Heat Transfer

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Heat Transfer
Heat is energy or more precisely transfer of thermal energy. As energy, heat is measured
in watts (W) whilst temperature is measured in degrees Celsius (C) or Kelvin (K). The
words hot and cold only make sense on a relative basis. Thermal energy travels
from hot material to cold material. Hot material heats up cold material, and cold material
cools down hot material. It is really that simple. When you feel heat, what you are
sensing is a transfer of thermal energy from something that's hot to something that is
cold.

The discipline of heat transfer is concerned with only two things: temperature, and the
flow of heat. Temperature represents the amount of thermal energy available, whereas
heat flow represents the movement of thermal energy from place to place. On a
microscopic scale, thermal energy is related to the kinetic energy of molecules. The
greater a materials temperature, the greater the thermal agitation of its constituent
molecules (manifested both in linear motion and vibrational modes).

Conduction

The most efficient method of heat transfer is conduction. This mode of heat transfer
occurs when there is a temperature gradient across a body. In this case, the energy is
transferred from a high temperature region to low temperature region due to random
molecular motion (diffusion). Conduction occurs similarly in liquids and gases. Regions
with greater molecular kinetic energy will pass their thermal energy to regions with less
molecular energy through direct molecular collisions. In metals, a significant portion of
the transported thermal energy is also carried by conduction-band electrons. Different
materials have varying abilities to conduct heat. Materials that conduct heat poorly
(wood, styrofoam) are often called insulators. However, materials that conduct heat
well (metals, glass, some plastics) have no special name.
The simplest conduction heat transfer can be described as one-dimensional heat flow
as shown in the following figure. The rate of heat flow from one side of an object to the
other, or between objects that touch, depends on the cross-sectional area of flow, the
conductivity of the material and the temperature difference between the two surfaces or
objects.

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Mathematically, it can be expressed as

where q is the heat transfer rate in watts (W), k is the thermal conductivity of the
material (W/m.K), A is the cross sectional area of heat path, and

gradient in the direction of the flow (K/m).

is the temperature

The above equation is known as Fouriers law of heat conduction. Therefore, the heat
transfer rate by conduction through the object in the above figure can be expressed as

Where L is the conductor thickness (or length), DT is the temperature difference

between one side and the other (for example, DT = T1 T2 is the temperature difference
between side 1 and side 2).

The quantity (DT/L) in Equation (16.5) is called the temperature gradient: it tells

how many 0C or K the temperature changes per unit of distance moved along the path of
heat flow. The quantity L/kA is called the thermal resistance

Thermal resistance has SI units of kelvins per watt (K/W). Notice from Equation (16.6)

that the thermal resistance depends on the nature of the material (thermal conductivity k

and geometry of the body d/A). We realize from the above equations, we realize the heat
transfer rate as a flow, and the combination of thermal conductivity, thickness of
material and area as a resistance to this flow.

Considering the temperature as a potential function of the heat flow, the Fourier law
can be written as

If we define the resistance as the ratio of potential to the corresponding transfer rate, the

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thermal resistance for conduction can be expressed as

It is clear from the above equation that decreasing the thickness or increasing the crosssectional area or thermal conductivity of an object will decrease its thermal resistance
and increase its heat transfer rate.

Convection

A slower method of heat transfer is convection, which involves fluid currents that carry
heat from one place to another. In conduction, energy flows through a material but the

material itself does not move. In convection, the material itself moves from one place to
another. The convection heat transfer is comprised of two mechanisms: random

molecular motion (diffusion) and energy transferred by bulk or macroscopic motion of

the fluid. Heat transfer from a solid to a fluid (liquid or gaseous) is more complex than
solid-solid transfer as heat differentials within the fluid generally cause internal

movement known as convection currents. As volume increases with temperature,

warmer areas of a fluid have less mass than colder areas. Air is poor conductor of heat,
but it can easily flow and carry heat by convection. The use of sealed, double-paned

windows replaces the larger air gap between a storm window and regular window with a
much smaller gap. The smaller air gap minimizes circulating convection currents
between the two panes.

The magnitude of convective heat flow within the fluid depends upon the area of

contact with the solid, its viscosity, velocity past the solid, flow characteristics and the

overall temperature difference between the two. The term convection has also been used
historically to describe the transport of heat from one solid to another separated by a
fluid medium.

Newtons law of cooling expresses the overall effect of convection:

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Where h is the convection heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K), A is the surface area, DT
= Ts Tf is the temperature difference between the surface temperature Ts, and the

fluid temperature Tf . As in the case of conduction, thermal resistance is also associated

with the convection heat transfer and can be expressed as

The convection heat transfer may be classified according to the nature of fluid flow.

Forced convection occurs when the flow is caused by external means, such as a fan, a
pump, etc.

Radiation

The least efficient method of heat transfer is radiation. Radiant heat is simply heat

energy in transit as electromagnetic radiation. All materials radiate thermal energy in

amounts determined by their temperature, where the energy is carried by photons of

light in the infrared and visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this case,
heat moves through space as an electromagnetic radiation without the assistance of a

physical substance. All objects that contain heat emit some level of radiant energy. The
amount of radiation is inversely proportional to its wavelength (the shorter the

wavelength the greater the energy content) which is, in turn, inversely proportional to its
temperature (in K).

The Suns heat is an example of thermal radiation that reaches the Earth. Radiative

heat is transferred directly into the surface of any solid object it hits (unless it is highly
reflective), but passes readily through transparent materials such as air and glass. An

ideal thermal radiator or a blackbody, will emit energy at a rate proportional to the forth
power of its absolute temperature and its surface area. Mathematically, that is

where s is a proportionality constant (Stefan-Boltzmann constant = 5.669 10-8

W/m2.K4). The above equation is called the Stefan-Boltzmann law of thermal radiation
and it applies only to the blackbodies. The fourth-power temperature dependence

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implies that the power emitted is very sensitive to temperature changes. If the absolute
temperature of a body doubles, the energy emitted increases by a factor of 24 = 16.

For bodies not behaving as a blackbody a factor known as emissivity e, which relates

the radiation of a surface to that of an ideal black surface is introduced. The equation
becomes

The emissivity ranges from 0 to 1; e = 1 for a perfect radiator and absorber ( a

blackbody) and e = 0 for a perfect radiator. Human skin, for example, no matter what the
pigmentation, has an emissivity of about 0.97 in the infrared part of the spectrum. While
a polished aluminum has an emissivity of about 0.05.
Thermal radiation from a body is used as a diagnostic tool in medicine. A thermogram
shows whether one area is radiating more heat than it should, indicating a higher
temperature due to abnormal cellular activity. Thermography or thermovision in
medicine is based on the natural thermal radiation of the skin. Most advantage is the
radiance free of the measuring principle.
Certain body regions have different temperature levels. If one exposes the body e.g. to
a cooling attraction, then the body zones of the skin react, in order to repair the heat
balance of the body. Thereby the thermal regulation of diseased body regions and organs
is different to healthy one. The so-called "regulation thermography" is based on this
principle.

Summary

Picture: University of Wisconsin

Examples

Greenhouse Effect

Multiple-Choice Question
Consider the following cooking pan.

Which of the following is important while selecting a material for the pan's handle?
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1. High thermal expansion. 2. Low thermal conductivity. 3. High elasticity. 4. High hardness.

Open-Ended Question
Consider a house with a basement, first floor, and second floor. Design and sketch a water heating system for

the house. Give an example of where heat convection and heat radiation occur in the heating system. Show the
location of the pipes carrying the hot water. Do ceiling fans help in heating the house?

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