Heat Transfer

Unsteady Heat
Conduction
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Unsteady Heat Conduction

• If the thermal environment in which a solid or liquid or

gas is situated suddenly changes then a finite time is
needed before a new thermal equilibrium situation is
reached. This is an example of a transient time
dependent problem.

• The cylinders of a reciprocating internal combustion

engine are subjected to a continuously changing thermal
environment (cooling during inflow, heating during
compression, even more heating during combustion,
cooling during expansion and exhaust). This is an
example of a periodically changing thermal environment.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Unsteady heat transfer is therefore an important
phenomena in many engineering applications and
industrial processes.

• A precise analysis of unsteady heat conduction requires

the solution of the relevant unsteady equation.

• For multi-dimensional problems, this is analytically

impracticable and recourse to numerical solution must
be made.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Even in 1-D cases the unsteady heat conduction
equation is still a partial differential equation, e.g. in
Cartesian co-ordinates:
 T  k  2T  q ' ' '
 t c  x2 c
• This equation may be solved analytically in certain very
restricted circumstances, but generally computer-based
methods are required.

• To render the problem analytically soluble, a simplified

approach is required in which temperature gradients
within the body are ignored.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Lumped-Heat-Capacity System

• In this approach the whole body is assumed to be at the

same (but time varying) temperature.

• This assumption is most realistic when the thermal

conductivity is high (temperature changes occur quickly
inside the body)

• or when the convective heat transfer coefficient is low

(the time scale for the transience is long).
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Consider a solid body of volume V, surface area A,
density , heat capacity c and thermal conductivity k.

• This solid is at an initial temperature T0 and it is then

placed in a water reservoir of temperature TF.

• Assume that the reservoir is so big that the water

temperature does not alter.

• The convective heat transfer coefficient between the

body and the water is h.

• Determine how the solid’s temperature varies with time t.

 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Perform an overall energy balance:

• Total heat flux into solid = Rate of change of thermal

energy of solid

• Heat flux = hA(T  TF ) where T is the instantaneous

temperature of the solid.
dT
• Rate of energy change = Vc
dt

• Therefore Vc dT  hA(T TF )

dt
• This can be re-written as
Vc d (T TF )  hA(T TF )
dt
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Integrate to get ln(T TF )  
hA t  B
Vc
• To obtain constant B, put T = T0 at t = 0, to get
T TF
ln( )   hA t
T0 TF Vc
• or
hA
 t
T TF
 e Vc
T0 TF
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• As t tends to infinity, T tends to TF.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• The lumped-capacity assumption is accurate when
surface convection resis tance
 10
internal conduction resis tance
• Surface resistance = 1/h

• Internal resistance = s/k, where s = V/A. Note that often

s may be taken as the radius of a cylinder, for example.
k
• Therefore we require  10
hs hs
• Or  0.1
k
hs
• The dimensionless group
k is called the BIOT
number, denoted as Bi.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• For irregularly shaped bodies the characteristic length s
defined above is appropriate for use in the Biot number.

• However, where there is regularity of body shape it is

normal to use the characteristic length of the body
between the outer surface and the central
‘point/line/plane’ of the body as s.
• For plane geometries in which the body is fully immersed
in the surrounding fluid, s = L is appropriate, where 2L is
the length of the body in the direction of heat transfer.
• For cylindrical geometries s = r0, the radius of the
cylinder.
• For spherical geometries s = r0, the radius of the sphere.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Example 14

• A steel ball (c = 460J/kg K,  = 7800kg/m3, k = 35W/mK)

of 5.0 cm in diameter is initially at a temperature of
450oC.

• It is suddenly placed in an environment with a constant

temperature of 100oC. The convection heat transfer
coefficient h is 10 W/m2K.

• Calculate the time taken for the ball to reach a

temperature of 150oC.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Solution

• First test whether the lumped-capacity method is valid.

hs  hr0  100.025  7.14103  0.1
k k 35

• Then hA  10(4 0.0252)  3.344104s1

Vc 7800 460( 4  0.0253)
3

• Thus T 100   4
e 3.344 10 t
450 100
• Substitute T = 150, then t = 5819 s = 1.62 h.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Lumped-Heat-Capacity System in Cylindrical Co-ordinates
including heat generation
• A long cylindrical electric cable of radius ri is insulated
with a layer of outer radius ro.
• Initially there is no electric current and the cable is at
ambient temperature TF.
• When the current is switched on the internal heat
generation is q ''' per unit volume.
• The conductivity of the insulation is ko and the surface
convection heat transfer coefficient is h.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• As shown by Example 8, unless the heat generation rate
is very high, the temperature variation within the effected
region is relatively modest.

• So by making the lumped-heat-capacity assumption and

also by ignoring the heat capacity of the insulation layer,
derive an expression describing the variation of the cable
temperature T with time t.

• Energy balance for unit length of the cable:

• Heat generation + Heat flux into solid = Rate of change

of energy
 ri q  2 riUi (T TF )   ri c
2 ''' 2 dT
dt
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Here the overall heat transfer coefficient corresponding
to the internal area of the insulation has been employed:
1
Ui 
ro
ri ln( )
ri ri

ko ro h
• The energy balance equation can be re-arranged into
the form
d (T TF )   2Ui dt
r 
q ''' ri  c
[(T TF )  i ]
2Ui
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Integrating this equation yields
r '''
q
ln[(T TF )  i ]   r2U i tB
2Ui i c

ri q'''
• To evaluate B, set T = TF at t = 0, B  ln(  )
2U i
ri q '''
(T TF ) 
• Then 2U i
ln[ ]   r2U it
 ' ' ' i c
ri q

2U i
 2U it
(1 e ri  c )
• Thus r 
q '''
T TF  i
2Ui
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• As t tends to infinity, the final cable temperature
becomes '''

T final  TF  ri q
2Ui
Tfinal

T
TF
t
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Example 15

• The cable material properties are: k = 385W/mK, ρ =

5000kg/m3 and c = 800J/kgK.
• The thermal conductivity of the insulant is k0 =
0.04W/mK.
• The convection heat transfer coefficient is h = 5W/m2K.
• Heat is generated at a rate = 1.2x104W/m3.

• The radius of the core is 10mm and the insulation has a

thickness of 2mm. The ambient temperature is 150C.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Example 15

• (a) Obtain the steady-state temperature of the core

material.

• (b) Also find how long it takes for the temperature to rise
by 90% of the final temperature increase.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Solution
• (a) First check the Biot number. Here the appropriate
length scale is the radius of the metal cable. Hence
hs hr0 5  0.01
Bi     1.30 104  0.1
k k 385
• Then
1 1
Ui  
ro  0.012 
ri ln( ) ri 0.01ln  
ri  0.01   0.01

ko ro h 0.04 0.012  5
1
  4.70W/m 2 K
0.046  0.167
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction

ri q ''' 0.011.2 104

T final  TF   15   15  12.8  27.80 C
2U i 2  4.70

• (b) This requires T – TF = 0.9x12.8 = 11.50C.

• From equation above
2  4.70
 2.35 10 4
2U i

ri  c 0.01 5000  800

 2. 35 10  4t
11.5  12.8(1  e )
 2.35 10  4t  ln( 0.1)
e  0.1 t  9800s
2.35 10  4
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Recall that for Bi < 0.1, the lumped-heat-capacity
method can be employed.
• This assumes that the temperature distribution in the
body is uniform at all times, as in left hand diagram.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• For this case, with a convection heat transfer boundary
condition applied at the surface, the time-dependent
solution was found to be

T T  hA t
F  e Vc
Ti  T
F
 where Ti is the initial temperature.
• Now hAt  hs kt  Bi
Vc k  cs 2
 where the Fourier number  is a dimensionless time
scale. Also called Fo or t* .
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• If T - TF is denoted by , then 
*   eBi

i
• However, it is often the case that the Biot number is
larger, in which case the diagrams on the RHS of the
figure above would prevail, and the temperature is no
longer uniform through the body.

• Then we need to solve the unsteady heat conduction

equation in the body
T  k  T 2
 t c  x2
 with the convection boundary condition as before.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• This equation is best treated in a non-dimensional form,
by introducing *, x* = x/S and . Then
 Θ*   2Θ*
  x*2
• The convection boundary condition (Newton’s Law)
becomes
 Θ*  BiΘ*
 x* surface surface

• Thus in functional form Θ*  f ( x*, , Bi)

 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• For infinite plane walls, completely surrounded by the
fluid, these equations have been solved, and the results
can be presented in the form of Heisler charts

• Note that this is a symmetric geometry, so that the

centre or mid plane has a zero temperature gradient. L is
the half width of the plane.

• The first diagram shows the non-dimensional

temperature variation at this mid-plane *0, as a function
of  and Bi
Unsteady Heat
Conduction
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Note that there are changes of scale for the Fourier
number in this diagram, so the changes of slope
displayed are not real.

• It is evident from this diagram that the larger the value of

Bi is the more quickly the mid- plane temperature
changes towards the fluid temperature.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• The second diagram relates the temperature variation for
off mid plane positions to that at the mid plane.
• The *0 value must be calculated first, before the second
diagram can be used.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• This second diagram shows that for large values of Bi,
there is significant variation between the mid- plane
temperature at x = 0, and the other x positions out to
x = L.

• Note that for Bi < 0.1, the variation of temperature from

the mid-plane out to x = L is less than 5%, hence the
limit on the lumped heat capacity method.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• By calculating the temperature gradient at the outer edge
of the wall from the above solutions, the total amount of
energy Q which has either entered or left the body can
be calculated.

• This is shown below in the form of a Grober chart, where

Qmax  Vc(Ti  T )
F
• may be interpreted as the initial internal energy of the
wall relative to the fluid temperature.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction

Qmax  Vc(Ti  T )
F
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Similar results can be obtained for infinite cylinders of
radius ro. The first diagram shows the centreline variation
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• The second shows the variation for other radial
positions.

• Again note the >95% values for Bi < 0.1

 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• Again we can use a Grober chart to calculate the total
heat loss/gain from/to the cylinder
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Example 16

• A long 20cm diameter cylindrical stainless steel shaft

comes out of an oven at a uniform temperature of 6000C.

• The shaft is allowed to cool slowly in a chamber at

2000C with a convection heat transfer coefficient of h =
80W/m2K.

• Determine the temperatures at (i) the centre and (ii) the

outer edge of the shaft after 45min from the start of
cooling.

• Also evaluate the heat transferred per unit length of the

shaft in this time period.
 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
Solution
• You MUST use the same definition of Bi as is used in the
charts
• Take the following properties of steel:
k = 14.9W/mK, ρ = 7900kg/m3, c = 477J/kgK.
hs hr0 80 0.1
Bi     0.537, Bi1  1.863
k k 14.9
  kt 2  14.9 4560 2 1.068
 cr0 7900 4770.1
• From the first Heisler chart above, 0  0.4

• (i) Hence T0  0.4(600  200)  200  3600 C

 Unsteady Heat
Conduction
• (ii) From the second Heisler chart, with r = r0,
Tw  T
 0.78
T0  T
• Hence TW = 200 + 0.78(360 – 200) = 324.80C
Qmax
 r02c(T0 T )  7900  0.12  0.477(600  200)
L
 47354kJ/m
• From Grober chart with
Q
 0.62
Bi2  0.5372 1.068  0.308 Qmax

• So Q = 0.62 x 47354 = 29360kJ/m