THAPAR UNIVERSITY, PATIALA

Mechanical Engineering Department

Heat and Mass Transfer (UME 704)

Tutorial sheet 4
Critical radius of insulation

1. A 3-mm-diameter and 5-m-long electric wire is tightly wrapped with a 2-mmthick plastic cover whose thermal
conductivity is k = 0.15 W/m K. Electrical measurements indicate that a current of 10 A passes through the wire
and there is a voltage drop of 8 V along the wire. If the insulated wire is exposed to a medium at T = 30C with a
heat transfer coefficient of h = 12 W/m2 K, determine the temperature at the interface of the wire and the plastic
cover in steady operation. Also determine whether doubling the thickness of the plastic cover will increase or
decrease this interface temperature. (T1 = 105C , rcr = 12.5 mm )
2. A2-mm-diameter and 10-m-long electric wire is tightly wrapped with a 1-mm-thick plastic cover whose thermal
conductivity is k = 0.15 W/m K. Electrical measurements indicate that a current of 10 A passes through the wire
and there is a voltage drop of 8 V along the wire. If the insulated wire is exposed to a medium at T = 30C with a
heat transfer coefficient of h = 24 W/m2 K, determine the temperature at the interface of the wire and the plastic
cover in steady operation. Also determine if
doubling the thickness of the plastic cover will
increase or decrease this interface temperature.
(T1 = 62.4C , rcr = 6.25 mm )
3. A5-mm-diameter spherical ball at 50C is
covered by a 1-mm-thick plastic insulation (k = 0.13 W/m K). The ball is
exposed to a medium at 15C, with a combined convection and radiation
heat transfer coefficient of 20 W/m 2 K. Determine if the plastic insulation
on the ball will help or hurt heat transfer from the ball. (rcr = 7mm)
4. A steel pipe line (50 W/m K) of ID = 100 mm and OD =110 mm is to be
covered with two layers of insulations each having a thickness of 50 mm.
The thermal conductivity if first insulating material is 0.06 W/m K and that of second is 0.12 W/m K. Calculate
the heat loss per meter length of pipe and the interface temperature between the two layers of insulation when the
temperature of the inside surface is 250C and that of outside surface of the insulation is 50C. If the order of
insulation is reversed then how it will affect the heat transfer? Other conditions remain unchanged. Comment on
the result. (89.6W/m and 105.75W/m)
5. Derive the expression for critical radius of insulation for spheres.