
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difference across the arrangement is 60°C, calculate the temperature difference across the
stainless steel.
2-15 An ice chest is constructed of Styrofoam [k =0.033 W/m· ◦C] with inside dimensions of
25 by 40 by 100 cm. The wall thickness is 5.0 cm. The outside of the chest is exposed to air at
25°C with h = 10 W/m2K. If the chest is completely filled with ice, calculate the time for the
ice to completely melt. State your assumptions. The enthalpy of fusion for water is 330 kJ/kg.
2-20 A steel pipe with 5-cm OD is covered with a 6.4-mm asbestos insulation [k =0.096 Btu/h
ft°F] followed by a 2.5-cm layer of fiberglass insulation [k =0.028 Btu/h ft°F]. The pipe-wall
temperature is 315°C, and the outside insulation temperature is 38°C. Calculate the interface
temperature between the asbestos and fiberglass.
2-22 A 1.0-mm-diameter wire is maintained at a temperature of 400°C and exposed to a
convection environment at 40°C with h = 120 W/m2K. Calculate the thermal conductivity that
will just cause an insulation thickness of 0.2 mm to produce a “critical radius.” How much of
this insulation must be added to reduce the heat transfer by 75% from that which would be
experienced by the bare wire?
2-24 Derive a relation for the critical radius of insulation for a sphere.
2-25 A cylindrical tank 80 cm in diameter and 2.0 m high contains water at 80°C. The tank is
90% full, and insulation is to be added so that the water temperature will not drop more than
2°C per hour. Specify an insulating material and calculate the thickness required for the
specified cooling rate.
2-26 A hot steam pipe having an inside surface temperature of 250°C has an inside diameter
of 8 cm and a wall thickness of 5.5 mm. It is covered with a 9-cm layer of insulation having k
= 0.5 W/mK, followed by a 4-cm layer of insulation having k = 0.25 W/mK. The outside
temperature of the insulation is 20°C. Calculate the heat lost per meter of length. Assume k =
47 W/mK for the pipe.
2-27 A house wall may be approximated as two 1.2-cm layers of fiber insulating board, an
8.0-cm layer of loosely packed asbestos, and a 10-cm layer of common brick. Assuming
convection heat-transfer coefficients of 12 W/m2K on both sides of the wall, calculate the
overall heat-transfer coefficient for this arrangement.
2-29 An insulation system is to be selected for a furnace wall at 1000◦C using first a layer of
mineral wool blocks followed by fiberglass boards. The outside of the insulation is exposed to
an environment with h = 15 W/m2K and T∞ =40°C. Using the data of Table 2-1, calculate the
thickness of each insulating material such that the interface temperature is not greater than
400°C and the outside temperature is not greater than 55°C. Use mean values for the thermal
conductivities. What is the heat loss in this wall in W/m?
2-30 Derive an expression for the temperature distribution in a plane wall having uniformly
distributed heat sources and one face maintained at a temperature T1 while the other face is
maintained at a temperature T2. The thickness of the wall may be taken as 2L.
2-31 A 5-cm-diameter steel pipe is covered with a 1-cm layer of insulating material having k
= 0.22 W/mK followed by a 3-cm-thick layer of another insulating material having k = 0.06
W/mK. The entire assembly is exposed to a convection surrounding condition of h = 60
W/m2K and T∞ = 15°C. The outside surface temperature of the steel pipe is 400°C. Calculate
the heat lost by the pipe-insulation assembly for a pipe length of 20 m. Express in Watts.
2-32 Derive an expression for the temperature distribution in a plane wall in which distributed
heat sources vary according to the linear relation
˙q‴= ˙q‴w[1+β(T −Tw)]
where ˙q‴w is a constant and equal to the heat generated per unit volume at the wall
temperature Tw. Both sides of the plate are maintained at Tw, and the plate thickness is 2L.
2-34 A plane wall 6.0 cm thick generates heat internally at the rate of 0.3 MW/m3. One side
of the wall is insulated, and the other side is exposed to an environment at 93°C. The
convection heat-transfer coefficient between the wall and the environment is 570 W/m2K.

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The thermal conductivity of the wall is 21 W/mK. Calculate the maximum temperature in the
wall.

2-35 Consider a shielding wall for a nuclear reactor. The wall receives a gamma-ray flux such
that heat is generated within the wall according to the relation
˙ q‴ = ˙q‴o e−ax
where ˙q‴o is the heat generation at the inner face of the wall exposed to the gamma-ray flux
and a is a constant. Using this relation for heat generation, derive an expression for the
temperature distribution in a wall of thickness L, where the inside and outside temperatures
are maintained at Ti and To, respectively. Also obtain an expression for the maximum
temperature in the wall.
2-36 Repeat Problem 2-35, assuming that the outer surface is adiabatic while the inner surface
temperature is maintained at Ti.
2-38 Heat is generated in a 2.5-cm-square copper rod at the rate of 35.3 MW/m3. The rod is
exposed to a convection environment at 20°C, and the heat-transfer coefficient is 4000
W/m2K. Calculate the surface temperature of the rod.
2-40 A certain semiconductor material has a conductivity of 0.0124 W/cmK. A rectangular
bar of the material has a cross-sectional area of 1 cm2 and a length of 3 cm. One end is
maintained at 300°C and the other end at 100°C, and the bar carries a current of 50 A.
Assuming the longitudinal surface is insulated, calculate the midpoint temperature in the bar.
Take the resistivity as 1.5×10−3 Ω·cm.
2-42 Electric heater wires are installed in a solid wall having a thickness of 8 cm and k = 2.5
W/mK. The right face is exposed to an environment with h = 50 W/m2K and T∞ =30°C, while

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the left face is exposed to h = 75 W/m2K and T∞ =50°C. What is the maximum allowable heat-
generation rate such that the maximum temperature in the solid does not exceed 300◦C?
2-44 A 3.0-cm-thick plate has heat generated uniformly at the rate of 5×105 W/m3. One side
of the plate is maintained at 200°C and the other side at 45°C. Calculate the temperature at the
center of the plate for k =16 W/mK.
2-45 Heat is generated uniformly in a stainless steel plate having k =20 W/m· ◦C. The
thickness of the plate is 1.0 cm and the heat-generation rate is 500 MW/m3. If the two sides of
the plate are maintained at 100 and 200°C, respectively, calculate the temperature at the center
of the plate.
2-46 A plate having a thickness of 4.0 mm has an internal heat generation of 200 MW/m3 and
a thermal conductivity of 25 W/mK. One side of the plate is insulated and the other side is
maintained at 100°C. Calculate the maximum temperature in the plate.
2-56 Water flows on the inside of a steel pipe with an ID of 2.5 cm. The wall thickness is 2
mm, and the convection coefficient on the inside is 500 W/m2K. The convection coefficient
on the outside is 12 W/m2K. Calculate the overall heat-transfer coefficient. What is the main
determining factor for U?
2-57 The pipe in Problem 2-56 is covered with a layer of asbestos [k =0.18 W/mK] while still
surrounded by a convection environment with h = 12 W/m2K. Calculate the critical insulation
radius. Will the heat transfer be increased or decreased by adding an insulation thickness of
(a) 0.5 mm, (b) 10 mm?
2-59 Calculate the overall heat-transfer coefficient for Problem 2-5.
2-60 Air flows at 120°C in a thin-wall stainless-steel tube with h = 65 W/m2K. The inside
diameter of the tube is 2.5 cm and the wall thickness is 0.4 mm. k = 18 W/mK for the steel.
The tube is exposed to an environment with h = 6.5 W/m2K and T∞ =15°C. Calculate the
overall heat-transfer coefficient and the heat loss per meter of length. What thickness of an
insulation having k =40 mW/mK should be added to reduce the heat loss by 90%?
2-61 An insulating glass window is constructed of two 5-mm glass plates separated by an air
layer having a thickness of 4 mm. The air layer may be considered stagnant so that pure
conduction is involved. The convection coefficients for the inner and outer surfaces are 12
and 50 W/m2K, respectively. Calculate the overall heat-transfer coefficient for this
arrangement, and the R value. Repeat the calculation for a single glass plate 5 mm thick.
2-62 A wall consists of a 1-mm layer of copper, a 4-mm layer of 1% carbon steel, a 1-cm
layer of asbestos sheet, and 10 cm of fiberglass blanket. Calculate the overall heat-transfer
coefficient for this arrangement. If the two outside surfaces are at 10 and 150°C, calculate
each of the interface temperatures.