ECH 3023 (Chemical Heat Transfer)

Heat Conduction (Cont.)

 THERMAL CONTACT RESISTANCE

Temperature distribution and heat flow lines along two solid plates
pressed against each other for the case of perfect and imperfect contact.

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• When two such surfaces are pressed against
each other, the peaks make good contact but
the valleys make voids filled with air.
• These numerous air gaps of different sizes act
as insulation because of the low thermal
conductivity of air.
• Thus, an interface makes resistance to heat
transfer, and this resistance per unit interface
area is called the thermal contact
resistance, Rc.

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 The value of thermal
contact resistance
hc thermal contact depends on:
conductance • surface roughness,
• material properties,
• temperature and
pressure at the
interface
• type of fluid trapped
at the interface.

Thermal contact resistance is significant and can even dominate the

heat transfer for good heat conductors such as metals, but can be
disregarded for poor heat conductors such as insulations.
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The thermal contact resistance can
be minimized by applying
• a thermal grease such as silicon oil
• a better conducting gas such as
helium or hydrogen
• a soft metallic foil such as tin, silver, Effect of metallic coatings on
copper, nickel, or aluminum 5
thermal contact conductance
Example 3-4: Equivalent Thickness for Contact Resistance

Solution: k = 237 W/m.K (Table A-3).

Rc = 1/hc (Thermal contact resistance is the inverse of the conductance)

= 1/11,000 = 0.909x10-4 m2.K/W

For a unit Surface Area, the thermal resistance of the flat palte is
defined as:

R = L/k, where L is the thickness

The equivalent thickness is determined by setting R = Rc

So, L = kRc = (237 W/mK)(0.909x10-4 m2.K/W) = 0.0215 m =2.15cm

NB: This is more than the tow plates

GENERALIZED THERMAL RESISTANCE NETWORKS

Thermal
resistance
network for two
parallel layers. 7
Thermal Resistance in Parallel and Series Arrangments

Two assumptions in solving complex

multidimensional heat transfer problems by
treating them as one-dimensional using the
thermal resistance network are
(1) any plane wall normal to the x-axis is
isothermal (i.e., to assume the
temperature to vary in the x-direction
only)
(2) any plane parallel to the x-axis is
adiabatic (i.e., to assume heat transfer
to occur in the x-direction only) Thermal resistance network for
combined series-parallel
arrangement. 8
Example 3-6: Heat Loss through a composite wall

Lesson 8
Assumptions:
1.Heat transfer is steady since there is no indication of change with time.
2.Heat transfer can be approximated as being one- dimensional since it is
predominantly in the x- direction.
3.Thermal conductivities are constant.
4.Heat transfer by radiation is negligible. Properties The thermal
conductivities are given to be k = 0.72 W/ m · K for bricks, k = 0.22 W/ m · K
for plaster layers, and k = 0.026 W/ m · K for the rigid foam.

SOLUTION

There is a pattern in the construction of this wall that repeats itself every 25- cm
distance in the vertical direction. There is no variation in the horizontal direction.
Therefore, we consider a 1- m- deep and 0.25- m- high portion of the wall, since it is
representative of the entire wall.
Assuming any cross section of the wall normal to the x- direction to be isothermal, the
thermal resistance network for the representative section of the wall becomes as
shown in Fig. 3– 21.

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The individual resistances are evaluated as:
Ri= Rconv, 1 = 1/(h1A) = 1/(10x0.25x1) = 0.40 oC/ W
R1 = Rfoam = L/kA = 0.03/(0.026x0.25x1)= 4.62 oC/ W
R2 = R6 = Rplaster, side = L/kA = 0.02/(0.22x0.25x1) = 0.36 oC/ W
R3 = R5 = Rplaster, center = L/kA = 0.16/(0.22x0.015x1)= 48.48 C/ W
R4 = Rbrick = L/ kA = 0.16 m/ ( 0.72 x0.22x 1) = 1.01 oC/W
Ro = Rconv,2 = 1/(h2A) = 1/(25x0.25x1) = 0.16oC/W.
R3, R4 and R5 are in parallel= Rmid
1/Rmid = 1/R3+1/R4+1/R5 = 1/48.48 +1/1.01+ 1/48.48 = 1.03 w/°C ➔
Rmid = 0.97°C/W
Rtotal = Ri + R1 + R2 + Rmid + R6 + Ro =
0.4+4.62+0.36+0.97+0.36+0.16 = 6.87 ° C/W
dQ/dt =P= (Tα1 – Tα2)/ Rtotal = [20-(-10)]/6.87 = 4.37 W(per 0.25m2
surface area)
Or 4.37/0.25 = 17.5 W/m2
The total area of the wall = 3 x 5 = 15 m2
Therefore total dQ/dt = P = 17.5x 15 = 263 W

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Exercise: Repeat the calculations for example 3-6 without the foam layer

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HEAT CONDUCTION IN CYLINDERS AND SPHERES
Heat transfer through the pipe
can be modeled as steady
and one-dimensional.
Temperature of pipe depends
on one direction only (r-
direction), i.e. T = T(r).
The temperature is
independent of angle or axial
distance.
This situation is approximated
in practice in long cylindrical
pipes and spherical
Heat is lost from a hot-water pipe to
containers.
air outside in the radial direction,
and thus heat transfer from a long
pipe is one-dimensional.
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A long cylindrical pipe (or spherical
shell) with specified inner and outer
surface temperatures T1 and T2.

Conduction resistance of the cylinder layer

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

Conduction resistance of the spherical layer

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 for a cylindrical layer

for a spherical layer

Thermal resistance
network for a cylindrical (or
spherical) shell subjected
to convection from both
inner and the outer sides.
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Multilayered Cylinders and Spheres

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

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

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EXAMPLE 3– 8 Heat Loss through an Insulated
Steam Pipe Steam at Tα1 =320° C flows in a cast iron
pipe ( k 80 W/ m · K) whose inner and outer
diameters are D1= 5 cm and D2= 5.5 cm, respectively.
The pipe is covered with 3- cm- thick glass wool
insulation with k 0.05 W/ m · K. Heat is lost to the
surroundings at Tα2 =5° C by natural convection and
radiation, with a combined heat transfer coefficient of
h2 =18 W/ m2 · K. Taking the heat transfer coefficient
inside the pipe to be h1 = 60 W/ m2 · K, determine the
rate of heat loss from the steam per unit length of the
pipe. Also determine the tem-perature drops across
the pipe shell and the insulation.
Ans:
= 121 W, DTPipe = 0.02oC, DTInsulation = 19
PFeb-21 284oC
 Schematic for example 3-8

Exercise: Repeat Example3-8 with ID =6 cm and OD = 6.75 cm

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CRITICAL RADIUS OF INSULATION
• Adding more insulation to a wall
always decreases heat transfer
since the heat transfer area is
constant.
• In a cylindrical pipe or a
spherical shell, additional
insulation increases conduction
resistance of insulation layer but
decreases convection resistance
of surface because of increase
in outer surface area for
convection.
• Heat transfer from the pipe may An insulated cylindrical pipe exposed to
increase or decrease, depending convection from the outer surface and
on which effect dominates. the thermal resistance network
associated with it.

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The critical radius of insulation
for a cylindrical body:

The critical radius of insulation

for a spherical shell:

The largest value of the critical

radius we are likely to
encounter is

We can insulate hot-water or

steam pipes freely without The variation of heat transfer
worrying about the possibility of rate with the outer radius of the
increasing the heat transfer by insulation r2 when r1 < rcr.
insulating the pipes. 23
It is useful for electric-wire thermal insulation, because the radius of the
wire is very small and we normally need to increase the heat loss from the
wire surface

EXAMPLE 3– 9 Heat Loss from an Insulated Electric Wire A 3- mm- diameter

and 5- m- long electric wire is tightly wrapped with a 2- 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 Tα = 30° C
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.
Ans: T1 = 105oC, rcr = k/h = 12.5 mm which is greater than the radius of the
plastic cover. Therefore increasing the the thickness of the plastic cover will
enhance the heat transfer untill the outer surface of the cover reaches 12.5mm.
As a result ther arate of haet transfer P will increase when the interface
temperature is held constsnt or T1 will decrease when P is held constant, which
is the case here.

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Schematic for Example 3-9

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EXAMPLE 3– 10 Maximum Power Dissipation of a Transistor
Power transistors that are commonly used in electronic devices consume
large amounts of electric power. The failure rate of electronic components
increases almost exponentially with operating temperature. As a rule of
thumb, the failure rate of electronic components is halved for each 10° C
reduction in the junction operating temperature. Therefore, the operating
temperature of electronic components is kept below a safe level to
minimize the risk of failure.
The sensitive electronic circuitry of a power transistor at the junction is
protected by its case, which is a rigid metal enclosure. Heat transfer
characteristics of a power transistor are usually specified by the
manufacturer in terms of the case- to- ambient thermal resistance, which
accounts for both the natural convection and radiation heat transfers.
The case- to- ambient thermal resistance of a power transistor that has a
maximum power rating of 10 W is given to be 20° C/ W. If the case
temperature of the transistor is not to exceed 85oC, determine the power
at which this transistor can be operated safely in an environment at 25oC.
Ans: P = dQ/dt = 3 W
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 Schematic for Example 3-10
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