HEAT TRANSFER

INTRODUCTION AND BASIC

CONCEPTS
THERMODYNAMICS AND HEAT TRANSFER
• Heat: The form of energy that can be transferred from one
system to another as a result of temperature difference.
• Thermodynamics is concerned with the amount of heat
transfer as a system undergoes a process from one
equilibrium state to another.
• Heat Transfer deals with the determination of the rates of
such energy transfers as well as variation of temperature.
• The transfer of energy as heat is always from the higher-
temperature medium to the lower-temperature one.
• Heat transfer stops when the two mediums reach the same
temperature.
• Heat can be transferred in three different modes:
conduction, convection, radiation
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Application Areas of Heat Transfer

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Historical Background Kinetic theory: Treats molecules as
tiny balls that are in motion and thus
possess kinetic energy.
Heat: The energy associated with the
random motion of atoms and
molecules.
Caloric theory: Heat is a fluidlike
substance called the caloric that is a
massless, colorless, odorless, and
tasteless substance that can be
poured from one body into another

It was only in the middle of the

nineteenth century that we had a true
physical understanding of the nature
of heat.
Careful experiments of the
Englishman James P. Joule published
in 1843 convinced the skeptics that
heat was not a substance after all, and
thus put the caloric theory to rest. 5
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HEAT AND OTHER FORMS OF ENERGY
• Energy can exist in numerous forms such as:
 thermal,
 mechanical,
 kinetic,
 potential,
 electrical,
 magnetic,
 chemical,
 nuclear.
• Their sum constitutes the total energy E (or e on a unit mass
basis) of a system.
• The sum of all microscopic forms of energy is called the
internal energy of a system.
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• Internal energy: May be viewed as the sum of the kinetic and
potential energies of the molecules.

• Sensible heat: The kinetic energy of the molecules.

• Latent heat: The internal energy associated with the phase of a

system.

• Chemical (bond) energy: The internal energy associated with

the atomic bonds in a molecule.

• Nuclear energy: The internal energy associated with the bonds

within the nucleus of the atom itself.

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HEAT TRANSFER MECHANISMS
• Heat as the form of energy that can be transferred from one
system to another as a result of temperature difference.
• A thermodynamic analysis is concerned with the amount of heat
transfer as a system undergoes a process from one equilibrium
state to another.
• The science that deals with the determination of the rates of such
energy transfers is the heat transfer.
• The transfer of energy as heat is always from the higher-
temperature medium to the lower-temperature one, and heat
transfer stops when the two mediums reach the same temperature.
• Heat can be transferred in three basic modes:
 conduction
 convection
 radiation
• All modes of heat transfer require the existence of a temperature
difference. 9
CONDUCTION
Conduction: The transfer of energy from the more
energetic particles of a substance to the adjacent less
energetic ones as a result of interactions between the
particles.
In gases and liquids, conduction is due to the
collisions and diffusion of the molecules during their
random motion.
In solids, it is due to the combination of vibrations of
the molecules in a lattice and the energy transport by
free electrons.
The rate of heat conduction through a plane layer is
proportional to the temperature difference across the
layer(∆T) and the heat transfer area (Ac), but is
inversely proportional to the thickness of the layer.
Heat conduction through
a large plane wall of
thickness x and area of
cross section Ac.

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When x → 0 Fourier’s law of
heat conduction
Thermal conductivity, k: A measure or the ability
of a material to conduct heat. [Unit: W/m oC ]
Temperature gradient dT/dx: The slope of the
temperature curve on a T-x diagram.
Heat is conducted in the direction of decreasing
temperature, and the temperature gradient becomes
negative when temperature decreases with
increasing x. The negative sign in the equation
ensures that heat transfer in the positive x direction
is a positive quantity.

In heat conduction
analysis, Ac represents The rate of heat conduction
the area normal to the through a solid is directly
direction of heat proportional to its thermal
conductivity. 11
transfer.
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Thermal
Conductivity
Thermal conductivity:
The rate of heat transfer
through a unit thickness
of the material per unit
area per unit
temperature difference.
The thermal conductivity
of a material is a
measure of the ability of
the material to conduct
heat.
A high value for thermal
conductivity indicates A simple experimental setup
that the material is a to determine the thermal
good heat conductor, conductivity of a material.
and a low value indicates
that the material is a
poor heat conductor or
insulator.
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The range of thermal conductivity of various materials at room temperature. 14
 The thermal conductivities of gases such
as air vary by a factor of 104 from those
of pure metals such as copper.
Pure crystals and metals have the
highest thermal conductivities, and gases
and insulating materials the lowest.

The mechanisms of heat

conduction in different
phases of a substance. 15
The variation of the thermal conductivity of various solids, liquids, and gases with 16
temperature.
Thermal Diffusivity
cp Specific heat, J/kg · °C: Heat capacity
per unit mass
cp Heat capacity, J/m3·°C: Heat capacity
per unit volume
 Thermal diffusivity, m2/s: Represents
how fast heat diffuses through a material

A material that has a high thermal

conductivity or a low heat capacity will
obviously have a large thermal diffusivity.
The larger the thermal diffusivity, the faster
the propagation of heat into the medium.
A small value of thermal diffusivity means
that heat is mostly absorbed by the
material and a small amount of heat is
conducted further.
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CONVECTION
Convection: The mode of
energy transfer between a
solid surface and the
adjacent liquid or gas that is
in motion, and it involves
the combined effects of
conduction and fluid motion.
The faster the fluid motion,
the greater the convection
heat transfer.
In the absence of any bulk
fluid motion, heat
transfer between a solid Heat transfer from a hot surface to air
surface and the adjacent by convection.
fluid is by pure conduction.

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Forced convection: If
the fluid is forced to flow
over the surface by
external means such as
a fan, pump, or the wind.
Natural (or free)
convection: If the fluid
motion is caused by
buoyancy forces that are
induced by density
differences due to the The cooling of a boiled egg by
variation of temperature forced and natural convection.
in the fluid.

Heat transfer processes that involve change of phase of a fluid are also
considered to be convection because of the fluid motion induced during
the process, such as the rise of the vapor bubbles during boiling or the
fall of the liquid droplets during condensation.
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 Newton’s law of cooling

h convection heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 · °C

As the surface area through which convection heat transfer takes place
Ts the surface temperature
T the temperature of the fluid sufficiently far from the surface.

The convection heat transfer

coefficient h is not a property
of the fluid.
It is an experimentally
determined parameter
whose value depends on all
the variables influencing
convection such as
- the surface geometry
- the nature of fluid motion
- the properties of the fluid
- the bulk fluid velocity
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RADIATION
• Radiation: The energy emitted by matter in the form of electromagnetic
waves (or photons) as a result of the changes in the electronic
configurations of the atoms or molecules.
• Unlike conduction and convection, the transfer of heat by radiation does
not require the presence of an intervening medium.
• In fact, heat transfer by radiation is fastest (at the speed of light) and it
suffers no attenuation in a vacuum. This is how the energy of the sun
reaches the earth.
• In heat transfer studies we are interested in thermal radiation, which is
the form of radiation emitted by bodies because of their temperature.
• All bodies at a temperature above absolute zero emit thermal radiation.
• Radiation is a volumetric phenomenon, and all solids, liquids, and
gases emit, absorb, or transmit radiation to varying degrees.
• However, radiation is usually considered to be a surface phenomenon
for solids.
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 Stefan–Boltzmann law

As = surface area, m2 ; Ts = Surface Temperature (Absolute), K

 = 5.670  108 W/m2 · K4 Stefan–Boltzmann constant
Blackbody: The idealized surface that emits radiation at the maximum rate.
Radiation emitted
by real surfaces

Emissivity  : A measure of how closely a surface

approximates a blackbody for which  = 1 of the
surface. 0   1.

Blackbody radiation represents the maximum

amount of radiation that can be emitted from
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a surface at a specified temperature.
Absorptivity : The fraction of the radiation energy incident on a
surface that is absorbed by the surface. 0   1
A blackbody absorbs the entire radiation incident on it ( = 1).
Kirchhoff’s law: The emissivity and the absorptivity of a surface at
a given temperature and wavelength are equal.

The absorption of radiation incident on an

opaque surface of absorptivity . 25
Net radiation heat transfer: When a surface is completely enclosed by a
The difference between the much larger (or black) surface at temperature
rates of radiation emitted by the Tsurr separated by a gas (such as air) that
surface and the radiation does not intervene with radiation, the net rate
absorbed. of radiation heat transfer between these
two surfaces is given by
The determination of the net
rate of heat transfer by radiation
between two surfaces is a
complicated matter since it
depends on
• the properties of the surfaces
• their orientation relative to
each other
• the interaction of the medium
between the surfaces with
radiation
Radiation is usually
significant relative to
conduction or natural
convection, but negligible
relative to forced convection. Radiation heat transfer between a
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surface and the surfaces surrounding it.
 Summary
• Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
 Application areas of heat transfer
• Heat Transfer Mechanisms
• Conduction
 Fourier’s law of heat conduction
 Thermal Conductivity
 Thermal Diffusivity
• Convection
 Newton’s law of cooling
 Heat transfer coefficient
• Radiation
 Stefan–Boltzmann law
 Emissivity

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 Reference

1. Cengel Y. A. & Ghajar A. J. - ‘Heat and Mass Transfer’ -

McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited - 2011 - 4th
Edition

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