Chapter 3

STEADY HEAT CONDUCTION

Week – 3

Aguk Zuhdi M. Fathallah

Dept. of Marine Engineering
STEADY HEAT CONDUCTION IN PLANE WALLS
Heat transfer through the wall can be modeled as
steady and one-dimensional.

for steady operation

In steady operation, the rate of heat transfer

through the wall is constant.

Fourier’s law of
heat conduction

2
 Once the rate of heat conduction is
available, the temperature T(x) at
any location x can be determined by
replacing T2 by T, and L by x.

Under steady conditions, the

temperature distribution in a plane
wall is a straight line: dT/dx = const.
3
Concept of Thermal Resistance

Heat conduction through wall

Increasing of R value will decrease

the Q value and vice versa

Conduction resistance of the wall:

Thermal resistance of the wall against heat
conduction.

Ohm’s Law

rate of heat transfer  electric current

thermal resistance  electrical resistance
temperature difference  voltage difference

4
Newton’s law of cooling for convection

Convection resistance of the

surface: Thermal resistance of the
surface against heat convection.
Schematic for convection resistance
at a surface.

When the convection heat transfer coefficient is very large (h → ),

the convection resistance becomes zero and Ts  T.

That is, the surface offers no resistance to convection.

5
 Schematic for convection and
radiation resistances at a surface.

6
 Radiation resistance of the surface:
Thermal resistance of a surface against
radiation.

hrad 

Q rad

 
As Ts4  Tsurr
4
 
  Ts2  Tsurr
2
Ts  Tsurr 
As  Ts  Tsurr  As  Ts  Tsurr 

Radiation heat transfer coefficient

7
Consider steady one-dimensional heat transfer through a
plane wall that is exposed to convection on both sides.

8
The thermal resistance network in electrical analogy.
9
Temperature drop
The temperature drop is proportional to thermal resistance of the layer

from

rearrange to

U is the overall heat

transfer coefficient

The temperature drop across a layer is

proportional to its thermal resistance. 10
Multilayer Plane Walls
• Often walls are made of several layers of different materials. The thermal resistance
concept can still be used for these composite walls.
• This is done by developing a total thermal resistance for the wall.
• The rate of steady heat transfer through this two-layer composite wall can be
expressed by:

11
Example of heat transfer to
wall 1

12
13
14
Problem
The roof of a house consists of a 15-cm-thick concrete slab
(k = 2 W/m·0C) that is 15 m wide and 20 m long. The
convection heat transfer coefficients on the inner and outer
surfaces of the roof are 5 and 12 W/m2 0C, respectively.
On a clear winter night, the ambient air is reported to be at
10 0C, while the night sky temperature is 100 K. The house
and the interior surfaces of the wall are maintained at a
constant temperature of 20 0C. The emissivity of both
surfaces of the concrete roof is 0.9. Considering both
radiation and convection heat transfers, determine the rate
of heat transfer through the roof, and the inner surface
temperature of the roof.

If the house is heated by a furnace burning natural gas with

an efficiency of 80 percent, and the price of natural gas is
$1.20/therm (1therm=105,500 kJ of energy content),
determine the money lost through the roof that night during
a 14 hours period.

15
Assumptions: 1. Steady operating conditions exist, 2
The emissivity and thermal conductivity of the roof are
constant.
Properties: The thermal conductivity of the concrete is k
= 2 W/m⋅°C. The emissivity of both surfaces of the roof is
0.9.

In steady operation, heat transfer from the room to the

roof (by convection and radiation) must be equal to the
heat transfer from the roof to the surroundings (by
convection and radiation), that must be equal to the heat
transfer through the roof by conduction.

Q  Q room to roof, conv  rad  Q roof, cond  Q roof to surrounding, conv  rad

16
• Taking the inner and outer surface temperatures of the roof to be Ts,in and
Ts,out , respectively

Q room to roof, conv  rad  hi ATroom  Ts ,in   A(Troom

4
 Ts,4in )

 5  300 20  Ts ,in   0.9  567  108  300  20  273  Ts ,in  273
4 4

Ts, in  Ts, out  Ts, in  Ts, out 
Qroof, cond  kA
  2  300 
L  0.15 
Q roof to surr., conv rad  ho ATs ,out  Tsurr   A(Ts,4out  T4 )

 12  300Ts ,out  10  0.9  567 108  300 Ts ,out  273  1004
4


17
 Solving the equations above simultaneously gives

Q  37440 W, Ts,in  7.3 0 C, Ts,out  2.1 0 C

Qtotal Q t  37.440kJ   14  60  60s   1 therms 

Qgas       22.36 therms
0.80 0.80 0.80  105500 kJ 

Money lost  22.36 therms  $1.20/therms  $26.8

18
Problem
Consider a house that has a 10-m × 20-m base and a 4-m-high wall.
All four walls of the house have an R of 2.31 m2 0C/W. The two 10-m × 4-m walls have no
windows. The third wall has five windows made of 0.5-cm thick glass (k = 0.78 W/m · C),
1.2 m×1.8 m in size. The fourth wall has the same size and number of windows, but they
are double-paned with a 1.5-cm-thick stagnant air space (k=0.026 W/m·0C) enclosed
between two 0.5 cm-thick glass layers.
The thermostat in the house is set at 24 0C and the average temperature outside at that
location is 8 0C during the seven-month long heating season. Disregarding any direct
radiation gain or loss through the windows and taking the heat transfer coefficients at the
inner and outer surfaces of the house to be 7 and 18 W/m 2 0C, respectively, determine the
average rate of heat transfer through each wall.
If the house is electrically heated and the price of electricity is $0.08/kWh, determine the
amount of money this household will save per heating season by converting the single-pane
windows to double-pane windows.

19
Solution

1 1
Ri    0.003571 0 C/W
hi A 7  10  4 
Lwall Lwall / k 2.31
R wall     0.05775 0 C/W
kA A 10  4
1 1
Ro    0.001389 0 C/W
ho A 18  10  4 
R total  Ri  Rwall  Ro  0.003571  0.05775  0.001389  0.06271 0C/W
  T1  T2  24  8  255.1 W
Q
20
Rtotal 0.06271
 1 1
Ri    0.001786 0 C/W
hi A 7   20  4 
Lwall Lwall / k 2.31
R wall     0.033382 0 C/W
kA A  20  4  512 1.8
Lglass 0.005
Rglass    0.002968 0 C/W
kA 0.78  1.2  1.8
1 1 1 1 1
 5  5  R eq  0.000583 0 C/W
R eq Rwall Rglass 0.033382 0.002968
1 1
Ro    0.000694 0 C/W
ho A 18   20  4 
R total  Ri  Req  Ro  0.001786  0.000583  0.000694  0.003063 0 C/W
  T1 - T2  24  8  5224 W
Q
R total 0.003063
21
 1 1
Ri    0.001786 0 C/W
hi A 7   20  4 
Lwall Lwall / k 2.31
R wall     0.033382 0 C/W
kA A  20  4  512 1.8
L 0.005
Rglass  glass   0.002968 0 C/W
kA 0.78  1.2 1.8
Lair 0.015
R air    0.267094 0 C/W
k air A 0.0261.2  1.8
R window  2 Rglass  Rair  2  0.002968  0.267094  0.27303 0 C/W
1 1 1 1 1
 5  5  R eq  0.020717 0 C/W
R eq Rwall Rglass 0.033382 0.27303

22
 1 1
Ro    0.000694 0 C/W
ho A 18   20  4 
R total  Ri  Req  Ro  0.001786  0.020717  0.000694  0.023197 0 C/W
  T1 - T2  24  8  690 W
Q
R total 0.023197

Q save  Q single pane  Q double pane  5224  690  4534 W

 4534 
Q save  Q savet   kW    7  30  24 hr   22851 kWhr
 1000 
Money savings  Energy saved  unit cost of energy
23  22851 0.08  $1818
Problem

24
Solution

 L 0.01
R1  RA      0.04 0 C/W
 kA  A 2  0.12
 L 0.05
R2  R4  RC      0.06 0 C/W
 kA C 20  0.04
 L 0.05
25
R3  RB      0.16 0 C/W
 kA  B 8  0.04
  L 0.1
R5  RD      0.11 0 C/W
 kA  D 15  0.06
 L 0.1
R6  RE      0.05 0 C/W
 kA  E 35  0.06
 L 0.06
R7  RF      0.25 0 C/W
 kA  F 2  0.12

1 1 1 1 1 1 1
       Requ, mid 1  0.0250 C/W
Requ, mid 1 R2 R3 R4 0.06 0.16 0.06
1 1 1 1 1
     Requ, mid 2  0.0340 C/W
Requ, mid 2 R5 R6 0.11 0.05
Rtotal  R1  Requ, mid 1  Requ, mid 2  R7  0.04  0.025  0.034  025  0.3490 C/W

26
 T1  T 2 300  100
Q
   572 W
R total 0.349

58
Q total  572
  1.91 105 W
0.12

Rtotal,1  R 1  R equ,mid1  0.04  0.025  0.065 0 C/W

Then the temperature at the point B, D and F meet
  T1 - T  T  T  Q  R
Q  300  572  0. 065  263 0
C
1 total,1
R total,1
27
 Q  T  T  Q
  R  572  0.25  143 0 C
7
R7

28
HEAT CONDUCTION IN CYLINDERS AND SPHERES
Heat transfer through the pipe
can be modeled as steady
and one-dimensional.
The temperature of the pipe
depends on one direction only
(the radial r-direction) and can
be expressed as T = T(r).

Heat is lost from a hot-water pipe to

the air outside in the radial
direction, and thus heat transfer
from a long pipe is one-
dimensional. 29
A long cylindrical pipe (or spherical
shell) with specified inner and outer
surface temperatures T1 and T2.

is the conduction resistance of the cylinder layer.

30
 SPHERES

A spherical shell
with specified
inner and outer
surface
temperatures T1
and T2.

is the conduction resistance of the spherical layer.

31
 The thermal resistance network
for a cylindrical (or spherical) in
case of convection from in and out
sides.

where

for a cylindrical layer, and

for a spherical layer

32
Multilayered Cylinders and Spheres

The thermal resistance

network for heat transfer
through a three-layered
composite cylinder
subjected to convection
on both sides.

33
 Once heat transfer rate Q has been
calculated, the interface temperature
T2 can be determined from any of the
following two relations:

34
CRITICAL RADIUS OF INSULATION
Adding more insulation to a wall or
to the attic results:
a) decrease heat transfer and,
b) increase the thermal resistance
of the wall.
In a cylindrical pipe or a spherical
shell, the additional insulation
results :
a) increase the conduction
resistance but,
b) decreases the convection
resistance because of the surface An insulated cylindrical pipe exposed to
for convection become larger . convection from the outer surface and
the thermal resistance network
associated with it.

35
• 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 
 The critical radius of insulation
for a cylindrical body:

The critical radius of insulation

for a spherical shell:

• The rate of heat transfer from the cylinder increases with the
addition of insulation for r2 < rcr The variation of heat transfer
• Reaches maximum, when r2 = rcr rate with the outer radius of the
insulation r2 when r1 < rcr.
• Decreases when r2 > rcr
• Thus, insulating the pipe may actually increase the rate of
heat transfer instead of decreasing it when r2 < rcr.
37
Problem
A 3 mm diameter and 5 m long electrical wire is tightly wrapped with a 2 mm
thick plastic cover whose thermal conductivity is k = 0.15 W/m°C. Electrical
measurements indicate that a current of 10A passes through the wire and there
is a voltage drop of 8V along the wire.
If the insulating wire is exposed to a medium at T∞ = 30°C with a heat transfer
coefficient of h = 24 W/m2 °C, find the temperature at the interface of the wire and
the plastic cover in steady state operation. Also, determine the effect of doubling
the thickness of the plastic cover on the interface temperature.

38
Solution

Q  W e  VI  8  10  80 W
39
 • Outer surface Area

A   2r2  L   2  0.0035  5  0.11 m 2

• Thermal resistances
1 1
Rconv    0.76 0 C/W
hA2 12  0.11
ln  r2 r1  ln  3.5 1.5
Rplastic    0.18 0C/W
2kL 2  0.15  5
R total  Rconv  Rplastic  0.76  018  0.94 0 C/W
• The interface temperature can be determined

T -T T - 30
Q  1   80  1  T1  103 0 C
• Critical radius Rtotal 0.94

k 0.15
r
• Doubling thickness?cr    00125 m  12.5 mm
h 12

r2,new  6 mm, which is less than rcr

40 Thus increasing the heat transfer until the outer radius reaches rcr
Problem
A 5-mm-diameter spherical ball at 50 0C is covered by a 1-mm-thick
plastic insulation (k=0.13 W/m ·0C). The ball is exposed to a medium
at 15 0C, with a combined convection and radiation heat transfer
coefficient of 20 W/m2·0C.
Determine if the plastic insulation on the ball will help or hurt heat
transfer from the ball.

41
Solution

2k 2  0.13
rcr    0.013 m  13 mm
h 20
which is greater than r2

42
HEAT TRANSFER FROM FINNED SURFACES
Newton’s law of cooling: The rate of heat transfer
from a surface to the surrounding medium

When Ts and T are fixed, there are two

ways to increase the rate of heat transfer:
• Increase the convection heat transfer
coefficient h. This may require the
installation of a pump or fan or add larger
size of fan. Not adequate.

• Increase the surface area As by attaching

to the surface extended surfaces called
fins made of highly conductive materials
such as aluminum.

43
 The thin plate fins of a car
radiator greatly increase the
rate of heat transfer to the air.

44
Fin Equation

Volume element of a fin at location x

having a length of x, cross-sectional
area of Ac, and perimeter of p. 45
Fin Equation

where and

Temperature
Volume element of a fin at location x excess
having a length of x, cross-sectional
area of Ac, and perimeter of p. 46
The general solution of the
differential equation

Boundary condition at fin base

Boundary conditions at the fin

base and the fin tip.

47
1 Infinitely Long Fin
(Tfin tip = T)

Boundary condition at fin tip

Under steady conditions, heat
transfer from the exposed surfaces
of the fin is equal to heat conduction
to the fin at the base.
The variation of temperature along the fin

The steady rate of heat transfer from the entire fin

48
2 Negligible Heat Loss from the Fin Tip
(Adiabatic fin tip, Qfin tip = 0)
Fins are not likely to be so long that their temperature approaches the
surrounding temperature at the tip. A more realistic assumption is for
heat transfer from the fin tip to be negligible since the surface area of
the fin tip is usually a negligible fraction of the total fin area.

Boundary condition at fin tip

The variation of temperature along the fin

Heat transfer from the entire fin

49
3 Specified Temperature (Tfin,tip = TL)
In this case the temperature at the end of the fin (the fin tip) is
fixed at a specified temperature TL.
This case could be considered as a generalization of the case of
Infinitely Long Fin where the fin tip temperature was fixed at T.

50
4 Convection from Fin Tip
The fin tips, in practice, are exposed to the surroundings, and thus the proper
boundary condition for the fin tip is convection that may also include the effects
of radiation. Consider the case of convection only at the tip. The condition
at the fin tip can be obtained from an energy balance at the fin tip.

51
4 Convection from Fin Tip - cont
Replace the fin length L in the relation for
the insulated tip (slide 49) by a corrected
length defined as

t is the thickness of the rectangular fins.

D is the diameter of the cylindrical fins.

Corrected fin length Lc is defined such

that heat transfer from a fin of length Lc
with insulated tip is equal to heat transfer
from the actual fin of length L with
convection at the fin tip. 52
Fin Efficiency

Zero thermal resistance or infinite

thermal conductivity (Tfin = Tb)

53
mL

54
Efficiency of straight fins of rectangular, triangular, and parabolic profiles.
Triangular and parabolic are more efficient than rectangular, contain less
material and more suitable for applications requiring less weight and less
space 55
56
• The fin efficiency decreases with increasing fin length because
of decrease in fin temperature with length.
• Fin lengths that cause the fin efficiency to drop below 60 percent
usually cannot be justified economically.
• The efficiency of most fins used in practice is above 90 percent.

57
 Fin
Effectiveness

Effectiveness
of a fin

• The thermal conductivity k of the fin

material should be as high as possible.
Use aluminum, copper, iron.
• The ratio of the perimeter to the cross-
sectional area of the fin p/Ac should be
as high as possible. Use slender or thin
pin fins.
• Low convection heat transfer coefficient
h. Place fins on the gas (air) side. 58
Proper Length of a Fin

mL = 5  an infinitely long fin

Because of the gradual temperature drop mL = 1 offers a good compromise
along the fin, the region near the fin tip makes between heat transfer
little or no contribution to heat transfer. performance and the fin size. 59
• Heat sinks: Specially
designed finned surfaces
which are commonly used in
the cooling of electronic
equipment, and involve one-
of-a-kind complex
geometries.
• The heat transfer
performance of heat sinks is
usually expressed in terms of
their thermal resistances R.
• A small value of thermal
resistance indicates a small
temperature drop across the
heat sink, and thus a high fin
efficiency.

60
 Finish
Chapter 3

61