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Solving 1D Transients
The figures on this page were taken from Chapter 4 in Heat Transfer: A general approach by Cengel,
McGraw-Hill, 2003
From the visualization exercise of the 1D plane wall, we saw that the surfaces of the plane wall were the first to
respond to the cold ambient conditions. In addition, the temperature solution is symmetric about the centerline of
the wall for all time. (That is, unless you did not line up your rectangles well, or go all the way to the edges). How
can we express our visual observations mathematically?
Lets start by defining the geometry and listing all known parameters.
Lets define x=0 at the centerline of the plane wall, so that the
coordinates inside the wall go from L to +L. The wall has a
conductivity, k, and thermal diffusivity, . The initial temperature of
the wall is Ti. The ambient temperature and heat transfer coefficient
are and h, respectively. The temperature as a function of x and t
will be dependent on L, k, Ti, , and h, as dictated by the 1D
transient heat equation in conjunction with the boundary and initial
conditions.
Next, lets manipulate the input variables so that we have fewer
parameters to deal with. Traditionally, the following non-dimensional
variables are defined:
, , (Biot number), (Fourier number)
Now, we can say that is a function of X, Bi and , which is much simpler than the long string of variables we
had to deal with before. (Note, the Biot number for 1D plane wall is different from the one we used for the
lumped systems!) This solution is traditionally plotted in a 2-step process in what are known as the Heisler
charts. The first chart plots the centerline temperature, (0,t), as a function of Bi and , and the second chart
plots the ratio of the non-centerline temperature to centerline temperature, (x,t) / (0,t) as a function of X and
Bi. With these two charts, you can determine the temperature at any location within the plane wall at any instant
in time. The plane wall solution is shown below, and can be found in your text in Figure 4-13 (a) and (b).
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One caveat for these charts is that the Fourier number, , must be greater than 0.2. Also, the solutions do come
in equation form if you need an exact number, or need to input it into a spreadsheet or other numerical tool (see
4-10 and 4-13). In general, though, the charts are faster, and you might want to keep that in mind when you are
under pressure during a quiz or exam.
Try this calculation for practice: A large plate of aluminum 5 cm thick at a uniform temperature of 200C is
suddenly exposed to a convection environment of 70C with a heat transfer coefficient of 525 W/m
2
C.
Calculate the temperature at a depth of 1.25 cm from the surface after one minute. The properties of aluminum
are: k=215 W/mC and =8.4 x 10-5 m
2
/s.
Steps
7/10/2014 ME114 - Heat Transfer
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Calculate : Check (Round to nearest integer)
Calculate 1/Bi : Check (Round to nearest integer)
Find centerline on the Heisler charts : Check (Round to nearest tenth, and
do not put any zeros in front)
Calculate X : Check (Round to nearest tenth, and do not put any zeros in
front)
Find the ratio of to centerline on the Heisler charts : Check (Round to
nearest tenth, format x.x)
Calculate answer to problem : Check (Round to the nearest integer)
The other two 1D geometries well study in this class are the long cylinder and sphere. They are analyzed in
exactly the same way, except that the Biot number and Fourier number are defined with the radius, ro, instead of
L. Their Heisler charts are shown in Figure 4-14 (cylinder) and 4-15 (sphere). The equations corresponding to
the Heisler charts are 4-11 and 4-14 (cylinder) and 4-12 and 4-15 (sphere).