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Experiment 2: Unsteady Heat Transfer


Objectives:
The overall heat transfer coefficient, U for an unsteady heat processing in a universal food
processer was determined. Additionally, the effect of various circulating heating medium
temperatures on the overall heat transfer coefficient was investigated.
Notations:
A

Lateral surface area of a truncated cone

y-intercept of a straight line

Cp

Specific heat capacity of water

Convective heat transfer coefficient

Gradient of a straight line equation

Time

t1

Time at an earlier interval

t2

Time at the later interval

Temperature at a specified time interval

T0

Initial temperature of the cold water

T1

Temperature at the earlier time interval

T2

Temperature at the later time interval

Temperature of the heating medium

TR

Temperature ratio

Overall heat transfer coefficient

Volume of water in vessel

Horizontal coordinate of a straight line graph

Vertical coordinate of a straight line graph

Density of water in vessel

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T

Change in temperature

Change in time

Mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter

Introduction:
Transient or unsteady heat transfer is a function of both time and location. On the other hand,
steady heat transfer varies solely as a function of location (Singh and Heldman, 2001).
Knowledge on unsteady heat transfer is important especially for food processes such as
sterilisation or pasteurisation as unsteady heat transfer is the dominant form of heat transfer in
these processes (Singh and Heldman, 2001). In this experiment, there are 3 forms of heat
transfers between the water in the vessel and the heating water within the heating jacket: (1)
heat convection between the water an inside surface of the vessel, (2) heat conduction
through the jacket wall of the vessel and (3) heat convection between the jacket wall surface
and the heating water. The heat transfer coefficient for these 3 heat transfers is termed as the
overall heat transfer coefficient or U. The thermal conductivity coefficient, k; was ignored as
the vessel wall was very thin.
Water has low thermal conductivity. At 2C, thermal conductivity of water is 0.5606a W/
(m.K) and at 97C, thermal conductivity of water is 0.6723a W/ (m.K). Hence temperatures
between 2C and 97C have thermal conductivities ranging between 0.5606 W/ (m.K) to
0.6723 W/ (m.K). The temperature of the heating medium used was at 35C, 50C and 65C
for this experiment. Thus it is imperative to note that internal resistance to heat transfer is
negligible as water was being used as the heating medium.

Standard Reference Data for the Thermal Conductivity of Water. (1995). American Institute of Physics and
American Chemical Society. IUPAC.

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Materials and Method:
The circulator bath was switched on. Temperature of the circulating medium was set to 35C
using the temperature control dial. Heating control lamp flashed when temperature of 35C
was reached. Seven litres of water was collected and its initial temperature (To), was
measured using a digital food thermometer. The vessel was filled with 7 L of water and
processor was switched on. Agitation was initiated by adjusting the motor control knob.
Initial temperature shown on the display panel of the food processor was recorded. Initial
temperatures of the cool water were recorded using different thermometers for comparison
purposes.
Temperature of the water (T), in the vessel was recorded at 30 seconds intervals for 5
minutes, then at 1 minute intervals for 10 minutes and finally at 3 minute intervals for 15
minutes. Temperature at frequent time intervals would be recorded initially as the initial
temperature gradients would be large. Hence having the temperature recorded at frequent
time intervals, would allow for better tracking of temperature changes.
After recording was done, the upper and lower circumferences of water in the vessel were
measured using a string. Height of the water was measured using a 30 cm ruler. Area and
volume were calculated using the dimensions obtained. The vessel was then emptied.
The steps above were repeated for circulating medium temperatures of 50C and 65C
excluding the measurement of dimensions of water in the vessel.

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Results:
[Table 1]: Dimensions of the water in the vessel.
Processing Vessel

Processing Conditions

Upper diameter = Upper circumference /


Where was taken as 3.14159265359.
Upper circumference was 0.983 m.

Initial product
temperature (T0):
Heating medium
temperature (T):

26

26

28

35

50

65

Therefore, upper diameter was:


0.983 m / = 0.313 m
Bottom diameter = Bottom circumference /
Where was taken as 3.14159265359.
Bottom circumference was 0.67 m.
Therefore, bottom diameter was:
0.67 m / = 0.21 m
Height: 0.118 m
Volume: 0.00662 m3
Area: 0.1058 m2
Area was calculated assuming the vessel took
on

truncated

cone

geometry.

Detailed

calculations available in the Appendix,


Section 1.

[Table 2]: Temperature profile when T was 35C.


T t
(C) (s)
1
180

T/t
(C/s)
0.00556

TR

ln TR

330

0.00303

0.88889

-0.1178

1
1

120
600

0.00833
0.00167

0.77778
0.66667

-0.2513
-0.4055

180

0.00556

0.55556

-0.5878

Time (s)

T (C)

30

26

T - T
(C)
9

210

27

540
660

28
29

7
6

1260

30

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Sample calculation for T/t obtained in the first row of Table 2.
T = 35C
T0 = 26C
T = T2-T1, where T2 is temperature at a later time interval and T1 is temperature at an earlier
time interval. Therefore, T2 is T from second row of Table 2 and T1 is T from first row of
Table 2.
Therefore T = 27C - 26C = 1C
t = t2-t1, where t2 is time at a later interval and t1 is time at an earlier interval. Therefore, t2 is
time from second row of Table 2 and t1 is time from first row of Table 2.
=

= 0.005555... C/s

~ 0.00556 C/s
Sample calculation for TR and In (TR) obtained in the third row of Table 2.

ln (TR) = ln

ln (TR) = ln

Hence

= ln 0.77778 = -0.2513

, TR and ln(TR) for all data points were calculated as shown above.

[Table 3]: Temperature profile when T was 50C.


T
(C)
1

t
(s)
60

T/t
(C/s)
0.01667

TR

ln TR

27

T - T
(C)
23

0.95833

-0.0426

90

28

22

30

0.03333

0.91667

-0.087

120

29

21

60

0.01667

0.875

-0.1335

Time (s)

T (C)

30

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180

30

20

90

0.01111

0.83333

-0.1823

270

31

19

90

0.01111

0.79167

-0.2336

360

32

18

60

0.01667

0.75

-0.2877

420

33

17

60

0.01667

0.70833

-0.3448

480

34

16

180

0.00556

0.66667

-0.4055

660

35

15

60

0.01667

0.625

-0.47

720

36

14

180

0.00556

0.58333

-0.539

900

37

13

180

0.01111

0.54167

-0.6131

1080

39

11

180

0.00556

0.45833

-0.7802

1260

40

10

180

0.41667

-0.8755

1440

40

10

180

0.00556

0.41667

-0.8755

1620

41

180

0.01111

0.375

-0.9808

1800

43

180

0.29167

-1.2321

[Table 4]: Temperature profile when T was 65C.


T
(C)
1

t
(s)
60

T/t
(C/s)
0.01667

TR

ln TR

30

T - T
(C)
35

0.94595

-0.0556

90

31

34

30

0.03333

0.91892

-0.0846

120

32

33

30

0.06667

0.89189

-0.1144

150

34

31

60

0.01667

0.83784

-0.1769

210

35

30

30

0.03333

0.81081

-0.2097

240

36

29

60

0.01667

0.78378

-0.2436

300

37

28

60

0.01667

0.75676

-0.2787

360

38

27

60

0.01667

0.72973

-0.3151

Time (s)

T (C)

30

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420

39

26

60

0.01667

0.7027

-0.3528

480

40

25

60

0.03333

0.67568

-0.392

540

42

23

60

0.01667

0.62162

-0.4754

600

43

22

60

0.01667

0.59459

-0.5199

660

44

21

60

0.01667

0.56757

-0.5664

720

45

20

120

0.00833

0.54054

-0.6152

840

46

19

60

0.01667

0.51351

-0.6665

900

47

18

180

0.01111

0.48649

-0.7205

1080

49

16

180

0.01111

0.43243

-0.8383

1260

51

14

180

0.01111

0.37838

-0.9719

1440

53

12

180

0.00556

0.32432

-1.126

1620

54

11

180

0.00556

0.2973

-1.213

1800

55

10

0.27027

-1.3083

Raw data for T at 35C, 50C and 65C are available in the Appendix, Section 2, Tables 1, 2
and 3 respectively.

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0.08
35C

0.07

50C

T/t

0.06

65C

0.05

y = 0.00084x
R = 0.35718

y = 0.00082x
R = 0.3824

0.04

Linear
(35C)
Linear
(50C)
Linear
(65C)

0.03
y = 0.0007x
R = -0.1037

0.02
0.01
0
0

10

20
T - T (C)

30

40

[Figure 1]: Relationship between T/t and (T-T) of cool water heated up by the circulating
heating water with temperatures of 35C, 50C and 65C respectively.
With reference to Figure 1, the data points obtained were rather scattered. The gradient
obtained for each trend line was different.

(T - T)

(Equation 1)

The convective heat transfer coefficient, h was replaced with U. As seen above in equation 1,
it is in the form of y = mx. Where y is

, x is (T - T) and the gradient or m is

. Hence,

the gradient obtained can be used to calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient, U.
A sample calculation for calculating U for T at 35C is available as follows:

(Equation 2)

V (actual volume of cold water) = 0.00662 m3;


(density of water at T0 of 26C) = 996.787 kg/m3;

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Cp (specific heat capacity of water) = 4179.3 kJ/(kg C)
A (lateral surface area of a truncated cone) = 0.1058 m2
m (gradient for T at 35C) = 0.0007

Using Equation 2,

0.0007
U = 182.4636 W/(m2.K)
U ~ 182.46 W/(m2.K)

[Table 5]: Experimental U values calculated when gradient equals

when T was 35C,

50C and 65C.

Cp [kJ/(kg C)]: U [W/(m2 .K)]:

T (C):

Gradient
[
]:

T0 (C):

Density
at T0
(kg/m3):

35

0.0007

26

996.787b

4179.3c

182.46

50

0.00082

26

996.787b

4179.3c

213.74

65

0.00084

28

996.237b

4178.8c

218.81

Density of water at 1 atmosphere (from: Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC press, 64th Ed.)
Osborne, Stimson, and Ginnings, B. of S. Jour. Res., 23, 238 (1939) in Handbook of Chemistry and
Physics, 53rd ed., Cleveland, Ohio, D128 (1972-1973).

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0
0

500

1000

1500

35C

2000

-0.2

50C

In (TR)

-0.4
-0.6

65C
y = -0.0004x
R = 0.9107

-0.8

Linear
(35C)

-1
-1.2

y = -0.0007x
R = 0.9764

-1.4
-1.6

t (s)

y = -0.0008x
R = 0.9875

Linear
(50C)
Linear
(65C)

[Figure 2]: Relationship between ln (TR) versus time of cool water heated up by the
circulating heating water with temperatures of 45C, 60C and 75C respectively.

ln (TR) = -

Where ln (TR) = ln

(Equation 3)

As seen above in equation 3, it is in the form of y = mx. Where y is ln (TR), x is time (t) and
the gradient or m is -

. Hence, the gradient obtained can be used to calculate the overall

heat transfer coefficient, U.

-m = -

(Equation 4)

A sample calculation for calculating U for T at 35C is available as follows:


V (actual volume of cold water) = 0.00662 m3;
(density of water at T0 of 26C) = 996.787 kg/m3;

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Cp (specific heat capacity of water) = 4179.3 kJ/ (kg C)
A (lateral surface area of a truncated cone) = 0.1058 m2
m (gradient for T at 35C) = -0.0004

Using Equation 4,

-0.0004 = -

U = 104.2649 W/ (m2.K)
U ~ 104.26 W/ (m2.K)

[Table 6]: Experimental U calculated when gradient equals -

values when T was 35C,

50C and 65C.


Cp [kJ/(kg C)]: U [W/(m2 .K)]:

T (C):

Gradient
[ ]:

T0 (C):

Density
at T0
(kg/m3):

35

0.0004

26

996.787d

4179.3e

104.26

50

0.0007

26

996.787d

4179.3e

182.46

65

0.0008

28

996.237d

4178.8e

208.39

Percentage difference between U calculated from gradient obtained from a plot of T/t
versus (T-T) and ln (TR) versus time was calculated.
A sample calculation for the percentage difference when T was 35C is presented below.
U calculated when using equation 2 was 182.46 W/ (m2.K).
d

Density of water at 1 atmosphere (from: Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC press, 64th Ed.)
Osborne, Stimson, and Ginnings, B. of S. Jour. Res., 23, 238 (1939) in Handbook of Chemistry and
Physics, 53rd ed., Cleveland, Ohio, D128 (1972-1973).

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U calculated when using equation 4 was 104.26 W/ (m2.K).
Formula for percentage difference:
Percentage difference was

x 100 %

Percentage difference was

x 100 % = 42.8587 %
~ 42.86 %

[Table 7]: Percentage differences when U was calculated using equation 2 and 4 when T
was 35C, 50C and 65C.
T (C):

U [W/(m2 .K)]
calculated using
Equation 4:

U [W/(m2 .K)]
calculated using
Equation 2:

Percentage
difference (%):

35

104.26

182.46

42.86

50

182.46

213.74

14.63

65

208.39

218.81

4.76

Discussion:
In this experiment, an important assumption made was that heat transfer from the heating
medium to the water was solely due to convection. Heat transfer via conduction and radiation
were ignored. The vessel used was made of stainless steel and vessel walls were very thin and
thus the heat resistance was very low. This is because for heat transfer to have negligible
resistance, conductive resistance must be low or negligible. It was also assumed that heat loss
to the surroundings wa negligible.
The display panel of the universal food processor was only able to indicate the temperature of
water being heated up to two significant figures and zero decimal places. Hence an increment
of less than 1C would not be displayed. This instrumental error was taken into account when
calculating the experimental U values. By logic, heat would be continuously transferred from
the heating medium to the water, resulting in a temperature increase for the water. Thus the
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temperature at any appropriate time interval would have shown an increment. However this
was not the case, at several time intervals, T/t had a magnitude of 0. Hence only some data
points could be use when plotting the graphs. This would have led to inaccuracies when
calculating the experimental U values from the gradients. To counter this, a temperature
probe that is able to display a higher amount of significant figures could be used.
The overall heat transfer coefficient U, was determined from the gradients of both graphs as
shown in Figure 1 and 2. The graph in Figure 2 had better R2 values as compared to the R2
values in Figure 1. With reference to Figure 2, data points obtained were more consistent and
R2 values obtained were close to 1, indicating that the linear model chosen was appropriate.
With reference to Table 5 and 6, both the gradients and U values increased as T was
increased from 35C to 50C and then to 65C. This was expected as U is directly
proportional to the gradient, m as shown in Equation 2 and 4. As U is directly proportional to
the gradient m, a linear straight line graph should have been produced by the data points
obtained for Figure 1 and 2. Convection takes place by means of macroscopic fluid motion.
Convection can be caused by a forced convection or by temperature dependent density
variations in the fluid. The latter is termed as natural convection. Temperature dependent
density variations in the water as it was being heated may have caused temperatures that were
not representative of the actual temperature of the water at a particular time interval to be
recorded instead. Thus leading to data points being scattered. However, the probability that
this was the cause for data points being scattered are minimal due to the presence of the
revolving baffle. The heat transferred from the circulating hot medium to the water was
quickly distributed by the revolving baffle thus temperature dependent density variations
within the water were minimal.
Before the experiment commenced, the temperature of the water was measured using a
temperature probe. The initial water temperature measured using the digital food
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thermometer for when T was 35C, 50C and 65C were 26.5C, 26.8C and 26.8C
respectively. These values differed by about 1C when compared with T0 values as shown in
Table 1. The T0 values were measured using the temperature probe located within the
processor. The reason for this discrepancy could be attributed to how the temperature probe
has been incorporated into the processor. The temperature probe is not insulated and passes
through the heating jacket of the processor; thus temperature measured by the probe is
influenced by the temperature of the heating jacket. Thus when T was 65C, the initial
temperature of the water detected by the temperature probe was almost 2C higher than what
was measured by the digital food thermometer. This was because heat was transferred to the
temperature probe from the circulating heating medium. To minimise errors of this sort, the
processor has to be redesigned to insulate the temperature probe.
Another source of error included how the upper and bottom diameter of water in the vessel
was measured. A string was used to outline the circumference of the vessel then extended
onto a ruler to determine its value. The ruler was only accurate to 1 decimal place. Parallax
error may have occurred when reading the measurement off the ruler. A large digital vernier
calliper could have been used instead to measure the circumference and at the same time
minimise parallax error.
With reference to Table 7, percentage differences for U values decreased at T increased.
This meant that either Equation 1 or 3 could be used when T is higher than 65C as
percentage difference between calculations using either Equation 1 or 3 would be less than
5 %, leading to a better estimation of U. However, more studies have to be conducted with
the changes implemented and at T higher than 65C to make a more accurate assessment.

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Conclusion:
The circulating heating medium temperature and the overall heat transfer coefficient for an
unsteady state heat processing; seemed to have a positive linear relationship as U increased
when T was increased. The overall heat transfer coefficient was estimated more accurately
for the plot of In (TR) versus t as R2 values indicated that the linear model chosen was
appropriate.
References:
Singh, P. and Heldman, D. (2001). Introduction to Food Engineering. 3rd ed. London:
Academic Press. P280-300.

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APPENDIX
Section 1
Calculating area of heat transfer in the universal food processor:

[Figure 1]: A truncated cone and the various symbols denoting the various measurements.
Volume of water in the universal food processor was 0.007 m3.
Upper circumference of water in the vessel was 0.983 m.
Formula for circumference of a circle is 2r, where r is radius of the circle.
Radius of the upper vessel (r1) is 0.983 m / 2 = 0.156 m
Bottom circumference of water in the vessel was 0.67 m.
Radius of the lower vessel (r2) is 0.67 m / 2 = 0.11 m
Surface area of water in vessel was calculated using the formula for lateral surface of a
truncated cone, assuming the volume of the water took on truncated cone geometry.
Formula for the lateral surface of a truncated (A) cone is given as:
A = [ x s2 x (r1 + r2)] m2 ---- (1)
s2 can be calculated as:
s2 =
s2 =

m
m

s2 = 0.1266 m
s2 ~ 0.13 m
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Substituting s2 = 0.1266 m into Equation (1), lateral surface area of water in the vessel was:
A = [ x 0.1266 x (0.156 + 0.11)] m2
= 0.1058 m2
~ 0.11 m2
Actual volume of water was calculated using formula for calculating the volume of a
truncated cone.
Formula for volume of water (V) in a truncated cone is given as:
V = { x h x [r1 + r2 + (r1 x r2)] x 1/3} m3
V = { x 0.118 x [0.156 + 0.11 + (0.156 x 0.11)] x 1/3} m3
V = 0.00662 m3
V ~ 0.007 m3

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APPENDIX
Section 2
[Table 1]: Raw data obtained when T was 35C.
Time (s)

T (C)

T - T
(C)

T/t
(C/s)

TR

ln TR

0
30

26
26

9
9

0.00556

1
1

0
0

60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
360
420
480
540
600
660
720
780
840
900
1080
1260
1440
1620
1800

26
26
26
26
26
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
28
28
29
29
29
29
29
29
30
30
30
30

9
9
9
9
9
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
5

0.00303
0.00833
0.00167
0.00556
-

1
1
1
1
1
0.88889
0.88889
0.88889
0.88889
0.88889
0.88889
0.88889
0.77778
0.77778
0.66667
0.66667
0.66667
0.66667
0.66667
0.66667
0.55556
0.55556
0.55556
0.55556

0
0
0
0
0
-0.1178
-0.1178
-0.1178
-0.1178
-0.1178
-0.1178
-0.1178
-0.2513
-0.2513
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.5878
-0.5878
-0.5878
-0.5878

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[Table 2]: Raw data obtained when T was 50C.
Time (s)

T (C)

T - T
(C)

T/t
(C/s)

TR

ln TR

0
30

26
27

24
23

0.01667

1
0.95833

0
-0.0426

60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
360
420
480
540
600
660
720
780
840
900
1080
1260
1440
1620
1800

28
28
29
29
30
30
30
31
31
32
33
34
34
34
35
36
36
36
37
39
40
40
41
43

22
22
21
21
20
20
20
19
19
18
17
16
16
16
15
14
14
14
13
11
10
10
9
7

0.03333
0.01667
0.01111
0.01111
0.01667
0.01667
0.00556
0.01667
0.00556
0.01111
0.00556
0.00556
0.01111
-

0.91667
0.91667
0.875
0.875
0.83333
0.83333
0.83333
0.79167
0.79167
0.75
0.70833
0.66667
0.66667
0.66667
0.625
0.58333
0.58333
0.58333
0.54167
0.45833
0.41667
0.41667
0.375
0.29167

-0.087
-0.087
-0.1335
-0.1335
-0.1823
-0.1823
-0.1823
-0.2336
-0.2336
-0.2877
-0.3448
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.4055
-0.47
-0.539
-0.539
-0.539
-0.6131
-0.7802
-0.8755
-0.8755
-0.9808
-1.2321

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[Table 3]: Raw data obtained when T was 65C.
Time (s)

T (C)

T - T
(C)

T/t
(C/s)

TR

ln TR

0
30

28
30

37
35

0.01667

1
0.94595

0
-0.0556

60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
360
420
480
540
600
660
720
780
840
900
1080
1260
1440
1620
1800

30
31
32
34
34
35
36
36
37
38
39
40
42
43
44
45
46
46
47
49
51
53
54
55

35
34
33
31
31
30
29
29
28
27
26
25
23
22
21
20
19
19
18
16
14
12
11
10

0.03333
0.06667
0.01667
0.03333
0.01667
0.01667
0.01667
0.01667
0.03333
0.01667
0.01667
0.01667
0.00833
0.01667
0.01111
0.01111
0.01111
0.00556
0.00556
-

0.94595
0.91892
0.89189
0.83784
0.83784
0.81081
0.78378
0.78378
0.75676
0.72973
0.7027
0.67568
0.62162
0.59459
0.56757
0.54054
0.51351
0.51351
0.48649
0.43243
0.37838
0.32432
0.2973
0.27027

-0.0556
-0.0846
-0.1144
-0.1769
-0.1769
-0.2097
-0.2436
-0.2436
-0.2787
-0.3151
-0.3528
-0.392
-0.4754
-0.5199
-0.5664
-0.6152
-0.6665
-0.6665
-0.7205
-0.8383
-0.9719
-1.126
-1.213
-1.3083

20 | P a g e

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