ChE 453

Transport Phenomena

Instructor:
Dr. Md. Easir Arafat Khan
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET,
Dhaka-1000
July 2014

Transport Phenomena
Subject:
This course will deal with the three areas of study (Momentum, Heat and
Mass transfer) which have certain ideas in common and the application
of shell balances, equation of change for momentum, energy and mass
transfer & their use. Mechanisms and analogy equation relating

momentum, energy and mass transfer.

Prerequisites:

Fluid

Mechanics,

Heat

Transfer

and

Mass

Transfer,

Engineering Thermodynamics, Material and Energy Balance.

Chemical

Transport Phenomena
Instructor:

Dr. Md. Easir Arafat Khan,

Asst. Prof./ Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET, Dhaka-1000
Main Text:

Transport Phenomena, 1st Edition

By R. Byron Bird, Warren E. Stewart and Edwin N. Lightfoot

Supplementary Text:
1. Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer, by James R. Welty

2. Momentum, Energy and Mass Transfer in Continua, by John C. Slattery

3. Transport Phenomena, by Robart S. Brodkey

Transport Phenomena
Assessment:

Each students grade will be based on performance in assignments,

exams, and/or quizzes according to the following criteria:
Attendance: 10%

Homework/Assignment/Class Test/Class Assessment Test: 20%

Final Exam + Midterm exam (if applicable): 70%

Transport Phenomena
What exactly are "transport phenomena"?
Transport phenomena are really just a fancy way that Chemical Engineers
group together three areas of study that have certain ideas in common.
These three areas of study are:
Fluid Mechanics
Heat Transfer
Mass Transfer
Fluid Mechanics deals with the transfer of momentum in a fluid

Heat Transfer deals with the transfer of heat energy

Mass Transfer deals with the transfer of mass

In "transport phenomena, how are they all related?

Well, They all are similar in their behavior. They all move stuff (Momentum, Heat, or
Mass) from a place where there is a lot of the stuff to a place where there is less

stuff. Here are some examples:

In Fluid Mechanics momentum is transferred from a place where we have a
lot of momentum to a place where we have less. A good analogy is the flow

of traffic on a busy freeway. The far left lane on the freeway typically move
slower than the right left lane, with the lanes in the middle going faster the
further right you move. This can be compared to flow over a flat plate,

where the slower flow (the left lane on the freeway) is right next to the
plate, and the faster flow (the right lane on the freeway) on the surface of

the fluid. The transfer of momentum is like the cars changing lanes, as
slower cars pull into faster lanes the lanes slow down to allow the car to
accelerate (and not cause a pile-up on the freeway), and the faster cars

pulling into slower lanes and speeding up the lane a little bit.

 In Heat Transfer, energy moves from a place where there is a lot to a

place where there is less. For example, if you heat up a brick, then drop it
into cold water, the brick gets colder and the water gets warmer. Once the

brick and the water are at the same temperature, no more energy can be
transferred.
Mass Transfer. If the red dye is first dropped into the water is at a high
concentration and the water is at zero concentration, as the dye spreads
out, the concentration of the dye slowly increases, until, it is all at the

same low concentration everywhere. Once the concentration of the dye in

the water is the same everywhere, no more mass transfer can take place.
The one of the most important similarities between all of these examples is:

There is a driving force (momentum, temperature, or concentration difference

or 'gradient'), which becomes smaller as time progresses in each of the
examples, and eventually becomes zero when no more transfer of stuff takes
place.

The math for all of these "transport phenomena" all are based on 2
ideas:
The rate of change of stuff is proportional to some driving
force, as in the examples above.
We can't destroy mass or energy (or, mass and energy must
be conserved).

Driving force equation:

vx

The first idea is summed up by three similar laws for each

of the three "transport phenomena" (here in one dimension
and rectangular coordinates,
Molecular transport of Momentum: from Newtons law of viscosity,

dvx
d ( vx )
xx

dx
dx
Thus, Momentum flux = Momentum diffusivity gradient of Momentum
concentration

dy
dx

Driving force equation:

In Heat Transfer:
From, Fouriers Law of Heat Transfer,

Q
dT
q k
A
dx
d ( C pT )
k
,
Thermal diffusivity

C p
dx

C p Heat energy/volume = Energy concentration

Now,
Heat flux = Thermal diffusivity gradient of concentration of heat energy

Driving force equation:

In Mass Transfer:
From, Ficks Law of Mass Transfer,

J A DAB

dC A
dx

where

DAB = diffusivity of A in B

C A = concentration of A
J A = molar flux with respect to molar average velocity
Now,
Molar flux = Diffusivity gradient of molar concentration