Formula Collection

Thermodynamics and
Energy Technology

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  UNITS

 UNIT CONVERSION

T [oK] = T[oC] + 273.15.

 VOLUME AND SURFACE AREA FORMULAS

Shape Volume Surface area Parameters

Cube a3 6a2 a = length of any
side (or edge)
Cylinder r2 h 2r(h + r) r = radius of circular
face, h = height
Sphere (ball) 4 3 4r 2 r = radius of sphere
r
3
Rectangular prism lꞏwꞏh 2(lw + lh + wh) l = length, w =
width, h = height

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  BASICS OF THERMODYNAMICS
The relationship between the absolute temperature (T) and Celsius temperature(TC) scales is

TC = T - 273.15

Heat is energy transferred due to temperature differences only. Heat (like work in mechanics)
has SI unit Joule (J).

The first law of thermodynamics

The change in the internal energy (U) of a closed system is equal to the heat added to the
system (Q) minus the mechanical work done by the system (W).
For solids and incompressible liquids, the first law of thermodynamics can be approximated as

Q = U = mcpT, (heat Q, in J)

Or

q = dU/dt = mcpdT/dt, (heat transfer rate or heat flow q, in W)

where cp is specific heat in J/(kgoC) and m is mass in kg, and heat transfer rate is defined as

q  Q  dQ/dt
(units Joule/second or Watt).

The second law of thermodynamics

Heat will not flow spontaneously from a cold object to a hot object, i.e. without any work
having been done to accomplish this flow. Heat always flows spontaneously from a hotter
object to a cooler object.

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  HEAT TRANSFER LAWS (STEADY-STATE)

Fourier's Law of heat conduction:

q=kA(T1 - T2 )/L
where
q = heat transfer rate (heat flow), in W
k = thermal conductivity of the medium, in W/(mK)
A = cross-sectional area of medium normal to the heat flow path, in m2
T1 - T2 = the temperature difference resulting from the steady conduction of heat flow across a
distance L through the medium
L /( kA) = thermal resistance due to conduction, in K/W

Heat flow is considered positive when the temperature is decreasing.

Newton's Law of convection:

q  hA(T bodyT )
where
q = heat transfer rate (heat flow), in W
h = heat transfer coefficient, in W/(m2K)
A = wetted surface area, in m2
Tbody = surface temperature of the body, in oC
T = bulk temperature of the nearby fluid, in oC
1 / (hA) = thermal resistance due to convection, in K/W

Representative values of heat transfer coefficient

Description Range of heat transfer coefficient values,

W/(m2K)
Natural convection in gases 5 – 15
Natural convection in liquids 50 – 100
Forced convection in gases 15 – 250
Forced convection in liquids 100 – 2000
Boiling liquids or condensing vapors 2000 – 25000

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Stefan-Boltzmann ‘s Law of radiant heat exchange:

q    A    F12  (T14  T24 )

or

q=hr A(T1 - T2)

hr =     F12 (T1 + T2)  (T12+T22)

where
 = surface emissivity
 = Stefan-Boltzmann constant, equal to 5.67  10 –8 W/(m2K4)
F12 = radiation "view factor" (or shielding factor) between surfaces 1 and 2.
hr = radiation heat transfer coefficient, W/(m2K)
1 / (hrA)= thermal resistance due to radiation, in K/W
T1, T2 are specified in Kelvin scale.

 THERMAL RESISTANCE NETWORKS

Series flow resistor network. For N thermal resistances in series, the equivalent thermal
resistance equiv is

Parallel flow resistor network. For N thermal paths, the equivalent thermal resistance equiv is
calculated as

Heat conduction, heat convection and radiant exchange laws can be written in the general form:

(T1  T2 )  q  

where  is the thermal resistance of the heat transfer path, [K/W]

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  HEAT FLOW ACROSS SOLID INTERFACES

Heat transfer across an interface, formed by the joining of two solids, is usually accompanied
by a temperature difference, which can be associated with a contact resistance. When real
surfaces are abutted, asperities on each of the surfaces limit actual contact between the two
solids to a very small fraction of the apparent interface area.

In the figure below,

/2 = average height of surface irregularities;
k1 , k2 = thermal conductivities of solid blocks l and 2, respectively;
kf = conductivity of the fluid occupying the gap between the two solids.

The flow of heat across such an interface involves solid-to-solid thermal conduction in the area
of actual contact, Ac, and fluid conduction across the open spaces, Av.

 TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION IN A SEMI-INFINITE SOLID

A semi-infinite solid is an idealized body that has a single plane surface and extends to infinity
in all directions:

Temperature T at position x at time t is the solution of the equation:

T  2T
 2
t x

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where thermal diffusivity α = k / (ρ cp) [m2/s], density ρ [kg/m3], specific heat cp [J/(kg K)],
and thermal conductivity k [W/(m K)] are constant.

Temperature TS at x = 0 Temperature Ti at x = ∞

Heat
x

Initial condition: T = Ti at x > 0, t = 0

Boundary condition 1: T = TS at x = 0, t > 0
Boundary condition 2: T = Ti at x = ∞, t > 0

Error function graphs:

1

0.9 y=erf(x)
0.8
y=erfc(x)

0.7

0.6
Gridline step = 0.02
0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2
x

 LUMPED SYSTEM ANALYSIS

In heat transfer analysis, some bodies are observed to behave like a “lump” whose interior
temperature remains essentially uniform at all times during a heat transfer process.

Let us assume, that the heat is transferred to a body from the surrounding fluid by convection.
Characteristic length :
V
Lc 
As
Biot number Bi:

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 hLc
Bi 
k

where
k is the thermal conductivity of the body, W/(mK),
V is the volume of the body, m3;
As is the surface area of the body, m2;
h is the convective heat transfer coefficient, W/(m2K).

The lumped system analysis is applicable when Bi ≤ 0.1

 TEMPERATURE OF A LUMPED SYSTEM

Assume at time t= 0, the body is placed into a fluid. The following equation determines the
temperature T(t) of a body at time t.
hAs
 t
Vc p
T (t )  T  (Ti  T )  e
hAs
where b  is a positive quantity whose dimension is (1/sec);
Vc p
cp is the specific heat of the body, J/(kgK);
 is the body density, kg/m3,
Ti is the initial uniform temperature of the body, oC
T∞ is the fluid temperature, oC

The rate of convection heat transfer (in W) between the body and its environment at that time
can be determined from Newton’s law of cooling as

Q ( t )  hAs (T ( t )  T )

The total amount of heat transfer between the body and the surrounding medium over the time
interval t=0 to t is simply the change in the energy content (in J) of the body:

Q(t )  mcp (T (t )  Ti )

 THERMAL RESISTANCE AND THERMAL CAPACITANCE IN

TRANSIENT HEAT TRANSFER PROBLEMS
Equation for transient convective heating
hAs
 t
Vc p
T (t )  T  (Ti  T )  e
can be re-written as
t

R C
T (t )  T  (Ti  T )  e conv
where C = mcp is the heat capacity or thermal capacitance or thermal mass [J/oC], and Rconv is
the convective thermal resistance between the body surface and the fluid.

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  FLOW PATTERNS AND CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER

1. DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS

1.1 Reynolds number

(1)
Re: Reynolds number
L: characteristic length of the flow system [m]
v: fluid velocity [m/s]
𝜌: fluid density [kg/m3]
μ: fluid viscosity [kg/(ms)]
𝜈: kinematic viscosity [ ]( )

1.2 Prandtl number

(2)
: Prandtl number
𝜈: kinematic viscosity[ ]( , is the fluid density)
𝛼: thermal diffusivity [ ]
[J/(kgK)]
: fluid viscosity [kg/(ms)]
k: thermal conductivity [ ]

1.3 Grashof number

g  Tx3 g Tx3  2 Buoyancy forces
Gr   
 2
 2
Viscous forces (3)
Gr: Grashof number
g: the acceleration due to gravity
β: the thermal expansion coefficient
ΔT: the temperature difference between surface and bulk fluid
x: the characteristic length of the flow system
υ: the kinematic viscosity = μ / ρ
μ: the viscosity of fluid
ρ: the fluid density

1.4 Nusselt number

q( by convection ) hL
Nu  
q( by conduction ) k (4)
h: the heat transfer coefficient
L: Length (a characteristic distance)
k: the thermal conductivity

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2. Forced convection
OBS! In the empirical correlations provided in the following sections, Reynolds number Re is
calculated using Eq. (1) and Prandtl number Pr is taken directly from a table of fluid’s physical
properties, alt. calculated using Eq. (2).

2.1 Flow in a tube

Characteristic length = Inner diameter

Re < 2300: Laminar flow

2300 < Re < 4000: Transition to turbulence
Re > 4000: Turbulent flow

Laminar flow:
Nu = 3.66 when the surface temperature is constant.
Nu = 4.36 when the heat flux q is constant.

Turbulent flow:
Nu = 0.023Re0.8Prn
Ts < T∞ → n = 0.3
Ts > T∞ → n = 0.4

2.2 Flat plate

Characteristic length = Length (along the flow direction)

Re > 105: Turbulent flow; laminar flow otherwise

Laminar flow:
Average NuL = 0.664ReL1/2Pr1/3 (valid for Pr > 0.7),
where ReL is the Reynolds number for a plate having length L along the flow direction.

Turbulent flow:
NuL=0.037Re0.8Pr1/3 NuL is the Nusselt for a plate having length L.

2.3 Sphere (fluid flow around a sphere)

Characteristic length = diameter
Nu = 2 + 0.6Re1/2Pr1/3

2.4 Cylinders (fluid flow around a cylinder)

Characteristic length = diameter

For forced flow around a cylinder which is

perpendicular to the direction of flow:

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3. Natural convection
Turbulent flow when GrꞏPr > 109
2.5 Vertical plate

Laminar flow:

Nu = 0.56(Gr ꞏ Pr)1/4

Turbulent flow:

NuL = 0.13(Gr ꞏ Pr)1/3

2.6 Other geometries

Laminar flow:

NuL = a(Gr ꞏ Pr)1/4

Turbulent flow:
NuL = b(Gr ꞏ Pr)0.333

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  PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
ATTENTION! Material properties specified in the assignment/exam problems
prevail over the material properties specified in the tables below.

Air:

Water:

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Water vapour (Steam):

Metallic materials:

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Liquids:

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Typical surface emissivities:

Material Surface Emissivity Material Surface Emissivity

Nickel, polished 0.072 Silver Polished 0.02 - 0.03

Nickel, oxidized 0.59 - 0.86 Steel Oxidized 0.79

Oil paints, all colors 0.92 - 0.96 Steel Polished 0.07

Paper 0.93 Steel Galvanized 0.23

Rubber 0.86-0.94 Wood, Pine 0.95

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