Chapter 4

Transient Heat
Conduction
Tutorials
To warm up some milk for a baby, a mother pours milk into a thin-
walled glass whose diameter is 6 cm. The height of the milk in the
glass is 7 cm. She then places the glass into a large pan filled with
hot water at 70°C. The milk is stirred constantly, so that its
temperature is uniform at all times. If the heat transfer coefficient
between the water and the glass is 120 W/m2°C, determine how long
it will take for the milk to warm up from 3°C to 38°C. Take the
properties of the milk to be the same as those of water. Can the milk
in this case be treated as a lumped system? Why?
Assumptions
1 The glass container is cylindrical in shape 2 the thermal
properties of the milk = Water. 3 Thermal properties of the
milk are constant at room temperature. 4 The heat transfer
coefficient is constant and uniform over the entire surface. 5
The Biot number in this case is large (much larger than 0.1).
However, the lumped system analysis is still applicable since
the milk is stirred constantly, so that its temperature remains
uniform at all times.
The temperature of a gas stream is to be measured by a
thermocouple whose junction can be approximated as a 1.2 mm-
diameter sphere. The properties of the junction are k = 35
W/m°C, ρ=8500 kg/m3, and Cp=320 J/kg°C, and the heat transfer
coefficient between the junction and the gas is h =110 W/m2°C.
Determine how long it will take for the thermocouple to read 99
percent of the initial temperature difference.

Assumptions 1 The junction is spherical in shape with a

diameter of D = 0.0012 m. 2 The thermal properties of the
junction are constant. 3 The heat transfer coefficient is
constant and uniform over the entire surface. 4 Radiation
effects are negligible. 5 The Biot number is Bi < 0.1 so that
the lumped system analysis is applicable (this assumption
The temperature of a copper rod is cooled to 20 °C from 100
°C is to be measured by a thermocouple 2 mm-diameter
cylinder. The properties of the copper rod are k = 401
W/mºC, ρ=8933 kg/m3, and cp=0.385 kJ/kgºC, and the heat
transfer coefficient between the junction and the gas is h =
200 W/m2°C. Determine how long it will take to reach
specified temperature of copper rod.
A copper rod is cooled to a specified temperature. The cooling
time is to be determined
Assumptions 1 The thermal properties of the geometry are constant. 2
The heat transfer coefficient is constant and uniform over the entire
surface