Radiation Shields

In certain situations it is required to reduce the overall heat transfer

between two radiating surfaces. This is done by either using
materials which are highly reflective or by using radiation shields
between the heat exchanging surfaces.
The radiation shields reduce the radiation heat transfer by effectively
increasing the surface resistances without actually removing any
heat from the overall system. Thin sheets of plastic coated with
highly reflecting metallic films on both sides serve as very effective
radiation shields.
These are used for the insulation of cryogenic storage tanks.
A familiar application of radiation shields is in the measurement of
the temperature of a fluid by a thermometer or a thermocouple which
is shielded to reduce the effects of radiation. Refer Figure shown in
below. Let us consider two parallel plates, I and 2, each of area A
(A1 = A2 = A) at Temperatures T1 and T2 respectively with a
radiation shield placed between them as shown in figure below:

Where ,
S c =Solar Constant, 1353 W/m2
f = correction factor for eccentricity in Earth Orbit, (0.97<f<1.03)
= Angle of surface from normal to Sun.
Because of reflection and absorption in the Earths atmosphere, this
number is significantly reduced at ground level. Nevertheless, this
value gives us some opportunity to estimate the potential for using
solar energy, such as in photovoltaic cells.

Duhamel's principle
It is a general method for obtaining solutions
to inhomogeneous linear evolution equations like the heat equation.
He first applied the principle to the inhomogeneous heat equation
that models, for instance, the distribution of heat in a thin plate which
is heated from beneath. Duhamel's principle is that it is possible to
go from solutions of the Cauchy problem (or initial value problem) to
solutions of the inhomogeneous problem. Consider, for instance, the
example of the heat equation modeling the distribution of heat
energy u in Rn. The initial value problem is

where g is the initial heat distribution. By contrast, the

inhomogeneous problem for the heat equation is

corresponds to adding an external heat energy (x,t)dt at each point.

Intuitively, one can think of the inhomogeneous problem as a set of
homogeneous problems each starting afresh at a different time
slice t = t0. By linearity, one can add up (integrate) the resulting
solutions through time t0 and obtain the solution for the
inhomogeneous problem.
Critical Thickness of Insulation
When the total thermal resistance is made of conductive thermal
resistance (Rcond.) and convective thermal resistance (Rconv.),
the additionof insulation in some cases, May reduces the convective
thermal resistance due to increase in surface area, as in the case of
cylinder and sphere, and the total thermal resistance may actually
decreases resulting in increased heat flow.
Critical thickness: the thickness up to which heat flow increases and
after which heat flow decreases is termed as critical thickness.
Critical thickness = (rc r1)

Solar Radiation
The magnitude of the energy leaving the Sun varies with time and is
closely associated with such factors as solar flares and sunspots.
Nevertheless, we often choose to work with an average value. The
energy leaving the sun is emitted outward in all directions so that
at any particular distance from the Sun we may imagine the energy
being dispersed over an imaginary spherical area. Because this area
increases with the distance squared, the solar flux also decreases
with the distance squared. At the average distance between Earth
and Sun this heat flux is 1353 W/m2, so that the average heat Flux
on any object in Earth
orbit is found as: Gs.o

= Sc .f.cos

Lambert's cosine law says that the radiant

intensity or luminous intensity observed from an ideal diffusely
reflecting surface or ideal diffuse radiator is directly
proportional to the cosine of the angle between the direction of
the incident light and the surface normal. The law is also known as
the cosine emission law[3] or Lambert's emission law.
combined radiation and conduction heat transfer
takes place in heated semitransparent media that have a spectral
range of partial transparency (frequency range where the value of
absorption coefficient k is approximately in the interval 0.01 < k <
100 cm1) and where radiation is an appreciable part of the total
energy flux.
The presence of a semitransparency range in the spectrum of
thermal radiation is typical for dielectrics and semiconductors in
condensed phases and for multiatomic gases with asymmetrical
molecules.
Combined radiation and conduction heat transfer is of great practical
importance for some semitransparent material manufacturing and
heat treatment processes carried out at high temperatures: melting,
moulding and fritting of glasses, growth of dielectric and
semiconductor single crystals, sintering of ceramics, drawing out of
fibers and light guides.
Also, combined radiation and conduction heat transfer is important
where semitransparent materials are used at high-temperature
conditions (ceramics and fiber thermal protection systems of
reusable space vehicles entering the Earths atmosphere; thermal
insulation of high-temperature furnaces and other industrial hightemperature equipment; intense radiation sources; solar volumetric
receivers; radiative converters, packed beds of powders of oxides
and other materials during remelting in solar and arc image
furnaces; ceramic materials subjected to cutting and other
processing by intense laser radiation).
The purpose of solving problems of combined radiation and
conduction heat transfer is the calculation of temperature distribution
and energy fluxes in the volume of semitransparent medium and on
its boundaries. Side by side with this, inverse problems of combined
radiation and conduction heat transfer are important, especially for
determining true thermal conductivity of materials.

The theory of combined radiation and conduction heat transfer in

media capable of absorbing radiation, as well as scattering radiation
on various heterogeneities (pores, insertions of other phases), is
based usually on simultaneous solution of the radiation transfer
equation and of the energy conditions.

The heat conduction equation

As we know some heat is entering, some heat is leaving and some

heat in generating in the volume element and as we have not

To get such a general equation the differential form of the heat

conduction equation is most important. For simplicity, we would
consider an infinitesimal volume element in a Cartesian coordinate
system. The dimensions of the infinitesimal volume element
are dx , dy , and dz in the respective direction as shown in the
fig.2.11.

considered any steady state assumption till now, thus because of all
these phenomena some of the heat will be absorbed by the element.
Thus the rate of change of heat energy

within the volume

element can be written as,

where, cp is the specific

heat capacity at constant pressure (J/(kgK)), is the density
(kg/m3)

of

the

material,

and t is

the

time

(s).

We know all the energy term related to the above problem, and with
the help of energy conservation,
Fig.2.11. Volume element for deriving general equation of heat
conduction in cartesian coordinate
The fig.2.11 shows that the heat is entering into the volume element
from three different faces of the volume element and leaving from
the opposite face of the control element. The heat source within the
volume element generates the volumetric energy at the rate
of
According to Fouriers law of heat conduction, the heat flowing into
the volume element from the left (in the x-direction) can be written
as,

On putting all the values in the above equation,

or,

The heat flow out from the right surface (in the x-direction) of the
volume element can be obtained by Taylor series expansion of the
above equation. As the volume element is of infinitesimal volume, we
may retain only first two element of the Taylor series expansion with
a reasonable approximation (truncating the higher order terms).
Thus,

As we have considered that the thermal conductivity of the solid is

isotropic in nature, the above relation reduces to,
The left side of the above equation represent the net heat flow in the
x-direction. If we put the value

of in the right side of the above

equation,
or,

In a similar way we can get the net heat flow in the y and zdirections,

diffusivity shown that the heat is mostly absorbed by the material

and comparatively less amount is transferred for the conduction.
The

called the Laplacian operator, and in Cartesian coordinate it

is defined as
Equation 2.19 is known as general heat conduction relation. When
there is no heat generation term the eq.2.19 will become,

where
is the thermal diffusivity of the material and its
unit m2/s signifies the rate at which heat diffuses in to the medium
during change in temperature with time. Thus, the higher value of
the thermal diffusivity gives the idea of how fast the heat is
conducting into the medium, whereas the low value of the thermal

and the equation is known as Fourier Field Equation.