Problems
1. A furnace has hot gas at temperature of 1400◦ C inside while the ambi-
ent air temperature outside is 25◦ C. A 23 cm layer of refractory brick
separates hot gases from the outside environment and acts as insulation
to reduce heat loss. If the thermal conductivity of the refractory brick
material is 0.75 W/m · K, heat transfer coefficient at hot gases side of
refractory is 120 W/m2 · K and heat transfer coefficient at cold gases
side of refractory is 10 W/m2 · K, find temperatures at the inner and
the outside wall surfaces. Ans. 1352◦ C, 355◦ C
2. The steady-state temperature distribution in a semi-transparent mate-
rial of thermal conductivity k and thickness L exposed to laser irradi-
ation is of the form
A −ax
T (x) = − e + Bx + C
ka2
where A, a, B, and C are known constants. For this situation, radi-
ation absorption in the material is manifested by a distributed heat
generation term.
For this case:
(a) Derive an expression for conductive heat flux at any location x.
Obtain expressions for the conductive heat fluxes at the front (x =
0) and rear surfaces (x = L).
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(b) Derive an expression for the rate at which radiation is absorbed
per unit volume.
3. A thin electrical heater dissipating 4000 W/m2 is sandwiched between
two 25-mm-thick plates whose exposed surfaces experience convection
with a fluid for which T∞ = 20◦ C and h = 400 W/m2 · K. The
thermophysical properties of the plate material are ρ = 2500 kg/m3 ,
c = 700 J/kg · K, and k = 5 W/m · K.
(a) On T –x coordinates, sketch the steady-state temperature distri-
bution for −L ≤ x ≤ +L. Calculate values of the temperatures
at the surfaces, x = ±L, and the midpoint, x = 0. Label this
distribution as Case 1 and explain its salient features.
(b) Consider conditions for which there is a loss of coolant and exis-
tence of a nearly adiabatic condition on the x = +L surface. On
the T –x coordinates used for part (a), sketch the corresponding
steady-state temperature distribution and indicate the tempera-
ture distribution and indicate temperatures at x = 0, ±L. Label
the distribution as Case 2, and explain its key features.
4. A house has a composite wall of wood, fiberglass insulation, and plaster
board, as indicated in the sketch. On a cold winter day, the convection
heat transfer coefficients are ho = 60 W/m2 · K and hi = 30 W/m2 · K.
The total wall surface area is 350 m2 . The thermal conductivities of the
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wall materials are kp = 0.17 W/m·K (plaster board), kb = 0.04 W/m·K
(glass fiber blanket), and ks = 0.12 W/m · K (plywood siding).
(a) Determine a symbolic expression for the total thermal resistance
of the wall, including inside and outside convection effects for the
prescribed conditions.
(b) Determine the total rate of heat loss through the wall.
Ans. 4.41 kW
(c) If the wind were blowing violently, raising ho to 300 W/m2 · K,
determine the percentage increase in the rate of heat loss.
Ans. 0.48%
(d) What is the controlling resistance that determines the amount of
heat flow through the wall?
5. In many real materials, the thermal conductivity is not constant, but
varies with temperature. For example, in metals, rising temperature
causes more frequent interference between heat-carrying electrons and
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the vibrating atomic framework, reducing the thermal conductivity,
while in many crystalline solids without free electrons, intensified atomic
vibrations hinder the orderly transfer of heat through the lattice, so the
overall thermal conductivity decreases.
Consider a plane wall of thickness L separates two fluids at fixed tem-
peratures T1 (left, x = 0) and T2 (right, x = L). The wall has
temperature-dependent thermal conductivity
k0
k(T ) = ,
(1 + βT )
with constants k0 > 0 and β. There is no internal heat generation,
and the steady one-dimensional heat flux is uniform. Engineers often
replace k(T ) by an effective thermal conductivity keff so that the same
heat flux would result if the wall had constant conductivity keff .
(a) Derive a symbolic expression for the steady heat flux q ′′ in terms
of T1 , T2 , L, k0 , β.
Ans. q ′′ = k0 1+βT1
βL
ln 1+βT2
(b) Obtain the corresponding effective conductivity keff .
k0 1+βT1
Ans. keff = β(T1 −T2 )
ln 1+βT2
(c) Study the limiting form of the answers to the previous parts for
small β and state your inferences.
6. In the area of electronic cooling, a heat sink is a component that ab-
sorbs heat from a source, such as an electronic chip or a power elec-
tronics module, and dissipates it into the surrounding air to prevent
overheating. The most common form of a heat sink is an aluminum
block with fins, which provides a large surface area for heat dissipation
by convection.
However, heat rarely passes directly from a chip into a heat sink with-
out intermediate resistances. A typical heat flow path begins at the
chip, which is mounted on a highly conductive copper base plate. In
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the simplified one-dimensional picture shown below, the chip is located
to the left of the plate labeled ‘Cu’. Heat passes from the copper
block to the aluminum block of the heat sink through an interfacial
contact resistance that represents the combined effect of the thermal
interface material (TIM) and the microscopic surface asperities at the
joint. The TIM is usually an oil-based suspension or a composite con-
taining dispersed inserts with thermal conductivity higher than that of
the surrounding matrix. Although the TIM has a much lower conduc-
tivity than metals, it is still more conductive than the air gaps that
would exist in its absence, and therefore, application of a TIM between
the base plate and the aluminum heat sink is essential for reducing the
overall contact resistance. From the aluminum block, heat is rejected
to the ambient air by convection.
Consider steady one-dimensional conduction in such a system, as shown
below. The inner surface of the chip is maintained at 95◦ C while the
surrounding air is at 25◦ C. The heat passes through a copper plate
of thickness 4.0 mm and conductivity 385 W/mK, then through a very
thin TIM (a synthetic hydrocarbon oil matrix filled with silver mi-
croparticles) layer which offers an effective contact resistance of
Rc = 1.0 × 10−5 m2 K/W,
followed by an aluminum block of thickness 12.0 mm with conductivity
205 W/mK. The outer face of the aluminum block exchanges heat
with the surrounding air by convection, with an effective heat transfer
coefficient of 1000 W/m2 K which embeds effects of the more complex
heat sink shape. Here, the effective heat transfer coefficient takes care
of the increased actual area due to the fins of the heat sink (and the
temperature drops therein). The footprint of the chip and all layers is
a square of side 20 mm
Cu Al
16.0 mm
12.0 mm
Assume no internal heat generation and uniform properties throughout.
Determine the total heat rate conducted through the system and the
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corresponding heat flux, the temperatures at each internal plane (after
the copper, after the contact resistance, and at the outer surface of the
aluminum block), the temperature drop across each thermal element,
and finally the piecewise linear temperature distribution T (x) within
the solid layers.
Ans. 25.95W, 6.488×104 W/m2 , TT IM − = 94.33◦ C, TT IM + = 93.68◦ C,
TSink-surface = 89.88◦ C.
7. Derive an expression for the thermal resistance of a cylindrical shell of
thickness L, height H and inner radius r1 from first principles. Sketch
the variation of resistance with L and compare it with the variation with
L seen in a slab geometry. Find the limiting form of the resistance if
L/r1 is small and state your inferences.