Tutorial One

Conduction Heat Transfer

1. A furnace wall is of three layers, first layer of insulation brick of 12 cm thickness of conductivity 0.6
W/mK. The face is exposed to gases at 870°C with a convection coefficient of110 W/m2K. This layer
is backed by a 10 cm layer of firebrick of conductivity 0.8 W/mK. There is a contact resistance
between the layers of 2.6 × 10–4 m2 °C/W. The third layer is the plate backing of 10 mm thickness of
conductivity 49 W/mK. The contact resistance between the second and third layers is 1.5 × 10–4 m2
°C/W. The plate is exposed to air at 30°C with a convection coefficient of 15 W/m2K. Determine heat
flow, surface temperatures and the overall heat transfer coefficient.

2. A pipe carrying steam at 230°C has an internal diameter of 12 cm and the pipe thickness is 7.5 mm.
The conductivity of the pipe material is 49 W/mK the convective heat transfer coefficient on the
inside is 85 W/m2K. The pipe is insulated by two layers of insulation one of 5 cm thickness of
conductivity 0.15 W/mK and over it another 5 cm thickness of conductivity 0.48 W/mK. The outside
is exposed to air at 35°C with a convection coefficient of 18 W/m2K. Determine the heat loss for 5 m
length. Also determine the interface temperatures and the overall heat transfer coefficient based on
inside and outside areas.

3. A spherical vessel of ID 0.3 m and thickness of 20 mm is made of steel with conductivity of 40

W/mK. The vessel is insulated with two layers of 60 mm thickness of conductivity 0.05 and 0.15
W/mK. The inside surface is at – 196°C. The outside is exposed to air at 30°C with convection
coefficient of 35 W/m2K. There is a contact resistance of 1 × 10–3 m2°C/W between the two
insulations. Determine the heat gain and also the surface temperatures and the overall heat transfer
coefficient based on the outside surface area of the metallic vessel.

4. Consider a long resistance wire of radius r1= 0.2 cm and thermal conductivity kwire= 15 W/m °C in
which heat is generated uniformly as a result of resistance heating at a constant rate of g= 50W/cm 3.
The wire is embedded in a 0.5-cm-thick layer of ceramic whose thermal conductivity is kceramic= 1.2
W/m °C. If the outer surface temperature of the ceramic layer is measured to be Ts= 45°C, determine
the temperatures at the center of the resistance wire and the interface of the wire and the ceramic layer
under steady conditions.

5. Two large aluminum plates (k = 240 W/m K), each 1-cm thick, with 10-mm surface roughness are
placed in contact under 105 N/m2 pressure in air. The temperatures at the outside surfaces are 395°C
and 405°C. Calculate (a) the heat flux and (b) the temperature drop due to the contact resistance.(Use
contact resistance Rc= 2.75 x 10-4m2 K /W)

6. A long homogeneous resistance wire of radius r0=5 mm is being used to heat the air in a room by the
passage of electric current. Heat is generated in the wire uniformly at a rate of g·=5 x107 W/m3 as a
result of resistance heating. If the temperature of the outer surface of the wire remains at180°C,
determine the temperature at r =2 mm after steady operation conditions are reached. Take the thermal
conductivity of the wire to be k=8 W/m °C.
7. Find the heat transfer per unit area through the composite wall shown in Figure. Assume one-
dimensional heat flow.
 8. A certain material has a thickness of 30 cm and a thermal conductivity of 0.04 W/moC. At a particular
instant in time, the temperature distribution with x, the distance from the left face, is T =150x2−30x,
where x is in meters. Calculate the heat-flow rates at x=0 and x=30 cm. Is the solid heating up or
cooling down?

9. A 1.0-mm-diameter wire is maintained at a temperature of 400oC and exposed to a convection

environment at 40◦C with h =120 W/m2oC. Calculate the thermal conductivity that will just cause an
insulation thickness of 0.2 mm to produce a “critical radius.” How much of this insulation must be
added to reduce the heat transfer by 75 percent from that which would be experienced by the bare
wire?

10. A plane wall 6.0 cm thick generates heat internally at the rate of 0.3 MW/m3. One side of the wall is
insulated, and the other side is exposed to an environment at 93oC. The convection heat-transfer
coefficient between the wall and the environment is 570 W/m2 oC. The thermal conductivity of the
wall is 21 W/moC. Calculate the maximum temperature in the wall.

11. Electric heater wires are installed in a solid wall having a thickness of 8 cm and k =2.5 W/m0C.The
right face is exposed to an environment with h= 50W/m2oC and T∞ =30oC, while the left face is
exposed to h=75W/m2oC and T∞=500C. What is the maximum allowable heat-generation rate such
that the maximum temperature in the solid does not exceed 3000C?
12. Derive an expression for the temperature distribution in a sphere of radius r with uniform heat
Generation q and constant surface temperature Tw.
A stainless-steel sphere [k =16 W/moC] having a diameter of 4 cm is exposed to a convection
environment at 200C, h=15 W/m2 0C. Heat is generated uniformly in the sphere at the rate of 1.0
MW/m3. Calculate the steady-state temperature for the center of the sphere.

13 A hollow tube having an inside diameter of 2.5 cm and a wall thickness of 0.4 mm is exposed to an
environment at h=100 W/m20C and T∞ =400C. What heat generation rate in the tube will produce a
maximum tube temperature of 250oC for k =24 W/m oC?

14. Water flows on the inside of a steel pipe with an ID of 2.5 cm. The wall thickness is2 mm. It is
covered with a layer of asbestos [k =0.18 W/moC] while still surrounded by a convection environment
with h =12W/m2oC. Calculate the critical insulation radius. Will the heat transfer be increased or
decreased by adding an insulation thickness of (a) 0.5 mm, (b) 10 mm?

15. It is proposed to carry pressurized water through a pipe imbedded in a 1.2 m thick wall whose
surfaces are held at constant temperatures of 200 0Cand 60 0C respectively. It is desired to locate the
pipe in wall where the temperature is 1200C, find how far from the hot surface should the pipe be
imbedded? The thermal conductivity of the wall material varies with the temperature by relation
k=0.28(1+0.036t) where t is in 0C and k is in W/m0C.

16. The composite wall of a furnace is made up with 120mm of fire clay[k=0.25(1+0.0009t) W/m0C] and
600 mm of red brick (k=0.8 W/m0C). The inside surface temperature is 1250 0C and the outside air
temperature is 40 0C. Determine the temperature at the layer interface and the heat loss per m2 of
furnace wall.

17. Heat flow occurs along the axis of a solid which has the shape of a truncated cone with
circumferential surface insulated. The base is at 300 0C and the area of the section at distance x
measured from the base of the cone is given by A=1.2(1- 1.5x) m2 where x is in meter. If the plane at
x= 0.2 is maintained at 100 0C, determine the heat flow and temperature at x=0.1 m. Also calculate
the temperature gradient at two faces and at x= 0.1 m. Take k= 2.5 W/m-deg.
18. Heat is conducted through an uniformly tapered rod of square cross-section and length 50cm. The left
end face is 3cm by 3cm and the temperature is 600 0C. At the right end the corresponding values are 8
cm by 8 cm and 150 0C. Determine the rate of heat conduction and the temperature at a point 30cm
from the hot face. Take k = 60 W/m-K

Answers:

1. 2092.8 W/m2, 2.491 W/m2 0C, 850.9 0C , 432.4 0C, 431.8 0C, 170.2 0C, 169.9 0C, 169.5 0C
2. 1234.06 W, 3.3574 W/m2 K, 1.203 W/m2 K, 222.3 0C, 222.2 0C, 77.04 0C, 48.03 0C
3. -76.6 W, 0.932 W/m2 K, -195.880C , -8.750C, 27.93 0C
4. 149.4 0C, 152.7 0C
5. 2.79 X 104 W/m2 K, 7.67 0C
6. 212.8 0C
7. 11,400 W
8. 1.2 W/m2, -2.4 W/m2, Heating
9. 0.084 W/m0C, 134.5 mm
10. 150.3 0C
11. 2.46 X 105 W/m3
12. (T--Tw) = (q / 6k) (R2 - r2), 468.6 0C
13. 53.26 MW/m3
14. 1.5 cm, increased, decreased
15. 0.816 m from hot wall surface
16. 1020.24 0C, 1306.98 W
17. 2523.85 W, 208.86 0C, -841.28 0C/m, -989.74 0C/m, -1201.83 0C/m
18. 129.62 kW, 240 0C