INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
B.Tech. Aerospace Engineering

AE222 HEAT TRANSFER

TUTORIAL–1

1. A wood slab with a thickness of 0.05 m is subjected to a heat flux of 40 W/m2 . The left and
right surface temperatures of the wood slab are kept at constant temperatures of 40 ◦ C and 20 ◦ C,
respectively. What is the thermal conductivity of the wood slab?

2. The outer surface of a spacecraft in space has an emissivity of 0.8 and a solar absorptivity of 0.3. If
solar radiation is incident on the spacecraft at a rate of 950 W/m2 , determine the surface temperature
of the spacecraft when the radiation emitted equals the solar energy absorbed.

3. Starting with an energy balance on a ring-shaped volume element, derive the two-dimensional steady
heat conduction equation in cylindrical coordinates for T (r, z) for the case of constant thermal con-
ductivity and no heat generation.

4. Consider a solid cylindrical rod of length 0.15 m and diameter 0.05 m. The top and bottom surfaces
of the rod are maintained at constant temperatures of 20 ◦ C and 95 ◦ C, respectively, while the side
surface is perfectly insulated. Determine the rate of heat transfer through the rod if it is made of (a)
copper, k = 380 W/mK, (b) steel, k = 18 W/mK, and (c) granite, k = 1.2 W/mK.

5. Consider a large 3 cm thick stainless steel plate (k = 15.1 W/mK) in which heat is generated uniformly
at a rate of 5 × 105 W/m3 . Both sides of the plate are exposed to an environment at 30 ◦ C with a heat
transfer coefficient of 60 W/m2 K. Determine the temperature profile in the plate and the maximum
value of temperature.

6. A silicon wafer with thickness of 925 µ m is being heated with a uniform heat flux at the lower surface.
The silicon wafer has a thermal conductivity that varies with temperature and can be expressed as
k(T ) = (a + bT + cT 2 ) W/mK, where a = 437, b = 21.29, and c = 0.00111. To avoid warping, the
temperature difference across the wafer thickness cannot exceed 2 ◦ C. If the upper surface of the
silicon wafer is at a uniform temperature of 600 K, determine the maximum allowable heat flux.

7. The t = 4 mm thick glass windows of an automobile have a surface area of A = 2.6 m2 . The outside
temperature is T∞,o = 32 ◦ C while the passenger compartment is maintained at T∞,i = 22 ◦ C. The
convection heat transfer coefficient on the exterior window surface is ho = 90 W/m2 K. Determine the
heat gain through the windows when the interior convection heat transfer coefficient is hi = 15 W/m2 K.
By controlling the airflow in the passenger compartment the interior heat transfer coefficient can be
reduced to hi = 5 W/m2 K without sacrificing passenger comfort. Determine the heat gain through
the window for the reduced inside heat transfer coefficient.

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 8. Consider a 5 m high, 8 m long, and 0.22 m thick wall whose representative cross section is as given in
the figure. The thermal conductivities of various materials used, in W/mK, are kA = kF = 2, kB = 8,
kC = 20, kD = 15, and kE = 35. The left and right surfaces of the wall are maintained at uniform
temperatures of 300 ◦ C and 100 ◦ C, respectively. Assuming heat transfer through the wall to be one-
dimensional, determine (a) the rate of heat transfer through the wall; (b) the temperature at the point
where the sections B, D, and E meet; and (c) the temperature drop across the section F . Disregard
any contact resistances at the interfaces.

9. A wall consists of layers of metals and plastic with heat transfer coefficients on either side. The overall
heat transfer coefficient U is 255 W/m2 K and the overall temperature difference is 200 ◦ C. One layer
in the wall is stainless steel (k = 18 W/mK) 3 mm thick. What is ∆T across the stainless steel?

10. To determine the thermal conductivity of a long, solid 2.5 cm diameter rod, one half of the rod was
inserted into a furnace while the other half was projecting into air at 27 ◦ C. After steady state had
been reached, the temperatures at two points 7.6 cm apart were measured and found to be 126 ◦ C
and 91 ◦ C, respectively. The heat transfer coefficient over the surface of the rod exposed to the air
was estimated to be 22.7 W/m2 K. What is thermal conductivity of the rod?