BOUNDARY AND INITIAL CONDITIONS
The description of a heat transfer problem in a medium is not complete without a full
description of the thermal conditions at the bounding surfaces of the medium.
Boundary conditions: The mathematical expressions of the thermal conditions at the
boundaries.
The temperature at any
point on the wall at a
specified time depends
on the condition of the
geometry at the
beginning of the heat
conduction process.
Such a condition, which
is usually specified at
time t = 0, is called the
initial condition, which
is a mathematical
expression for the
temperature distribution
of the medium initially.
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Boundary Conditions
• Specified Temperature Boundary Condition
• Specified Heat Flux Boundary Condition
• Convection Boundary Condition
• Radiation Boundary Condition
• Interface Boundary Conditions
• Generalized Boundary Conditions
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1 Specified Temperature Boundary Condition
The temperature of an exposed surface
can usually be measured directly and
easily.
Therefore, one of the easiest ways to
specify the thermal conditions on a surface
is to specify the temperature.
For one-dimensional heat transfer through
a plane wall of thickness L, for example,
the specified temperature boundary
conditions can be expressed as
where T1 and T2 are the specified
temperatures at surfaces at x = 0 and
x = L, respectively.
The specified temperatures can be
constant, which is the case for steady
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heat conduction, or may vary with time.
2 Specified Heat Flux Boundary Condition
The heat flux in the positive x-direction anywhere in the
medium, including the boundaries, can be expressed by
For a plate of thickness L subjected to heat
flux of 50 W/m2 into the medium from both
sides, for example, the specified heat flux
boundary conditions can be expressed as
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Special Case: Insulated Boundary
A well-insulated surface can be modeled
as a surface with a specified heat flux of
zero. Then the boundary condition on a
perfectly insulated surface (at x = 0, for
example) can be expressed as
On an insulated surface, the first
derivative of temperature with respect
to the space variable (the temperature
gradient) in the direction normal to the
insulated surface is zero.
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Another Special Case: Thermal Symmetry
Some heat transfer problems possess thermal
symmetry as a result of the symmetry in imposed
thermal conditions.
For example, the two surfaces of a large hot plate
of thickness L suspended vertically in air is
subjected to the same thermal conditions, and thus
the temperature distribution in one half of the plate
is the same as that in the other half.
That is, the heat transfer problem in this plate
possesses thermal symmetry about the center
plane at x = L/2.
Therefore, the center plane can be viewed as an
insulated surface, and the thermal condition at this
plane of symmetry can be expressed as
which resembles the insulation or zero heat
flux boundary condition.
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3 Convection Boundary Condition
For one-dimensional heat transfer in the x-direction
in a plate of thickness L, the convection boundary
conditions on both surfaces:
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4 Radiation Boundary Condition
Radiation boundary condition on a surface:
For one-dimensional heat transfer in the
x-direction in a plate of thickness L, the
radiation boundary conditions on both
surfaces can be expressed as
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5 Interface Boundary Conditions
The boundary conditions at an interface
are based on the requirements that
(1) two bodies in contact must have the
same temperature at the area of contact
and
(2) an interface (which is a surface) cannot
store any energy, and thus the heat flux
on the two sides of an interface must be
the same.
The boundary conditions at the interface
of two bodies A and B in perfect contact at
x = x0 can be expressed as
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6 Generalized Boundary Conditions
In general, however, a surface may involve convection,
radiation, and specified heat flux simultaneously.
The boundary condition in such cases is again obtained
from a surface energy balance, expressed as
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SOLUTION OF STEADY ONE-DIMENSIONAL
HEAT CONDUCTION PROBLEMS
In this section we will solve a wide range of heat
conduction problems in rectangular, cylindrical,
and spherical geometries.
We will limit our attention to problems that result
in ordinary differential equations such as the
steady one-dimensional heat conduction
problems. We will also assume constant thermal
conductivity.
The solution procedure for solving heat
conduction problems can be summarized as
(1) formulate the problem by obtaining the
applicable differential equation in its simplest
form and specifying the boundary conditions,
(2) Obtain the general solution of the differential
equation, and
(3) apply the boundary conditions and determine
the arbitrary constants in the general solution.
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