JME 3710 / ME 3710

Final Exam: December 18, 2023 Name:

• Write work & answers in the spaces provided after each question. If you run out of room, continue GRADER
on the back of the page. Do not use other paper. PLACE
• Be neat!!! — the grader will not go to extreme lengths to read sloppy responses. Put a “box”
SCORE
around what you wish the grader to take as your answer — lack of a box means lack of an answer.
• Show all work — answers that happen to be correct, but have no supporting argument, calcula- HERE
tions, logic, etc. will not count for full credit.
• Please ask the proctor if the presentation of a problem is unclear. Do not ask questions of the
nature “How do you setup. . . ”, “How should I solve. . . ”, etc.
• Use restroom now — you will not be excused during the test to leave the room.
• You are permitted to use an ACT–compliant calculator and crib sheet of maximum size of 8.5×11
inches. You may not use any networked device, including a phone, tablet, or laptop.

1. A simple tube–in–a–tube heat exchanger is configured in counterflow mode to recover heat

from oil on the “hot side” by means of water used as a coolant on the “cold side”. The design
heat transfer rate is q = 133, 000 W . This configuration is governed by the following ε–NTU
relationship:
 
1 ε − 1 (ṁ c)min
NTU = ln where C =
C − 1 ε·C − 1 (ṁ c)max

and various properties and parameters are listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Properties and Parameters

Stream Inlet T Convection Coeff. Specific Heat Mass Flow Rate

hot side Th,i = 100 C hh = 500 W/(m2 C) ch = 2000 J/(kg C) ṁh = 2 kg/s
cold side Tc,i = 20 C hc = 2000 W/(m2 C) cc = 4170 J/(kg C) ṁc = 0.48 kg/s

(a) (10 pts) The line pressures on both the hot and cold sides are low, meaning that the
exchanger is made using thin–walled tubing. Taken with the high conductivity of this
material, temperature gradients associated with conduction in the tube wall can be ne-
glected. If fouling effects
are also negligible, calculate the overall convection coefficient,
Um , in units of W/ m2 C .
 400  2500  2000  1250  800  none of the above
JME 3710 / ME 3710 Final Exam December 18, 2023

(b) (10 pts) Calculate the effectiveness, ε, for this case.

 0.91  0.554  0.50  0.416  0.83  none of the above

(c) (10 pts) Perform the sizing calculation for this unit, i.e. calculate the required area for
heat exchange, A, in units of m2 .
 2.47  12.4  15.6  24.7  3.96  none of the above

(d) (10 pts) Determine the oil outlet temperature, Th,o , in the nearest whole units of o C.
 86  34  100  67  20  none of the above

Page 2 of 6
JME 3710 / ME 3710 Final Exam December 18, 2023

2. A passive electric heater (surface 1 shaded) of height L = 0.7 m and width W = 1 m is mounted
vertically in a wall (Fig. 1, Panel A; not to scale) heats a large hut consisting of a 8 m × 8 m
floor (surface 2 shaded) and the remaining 4 walls and ceiling (surface 3; dashed lines) by
both radiation and natural convection (see panel B). The heater can be modeled as a flat
plate having a uniform temperature of T1 = 505 K. The hut floor, which also can be modeled
as a flat plate, has a uniform temperature of T2 = 300 K, while its walls and ceiling are at
T3 = 275 K. The heater and floor have respective total emissivities of ε1 = 0.8 and ε2 = 0.4.
Taking surface 3 (i.e. walls and ceiling) as being ideal, it is proposed to model the radiative
component of the problem using the circuit analogy diagrammed in Fig. 1, Panel C, where the
nodes, and resistors, and some of the currents have been marked.

A R1 J1 R 12 J2 R2

E b1 q q2 E b2
3 1
1m R13 R23
1
2 convection J3
1 C
0.7 m q3
heater

8m radiation
B
8m

Fig. 1: (A) configuration, (B) convection and radiation, (C) suggested radiation circuit

(a) (10 pts) At the instant shown, the ambient air temperature in the hut is T∞ = 296 K.
With respect to the free convection boundary layer, calculate the thermal expansion coef-
ficient, β, of the air based on the relevant film (i.e. average) temperature in units of K −1
if air is taken to be an ideal gas.
 1.02  0.0025  0.209  0.0034  0.752  none of the above

Page 3 of 6
JME 3710 / ME 3710 Final Exam December 18, 2023

(b) (10 pts) Calculate the free–convection average Nusselt number, N uL , if air has additional
properties: k = 0.034 W/(m K), ν = 2.6 × 10−5 m2 /s, and α = 3.8 × 10−5 m2 /s and if the
natural convection boundary layer (see Fig. 1, Panel B) is reasonably characterized by the
Churchill–Chu correlation
1/4
0.67 RaL
N uL = 0.68 +  4/9 ,
1 + (0.492/P r)9/16

where P r and RaL are the respective Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers. Take gravitational
acceleration as g = 9.8 m/s2 .
 138.1  149.0  105.8  114.2  68.0  none of the above

(c) (10 pts) Estimate the rate of heat transfer (in units of W ) from the heater to the room
by the action of natural convection.
 1058.8  981.3  5.1  1074.0  751.8  none of the above

Page 4 of 6
JME 3710 / ME 3710 Final Exam December 18, 2023

(d) (10 pts) As the circuit model in Fig. 1, Panel C suggests, surfaces 1 and 2 are taken as
gray, while surface 3 is taken as ideal. A contractor report has determined view factor
F12 = 0.15 and floor radiosity as J2 = 380.9 W/m2 . Using this information and the circuit
model, calculate the radiosity of the heater, J1 , in units of W/m2 .
 3687.64  459.27  2385.4  3016.67  9.52  none of the above

(e) (10 pts) Using the circuit model, calculate the net radiation heat output, q1 , from the
heater in units of W . Note that a direction has already been assumed by an arrow on the
circuit in Fig. 1 Panel C.
 1267.9  671.0  8446.7  10, 325.4  1878.7  none of the above

Page 5 of 6
JME 3710 / ME 3710 Final Exam December 18, 2023

3. (10 pts) A radiation enclosure has N = 3 sur-

faces, with 2 of the N 2 = 9 view factors be-
ing known (matrix at right). The relation- 
F11 F12 F13
 
0 F12 F13

ships of the surface areas to one another are  F21 F22 F23  =  F21 F22 F23 
A1 = 2 A2 = A3 , but there are no symmetries F31 F32 F33 0.95 F32 F33
that can be exploited in this configuration. De-
termine F12 .
 0.53  0.5  0.95  0.14  0.05  none of the above

Page 6 of 6