Transient Conduction

Chapter5
What we have covered
So far we have studied

• One dimensional steady State heat conduction

• Two dimensional and three dimensional steady state heat

conduction
Unsteady Heat Conduction
• Obviously, in engineering most of the times we encounter the heat
transfer processes that are unsteady.
• The temperature of the object may not be uniformly distributed and
it can be function of time as well.
• Therefore, transient heat transfer formulation both in time and space
(x, y, z Coordinates of the body) has to be considered.
• Thus temperature can be defined as

𝑇 = T(x, y, z, t)
Transient Heat Conduction
• In order to study and keep the calculations rather simple here we
assume that temperature of the body will change in uniformly in
time.
𝑇 = T(t)
• This is true generally for materials with very high thermal conductivity
which implies that their thermal resistance is negligible.
• We consider this assumption to be valid.
For example
Example
Thermal Capacitance 𝐶𝑡ℎ = 𝜌∀𝐶𝑝
1
Thermal Resistance 𝑅𝑡ℎ =
ℎ𝐴𝑠
5.2 Validity of the Lumped Capacitance Method

• Lumped capacitance method is a simple and

convenient method for solving transient heating
and cooling problems.

• But we need to determine under what conditions

it may be used with reasonable accuracy.
5.2 Validity of the Lumped Capacitance
Method
• To develop a suitable criterion consider
steady-state conduction through the
plane wall

• The surface energy balance at the

external wall is
We can write the equ 5.6 in non dimensional form as well