THERMAL ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

MEP 432 ELEMENTARY HEAT TRANSFER CONSIDERATION

REPORTERS:
Engr. DARYL MODESTO, ME.
 Heat Transfer
• Heat transfer occurs any time there is a
temperature difference between two objects
and occurs in the direction of decreasing
temperature, meaning from a hot object to a
cold object.
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

Three mechanisms for heat transfer: conduction, convection and

radiation.
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

Conduction:

A diffusive process wherein

molecules transmit their kinetic
energy to other molecules by
colliding with them.
Conduction
When you heat a metal strip at one end, the heat
travels to the other end.

As you heat the metal, the particles vibrate, these

vibrations make the adjacent particles vibrate, and so on
and so on, the vibrations are passed along the metal and
so is the heat. We call this? Conduction
 CONDUCTION

Q = kA(THot-TCold)t/d

Q is heat transferred through conduction

k is thermal conductivity of the material
A is the area of the surface
THot is the temperature of the hot surface
Tcold is the temperature of the cold surface
t is time
d is the thickness of the material
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

Convection:
A process associated with the
motion of the medium. When a
hot material flows into a cold
material, it will heat the region
- and vise versa.
Convection
What happens to the particles in a liquid or a
gas when you heat them?

The particles spread out and

become less dense.

What
A liquid
This effects isfluid
aorfluid?
gas.
movement.
 CONVECTION

Q = HcA(THot-TCold)

Q is heat transferred through convection

Hc is the heat transfer coefficient
A is the area of the surface
THot is the temperature of the hot system
TCold is the temperature of the cold system
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

Radiation:
The transfer of heat via electromagnetic radiation. Example - the
Sun.
 RADIATION

Q = σ (THot – TCold)4A
Q is heat transferred through radiation
σ is Stefan Boltzmann Constant
THot is the temperature of the hot system
TCold is the temperature of the cold system
A is the area of the surface
Stefan Boltzmann Constant (σ) is calculated as:

σ = 2.π5 KB4 / 15 h3 c2 = 5.670367(13) × 10-8 J . m-2. S-1 . K-

 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

• In the Earth, both conduction and convection are important.

• In the lithosphere, the temperature gradient is controlled mainly

by conduction.

• Convection in the lithosphere does play a role in:

• Mid-ocean ridges in the form of hydrothermal ocean
circulation.
• Volcanism and emplacement of magmatic bodies.
 Heat transfer: heat flux

Heat flux is the flow per unit area and per unit time of heat. It is
directly proportional to the temperature gradient.

One dimensional Fourier's law:

dT
q  k ,
dy
where:
q is the heat flux
k is the coefficient of thermal conductivity
T is the temperature

y is a spatial coordinate

Question: why is the minus sign?

Question: is q a vector or a scalar?
 Heat transfer: heat flux

Units:

• q is in [Wm-2]

• k is in [Wm-1K-1]

where W is read “watt”, and is equal to Joule per second.

A substance with a large value of k is a good thermal conductor,

whereas a substance with a small value of k is a poor thermal
conductor or a good thermal insulator.
 Heat transfer: heat flux

Example 1: a slab of thickness l, and a temperature difference of

T:

The heat flux is given by:

T
qk .
l


 Heat transfer: heat flux
Example 2: a composite slab
H.F. through slab 2:
T2  Tx
q2  k 2 .
L2 k2 k1
heat
H.F. through slab 1:
Tx  T1 T2 Tx T1
q1  k1 .
L1

In steady-state q1=q2, we get:
T2  T1 L2 L1
q1  q2  .
(L1 /k1 )  (L2 /k 2 )

Or more generally: Tn  T1
qn  .
 Li /ki
 i1,n

Note the trade-off between thermal conductivity, k, and the

medium thickness, L. Thus, the important quantity is L/k, often
referred to as thermal resistance.