CHE 531 Spring 2016

Homework #4 Unsteady Heat Conduction (10 pts)

Due: Wednesday, 2-10-16 by 11:30 AM
Read: BSL 11.5
1) Measurement of thermal diffusivity in a solid slab. A solid slab, 1.90 cm
thick, is brought to thermal equilibrium by a constant-temperature bath at 20
C. At a given instant (t=0) the slab is clamped tightly between two
thermostatted copper plates, the surfaces of which are carefully maintained at
40 C. The mid-plane temperature of the slab is sensed as a function of time
by means of a thermocouple. The experimental data are:
t(s)
0
T(C) 20.0

120
24.4

240
30.5

360
34.2

480
36.5

600
37.8

Determine the thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of the slab, given
that = 1.50 g/cm3 and Cp = 0.365 cal /g C.
2) A semi-infinite slab of carbon steel extends far in the y-direction. At t=0, the
front face is heated instantaneously to 900F. The initial temperature of the
slab was uniformly at 50 F.
(a) Calculate and plot the temperature distribution in the slab after 20 minutes.
(b) Calculate and the plot the flux (qy) at y positions corresponding to 0, 4, 8,
12, etc. at 20 minutes.
Properties of carbon steel:
= 490.4 lbm/ft3, Cp = 0.107 Btu/lbmF, k=26 Btu/hrftF
Note: Do not plot by hand.