MECE 6333- Conduction and Radiation-Fall 2016

Online: The course materials will be posted on Fridays.

Office Hours, see below
Week 1
08/26
Week 2
09/02
Week 3
09/09
Week 4
09/16
Week 5
09/23
09/23
Week 6
09/30
Week 7
10/07
Week 8
10/14
Week 9
10/21
Week 10
10/28
Week 11
11/04
Week 12
11/11
11/11
Week 13
11/18
Week 14
11/25
Week 15
12/02

V1

Introduction, Heat transfer modes

V2

1D steady-state conduction

V3

Fins (extended surfaces)

V4

Heat equation and boundary conditions

Quiz 1
V5

Friday, 3-5 pm
Multi-dimensional steady conduction

V6

1D unsteady conduction

V7

Multi-dimensional unsteady conduction

V8

Numerical solution methods

V9

Introduction to radiation

V10

Radiation exchange, Black and diffuse gray surfaces

V11

Directional and spectral radiation

Quiz 2
V12

Friday, 3-5 pm
Introduction to participating media

V13

Solution methods for participating media

V14

Micro-nanoscale radiation effects

Final exam

MECE 6333, Fall 2015

Contact Information and Office Hours

Students are encouraged to study the materials on a weekly basis and attend the
office hours. Contact information and office hours are listed below.
Instructor: Prof. Hadi Ghasemi
Office: N229
Tel: 713-743-6183
Email: hghasemi@uh.edu
Office hours: Wednesday 1-3 pm

MECE 6333, Fall 2015

Introduction
Heat transfer studies the physical processes occurring in temperature-driven
transport of energy or entropy in the system or between the system and the
environment. In this course, we study advanced fundamental aspects of conduction
and radiation. In the first part of the course, solution of heat equation in one and
multi dimensional geometries exposed to a range of boundary conditions will be
covered. We analyze exact and approximate solutions of the heat equation. In the
second part of the course, we study fundamentals of radiative heat transfer among
surfaces and in enclosures. The radiative properties of surfaces will be discussed.
Multi-mode heat transfer will be studied. Both near-field and far-field
electromagnetic wave theories will be discussed.
Books and Notes
While the following textbook does not cover the entire course materials, it is the
main textbook for this course:
Basic Heat and Mass Transfer by A. F. Mills published by Prentice Hall Inc., 2nd
edition, 1999.
The interested students may refer to the following textbooks for additional reading:
Supplementary texts:
1) Thermal Radiation Heat Transfer by John R. Howell, Robert Siegel, M.
Pinar Menguc published by Taylor and Francis, 5th edition, 2011.
2) Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer by T. L. Bergman, A. S. Lavine,
F. P. Incropera, D. P. Dewitt published by Wiley, 7th edition, 2011.
E-information
Email and the web will be used in this course. Problem sets will be posted on the
blackboard. Make sure you check the website (elearning.uh.edu) for the latest
information on MECE 6333.
Please use email only for personal issues. For technical questions please use the
Blackboard (elearning.uh.edu).
Grading
Your standing among your peers will be determined based on weighting below.
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Final Exam

MECE 6333, Fall 2015

30%
30%
40%

Students are often under the mistaken impression that having grades comparable to
the class average guarantees a good grade. What constitutes the grade assigned to
the class average is a judgment made by the faculty at the end of the term. If the
perception of the faculty is that the class as a whole has done very well and
understands the material discussed, a high grade will be assigned to the class
average. If the class as a whole has shown weak performance, a low grade will be
assigned to the class average.
Your final grade will be assigned by considering your standing in the class. There
are other factors that are assessed in assigning grades. For example: a poor quiz
grade showing early in the term with a strong increasing trend with the subsequent
quiz and into the final may be more favorably assessed than the reverse trend. The
faculty carefully examines your quizzes and the final exam to ensure that your
ultimate grade reflects your performance.
UH define the grade structure as
A Exceptional, superior achievement: demonstrating a superior understanding of
the subject matter, a foundation of extensive knowledge, and a skillful use of
concepts and/or materials.
B Good performance, exceeding all requirements: demonstrating capacity to use
the appropriate concepts, a good understanding of the subject matter, and an ability
to handle problems and materials encountered in the subject.
C Average, satisfactory meeting all requirements: demonstrating an adequate
understanding of the subject matter, an ability to handle relatively simple problems,
and adequate preparation for moving on to more advanced work in the field.
D Poor, Fail: demonstrating at least partial familiarity with the subject matter and
some capacity to deal with relatively simple problems, but also demonstrating
deficiencies serious enough to make it inadvisable to proceed further in the field
without additional work.
F Failure or withdrawal while doing failing work: This grade signifies that the
student must repeat the subject to receive credit.
Exams
The quizzes will be held on Fridays 3-5 pm. The instructor will announce the exam
room on the blackboard.
A scientific calculator and writing instrument will be required. No crib sheets, other

MECE 6333, Fall 2015

written matter or pre-programmed calculators will be allowed. An equation sheet

will be handed out.
Students are strongly encouraged to take the exams at the specified times. In case a
student has a major conflict (e.g., medical emergency), the instructors will decide to
administer a written or oral make-up exam shortly after the regular exam date.
All students (online and face-to-face) enrolled in this course must come to campus
for quizzes, exams, and/or presentations. Online students who reside outside the
Houston metro area or any student who will be on travel due to work at the time of
a scheduled quiz/exam, must contact the instructor as soon as possible for
permission to take the quiz/exam at another proctored location. Once permission is
granted by the instructor, the student must contact the Office of Distance Education
and complete the Proctored Exam Form to arrange to take the quiz/exam offsite. Please visit http://www.uh.edu/distance/student-resources/proctoring/.
Homework
Homework problems will be available on the web every week. You are strongly
urged to do problem sets. There is a clear positive correlation between consistent
completion of homework and how well students perform on the quizzes and the
final exam. Group studies are encouraged. The problem sets will not be required to
hand in and will not be graded.
A few comments on the use of bibles and the problem archive available on the
web: The emphasis in the homework will be thorough understanding of the
fundamental concepts. The problems are designed to require you to reason out the
solutions. It is important that you consistently work on developing your own
solutions to the problems posed so that you develop your own skills. Working from
a solution without a significant effort in developing your own solution will not
adequately prepare you for the exams.
On Academic Honesty
You have joined a community of scholars at UH. In joining the community, you
have inherently assented to embracing the values of the community. Among those
values is a commitment to honesty with yourself, your peers, and your faculty. We
believe that most of our students are academically honest; and as a consequence, the
faculty will assume that the class is abiding by this covenant. If evidence comes to
light that an individual or group of individuals are not, in addition to direct
sanctions within the course structure, the case will be referred to the officials at the
university. You should not underestimate how important this covenant is held by

MECE 6333, Fall 2015

the faculty and by the university.

A short non-exhaustive list of examples that constitute a breach of academic
honesty:
1)
Carrying prohibited crib sheets or calculator programs into an exam
2)
Referring to prohibited reference materials during an exam
3)
Promulgate or willingly receive information on an exam prior to its
general dissemination to the class by the faculty
4)
Engaging in any behavior to reduce the grade or performance of
another student
5)
Engaging in behavior to illegitimately obtain course materials before
they are issued to the class by the faculty
For
policies
on
academic
honesty,
you
http://catalog.uh.edu/content.php?catoid=6&navoid=1025 .

may

go

to

Disabilities Accommodations
The Center for Students with DisABILITIES (CSD) office provides
accommodations and support services to University of Houston students who have
temporary or permanent health impairments, physical limitations, psychiatric
disorders, or learning disabilities. CSD staff serves as liaisons between students and
faculty, administrators, and community agencies. Advocacy services and
environmental accessibility assistance are also provided. For more information on
the Universitys accommodations and to request assistance, please visit the
following website: http://www.uh.edu/csd.
Student Responsibility
The printed material and recorded lectures in this course are intended solely for use
by students officially enrolled in this course. Downloading, sharing, distributing,
and/or the posting of these materials or recorded lectures is prohibited.

MECE 6333, Fall 2015