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HEATTRANSFERREVIEWQUESTIONS

1.Whatisthedifferencebetweendiffusionandradiationheattransfer?

Diffusion heat transfer is due to random molecular motion. Neighboring molecules

move randomly and transfer energy between one another however there is no bulk
motion. Radiation heat transfer, on the other hand, is the transport of heat energy by
electromagnetic waves. All bodies emit thermal radiation. In particular, notice that
unlikediffusion,radiationheattransferdoesnotrequireamediumandisthustheonly
mode of heat transfer in space. The time scale for radiative heat transfer is much
smallerthandiffusiveheattransfer.

2.Howisnaturalconvectiondifferentfromforcedconvection?

Innaturalconvection, the movement of the fluid is due entirely to density gradients

within the fluid (e.g. hot air rises over cold air). There is no external device or
phenomenon which causes fluid motion. In forced convection, the fluid is forced to
flowbyanexternalfactore.g.windintheatmosphere,afanblowingair,waterbeing
pumpedthroughapipe.Typicallyheattransferunderforcedconvectionconditionsis
higherthannaturalconvectionforthesamefluid.

3.Defineablacksurface

Ablacksurfaceisdefinedbythreecriteria:
itabsorbsallradiationthatisincidentonit
itemitsthemaximumenergypossibleforagiventemperatureandwavelengthof
radiation(accordingtoPlanck'slaw)
theradiationemittedbyablackbodyisnotdirectional(itisadiffuseemitter)

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A black surface is the perfect emitter and absorber of radiation. It is an idealized

concept(nosurfaceisexactlyablacksurface),andthecharacteristicsofrealsurfaces
arecomparedtothatofanidealblacksurface.

4.Whatistherangeofvaluesfortheemissivityofasurface?

Theemissivityrangesbetween0and1.

5.Whataretheconditionstobesatisfiedfortheapplicationofathermalcircuit?

Theproblemmustbeasteadystate,onedimensionalheattransferproblem.

6.Willthethermalresistanceofarectangularslabbeincreasedordecreasedif:
a.thethermalconductivityisincreased?
b.thecrosssectionalareaisincreased?
c.thethicknessoftheslabisincreased?

a.resistancewilldecrease
b.resistancewilldecrease
c.resistancewillincrease

7.Statetheconditionwhichmustbesatisfiedtotreatthetemperaturedistributionin
afinasonedimensional.

Whenht/k<<1wherehistheconvectiveheattransfercoefficient,tisthethicknessof
the fin and k is the thermal conductivity of the fin, one can consider that the
temperature gradient in the thickness direction is very small and the analysis can be
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consideredasonedimensional.

8.DefineandstatethephysicalinterpretationoftheBiotnumber.

TheBiotnumberisgivenby:
Bi=hL/k
where
h=convectiveheattransfercoefficient,
k=thermalconductivity
L=characteristiclength.

Itisaratioofthetemperaturedropinthesolidmaterialandthetemperaturedropthe
solidandthefluid.SowhentheBi<<1,mostofthetemperaturedropisinthefluid
andthesolidmaybeconsideredisothermal

9.Whatisalumpedsystem?

Alumped systemisoneinwhichthe dependence of temperature on position(spatial

dependence)isdisregarded.Thatis,temperatureismodeledasafunctionoftimeonly.

10.Whencantheunsteadytemperatureinaspatialbodybeconsidereduniform?

WhentheBiotnumberissmall(Bi<<0.1).

11.WhatistheFouriernumber?

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TheFouriernumberisdefinedas:
Fo=t/L2
where
thermaldiffusivity,
t=time
L=characterisiticlength

The Fourier number is a dimensionless measure of time used in transient

conductionproblems.

12.Whatisinternalenergygeneration?Giveexampleswhereinternalenergy
generationoccurs.

Internalenergygenerationisthegenerationofheatwithinabodybyachemical,
electricalornuclearprocess.Examplesaretheheatingofanuclearfuelrod(due
tofissionwithintherod),theheatingofelectricalwires(duetotheconversionof
electricaltoheatenergy),microwaveheatingandthegenerationofheatwithinthe
Earth.Theheatgeneratedineachcaseisbeingconvertedfromsomeotherformof
energy.

13. What do you understand by stability criterion for the solution of transient
problems?

When solving transient problems using finitedifference methods, it is possible

thatthesolutionundergoesnumericallyinducedoscillationsandbecomesunstable
i.e. the temperature values diverge. The stability criterion is a restriction on the
valuesoftandxwhichensuresthatthesolutionremainsstableandconverges.
ThecriterionisusuallyexpressedasafunctionofFourier'snumber.Forexample,
foraninteriornodeinatwodimensionalsystemthestabilitycriterionis:
Fo<1/4or
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t/(x)2<1/4

13.BoththeNusseltnumberandtheBiotnumberhavethesameform.Whatarethe
differencesbetweenthemintermsofthevariablesemployedandtheirphysical
significance?

BoththeBiotnumberandtheNusseltnumberareoftheform(hL/k).However,
for the Biot number, the thermal conductivity k used is that for the solid for
calculatingNusseltnumberthekvalueasthatofthefluid.TheBiotnumberisa
measure of the ratio of the temnperature drop in the solid material and the
temperature drop between the solid and the fluid. The Nusselt number is a
dimensionlessversionofthetemperaturegradientatthesurfacebetweenthefluid
andthesolid,anditthusprovidesameasureoftheconvectionoccurringfromthe
surface.

14.WhatistheeffectofthePrandtlnumberofafluidontherelativethicknessesof
velocityandtemperatureboundarylayerswhenthefluidflowisparalleltoaflat
plate?

For laminar flow, the ratio of the boundary layer thickness to that of the thermal
boundarylayer,t,isgivenby:
tPrn
ThehigherthePrandtlnumber,thelargeristheratio.

16.Twofluids,withdifferentproperties,flowwithequalfreestreamvelocitiesparallel
to a flat plate. What property of the fluid determines whether the velocity boundary
layerofoneisthickerthantheother?

ThethicknessoftheboundarylayerdependsontheReynoldsnumber:

17. What do you understand by the terms fully developed velocity and temperature
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profileregionsininternalflow?

In the fully developed region, the crosssectional velocity/temperature profile is of a

constantshapeatanyaxiallocation.Thustheprofilehasceasedtochange.Alsothere
isnoradialcomponentofvelocityi.e.everyparticleoffluidisflowingpurelyinthe
axialdirection.

18.Doyouexpecttheconvectiveheattransfercoefficientinthethermallydeveloping
region tobehigherorlowerthan the convective heat transfer coefficient in the fully
developedtemperatureprofileregion?Supportyouranswerwithqualitativelogic.

Weshouldexpectthattheconvectiveheattransfercoefficientishigherinthethermally
developingregion.Nearthetubeentrance,thethicknessoftheboundarylayerisvery
small,andthetemperaturegradientsatthesurfacewillbehigh,implyinghighratesof
convective heat transfer. As the flow develops, the thickness of the boundary layer
increasesandthetemperaturegradientsdecreases,decreasingh.Inthefullydeveloped
region,thetemperaturegradientsareconstantandhisalsoaconstant.

19. Explain why the temperature boundary layer grows much more rapidly than the
velocityboundarylayerinliquidmetals.

Liquid metals are characterised by very low Prandtl numbers since their thermal
conductivityishigh,hencetheheatdiffusionismuchfasterthanmomentumdiffusion.

20.Youaretoldthatinaparticulatcaseoffluidflowoveraflatplatethetemperature
boundarylayerthicknessismuchsmallerthanthevelocityboundarylayerthickness.
Whatcanyouconcludeaboutthenatureofthefluid?

YoucanconcludethatthefluidisahighPrandtlnumberfluide.g.oil.

21.Whatisagraysurface?
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Agraysurfaceisdefinedasoneforwhichtheemissivity(andtheabsorptivity(
areindependentofwavelength(.

22.Whatisadiffusesurface?

Adiffusesurfaceisdefinedasoneforwhichtheemissivity(andtheabsorptivity(
areindependentofdirection().

23.Defineaviewfactor.

A view factor is defined in the context of two surfaces A and B. It is defined as the
fractionofradiationleavingAwhichisincidentdirectlyonsurfaceB.Aviewfactor
mustbedefinedintermsofsurfaceAtosurfaceB(FAB).

24.Ifasurfaceemits200WatatemperatureofT,howmuchenergywillitemitata
temperatureof2T?

Since E T4, a 2fold increase of temperature brings a (24) = 16fold increase in

energy.Thusthesurfacewillemit(16)(200)=3200W.

25. You might have observed early morning frost on a clear day even when the
minimum air temperature during the night was above 0 C. On a clear day, the
effectiveskytemperaturecanbeaslowas45C.Explainhowsuchfrostformulation
takesplace.

Thefrostiscreatedbecauseofradiativelossestothesky

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26.Agreenhousehasanenclosurethathasahightransmissivityatshortwavelengths
and a very low transmissivity (almost opaque) for high wavelengths. Why does a
greenhouse get warmer than the surrounding air during clear days ? Will it have a
similareffectduringclearnights?

Solarradiationisskewedtowardsshorterwavelengths.Onacleardaytheglassofthe
greenhouseadmitsalargeproportionoftheincidentradiation.Insidethegreenhouse,
the various surfaces (plants etc.) reflect the radiation but the reflected radiation is
spectrallydifferent,havingmoreofahighwavelengthcontribution.Thusthereflected
radiationisnottransmittedwellbytheglass,andisreflectedbackintothegreenhouse.
Theinteriorheatsupduetothis'trapped'radiation.Thesameeffectwillnotbeseenon
aclearnight,sincethereisnosolarradiation.

27.Defineoverallheattransfercoefficient.

Theoverallheattransfercoefficientisdefinedintermsofthetotalthermalresistance
betweentwofluids.Ifthereareanumberofthermalresistancesbetweenthetwofluids,
theoverallheattransfercoefficientisgivenby:
U=1/R

28. Your friend asserts that, in a heat exchanger, it is impossible for the exit
temperature of the cold fluid to be greater than the exit temperature of the hot fluid
whenbothfluidsaresinglephasefluids.Whatisyourresponse?

The statement is true for a parallel flow heat exchanger. However, in a counterflow
heat exchanger the outlet temperature of the cold fluid can in fact exceed the outlet
temperatureofthehotfluid.

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