MCL242: Heat and Mass Transfer

Tutorial sheet 5

Problem 1: A furnace with an aperture of 20-mm diameter and emissive power of

3.72 × 105 W/m2 is used to calibrate a heat flux gage having a sensitive area of 1.6 × 10−5
m2 .

(a) At what distance, measured along a normal from the aperture, should the gage be
positioned to receive irradiation of 1000 W/m2 ?

(b) If the gage is tilted off normal by 20◦ , what will be its irradiation?

Solution: (a) 193 mm (b) 940 W/m2

Problem 2: During radiant heat treatment of a thin-film material, its shape, which may
be hemispherical (a) or spherical (b), is maintained by a relatively low air pressure (as in the
case of a rubber balloon). Irradiation on the film is due to emission from a radiant heater of
area Ah = 0.0052 m2 , which emits diffusely with an intensity of Ie,h = 169, 000 W/m2 · sr.

(a) Obtain an expression for the irradiation on the film as a function of the zenith angle
θ.

(b) Based on the expressions derived in part (a), which shape provides the more uniform
irradiation G and hence provides better quality control for the treatment process?

Solution: (a) G= Ie,h Ah /4R2 (b) 54.9 W/m2

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 Problem 3: In order to initiate a process operation, an infrared motion sensor (radiation
detector) is employed to determine the approach of a hot part on a conveyor system. To
set the sensor’s amplifier discriminator, the engineer needs a relationship between the sensor
output signal, S, and the position of the part on the conveyor. The sensor output signal is
proportional to the rate at which radiation is incident on the sensor.

(a) For Ld = 1 m, at what location x1 will the sensor signal S1 be 75% of the signal
corresponding to the position directly beneath the sensor, So(x = 0) ?

(b) For values of Ld = 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 m, plot the signal ratio, S/So , versus part position,
x, for signal ratios in the range from 1.0 to 0.2. Compare the x-locations for which
S/So = 0.75.

Solution: (a) x1 = 0.393 m

Problem 4: Assuming the earth’s surface is black, estimate its temperature if the sun
has an equivalent blackbody temperature of 5800 K. The diameters of the sun and earth are
1.39 × 109 and 1.29 × 107 m, respectively, and the distance between the sun and earth is
1.5 × 1011 m.
Solution: 279 K

Problem 5: Estimate the wavelength corresponding to maximum emission from each of

the following surfaces: the sun, a tungsten filament at 2500 K, a heated metal at 1500 K,
human skin at 305 K, and a cryogenically cooled metal surface at 60 K. Estimate the fraction
of the solar emission that is in the following spectral regions: the ultraviolet, the visible, and
the infrared.
Solution: λsun = 0.5, λtungsten = 1.16, λhot metal = 1.93, λskin = 9.5, λcold metal = 48.3,
FUV = 0.125, FVIS = 0.366, FIR = 0.509

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 Problem 6: An electrically powered, ring-shaped radiant heating element is maintained
at a temperature of Th = 3000 K and is used in a manufacturing process to heat a small
part having a surface area of Ap = 0.007 m2 . The surface of the heating element may be
assumed to be black. For θ1 = 30◦ , θ2 = 60◦ , L = 3 m, and W = 30 mm, what is the rate
at which radiant energy emitted by the heater is incident on the part?

Solution: 278.4 W

Problem 7: Sheet steel emerging from the hot roll section of a steel mill has a temper-
ature of 1200 K, a thickness of δ = 3 mm, and the following distribution for the spectral,
hemispherical emissivity. The density and specific heat of the steel are 7900 kg/m3 and 640

J/kg· K, respectively. What is the total, hemispherical emissivity? Accounting for emission
from both sides of the sheet and neglecting conduction, convection, and radiation from the
surroundings, determine the initial time rate of change of the sheet temperature (dT /dt)i .
As the steel cools, it oxidizes and its total, hemispherical emissivity increases. If this increase
may be correlated by an expression of the form ε = ε1200 [1200 K/T (K)], how long will it
take for the steel to cool from 1200 to 600 K?
Solution: 0.373, -5.78 K/s, 311 s

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 Problem 8: An opaque surface, 2 m by 2 m, is maintained at 400 K and is simultaneously
exposed to solar irradiation with G = 1200 W/m2 . The surface is diffuse and its spectral
absorptivity is αλ = 0, 0.8, 0, and 0.9 for 0 ≤ λ ≤ 0.5µm, 0.5µm < λ ≤ 1µm, 1µm
< λ ≤ 2µm, and λ > 2µm, respectively. Determine the absorbed irradiation, emissive
power, radiosity, and net radiation heat transfer from the surface.
Solution: Gabs = 515 W/m2 , E = 1306 W/m2 , J = 1991 W/m2 , qnet = 3164 W

Problem 9: A diffuse, opaque surface at 700 K has spectral emissivities of ελ = 0 for

0 ≤ λ ≤ 3µm, ελ = 0.5 for 3µm < λ ≤ 10µm, and ελ = 0.9 for 10µm < λ < ∞. A
radiant flux of 1000 W/m2 , which is uniformly distributed between 1 and 6 µm, is incident
on the surface at an angle of 30◦ relative to the surface normal. Calculate the total radiant

power from a 10−4 m2 area of the surface that reaches a radiation detector positioned along
the normal to the area. The aperture of the detector is 10−5 m2 , and its distance from the
surface is 1 m.
Solution: qd = 2.51 × 10−6 W/m2
Problem 10: The spectral absorptivity αλ and spectral reflectivity ρA for a spectrally
selective, diffuse material are as shown.

(a) Sketch the spectral transmissivity τλ

(b) If solar irradiation with GS = 750 W/m2 and the spectral distribution of a blackbody
at 5800 K is incident on this material, determine the fractions of the irradiation that
are transmitted, reflected, and absorbed by the material.

(c) If the temperature of this material is 350 K, determine the emissivity ε.

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 (d) Determine the net heat flux by radiation to the material.
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Solution: (b) τS = 0.599, ρS = 0.086, αS = 0.315. (c) ε = 1 (d) qrad = -615 W/m2
Problem 11: Square plates freshly sprayed with an epoxy paint must be cured at 140◦ C
for an extended period of time. The plates are located in a large enclosure and heated
by a bank of infrared lamps. The top surface of each plate has an emissivity of ε = 0.8
and experiences convection with a ventilation airstream that is at T∞ = 27◦ C and provides
a convection coefficient of h = 20 W/m2 · K. The irradiation from the enclosure walls is
estimated to be Gwall = 450 W/m2 , for which the plate absorptivity is αwall = 0.7.

(a) Determine the irradiation that must be provided by the lamps, Glamp . The absorptivity
of the plate surface for this irradiation is αlamp = 0.6.

Solution: (a) Glamp = 5441 W/m2