CONFIDENTIAL

EM/MEC551

PART A

QUESTION 1(a)

i) Thermodynamics refer to the amount of energy transferred from a system to another

system in equilibrium condition.
2

Heat transfer is a study of the rate of energy transfer in a system.

ii) The mechanisms of heat transfer are: conduction, convection and radiation.
Conduction is the transfer of energy from the more energetic particles of a substance to
the adjacent less energetic ones as a result of interactions between the particles.
Convection is the mode of energy transfer between a solid surface and the adjacent
liquid or gas which is in motion, and it involves combined effects of conduction and fluid
motion.
Radiation is energy emitted by matter in the form of electromagnetic waves (or
photons) as a result of the changes in the electronic configurations of the atoms or

molecules.
QUESTION 1(b)
In convection heat transfer, the fluid flow can be either laminar or turbulent.
A fluid flow is laminar in relatively low velocities when it involves smooth streamlines and
highly ordered motion of molecules, and turbulent flow forms when the boundary layer is
shedding or breaking due to higher velocities and highly disordered motion.
Reynolds number is the ratio of the inertial forces to viscous forces, and it serves as a
criterion for determining the flow regime either laminar or turbulent. For flow over a flat plate,
the Reynolds number is

Transition from laminar to turbulent occurs at the critical Reynolds number of

Laminar flow generally yields poorer heat transfer compared to turbulent flow. The turbulence
causes a mixing of the fluid close to the plate. This mixing gives rise to better heat transfer
due to thinner boundary layers close to the plate.
Hak Cipta Universiti Teknologi MARA

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CONFIDENTIAL

EM/MEC551

PART B
QUESTION 1
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Hak Cipta Universiti Teknologi MARA

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TEST 1 (MARCH2012-JULY2012) MEC551 Thermal Engineering M.Hafiz

MEC551 THERMAL ENGINEERING

Semester : March 2012 July 2012
TEST 01
1. Heat Transfer Conduction & Convection (PART B)

QUESTION 1
A composite flat pan has constructed by three different materials, A, B and C as shown in Figure 1. An
experiment has been conducted and the respective pan has been heated at the bottom, which give an
uniform temperature of T,fire = 2000C while the free surface of the layer C (Ts,c = 700C) is exposed to
air at T= 200C and a convection heat transfer coefficient h,o . The heated process consists of
convection and radiation, with the hcombined =17W/m.0C. The properties of the air at 1atm are as
follows;
TEMPERATURE
[0C]

THERMAL
CONDUCTIVITY
K[W/(m.0C)]

DENSITY
[kg/(m3)]

KINEMATIC
VISCOSITY
[m2/s]

PRANDTL
NUMBER
Pr

45

0.02662

1.127 x 10-5

1.702 x 10-5

0.7255

55

0.02808

1.059 x 10-5

1.896 x 10-5

0.7202

65

0.02881

1.028 x 10-5

1.995 x 10-5

0.7177

75

0.02953

0.9994 x 10-5

2.096 x 10-5

0.7154

The width of pan is 2.5m. Under condition of steady state and one dimensional heat transfer, calculate;
i) the rate of heat transfer, Q (W),
ii) the thermal conductivity for KA and KB (W/m.0C)
iii) based on your knowledge, why the rate of heat transfer is higher in turbulent flow rather than
laminar flow?.
V,o = 5 m/s
T,o = 200C

Ts,c=700
C
0.5m
1.2m
2.1m

Kc = 20.18 W/m.0c
KB = 2KA

Given:
Nu = 0.664Re0.5Pr1/3 (for laminar flow)
Nu = 0.037Re0.8Pr1/3 (for turbulent flow)
Nu = [0.037Re0.8-871] Pr1/3 (for mixed flow)

1.8m

1.1m

hcombined = 17W/m. 0C
T,fire =2000C

Radiation + Convection

FIRE
15 MARKS

TEST 1 (MARCH2012-JULY2012) MEC551 Thermal Engineering M.Hafiz

SOLUTION
i )the rate of heat transfer
T film

Ts T 70 20

4 50 C
2
2

1mark

properties at T film 45K

1.127 x10 5 kg

Re

m3

, k 0.02662W

moc

, 1.702 x10 5 kg

ms

, Pr 0.7255

VD VL (5)(2.9)
5

8 .5 1 9 x1 0
mixed
5

(1.702 x10 )

1mark

2marks

refer to the data

Numixed (0.037 Re 0.8 871) Pr

(0.037(8.519 x105 ) 0.8 871)0.7255

1 0 6 2 .6 2

1marks

Numixed (k ) (1062.62)(0.02662)

9 .4 2 9W 0
m C
L
(3)

2marks

Q hAs (Ts T ) (9.429)(2.9 x 2.5)(70 20) 3 .4 1 8 kW

2marks

ii )the value of k a and kb

Qconv Qconv, fire conduction 3 .4 1 8 kW

Qconv, fire conduction

Rcomb

Rc

1
hcombineAA

T , fire Ts ,c
T

RT Rcomb RA RB RC

1mark

1
-3 0 C
8 .1 1 4 x1 0
W
(17)(2.9 x 2.5)

Lc
0.5
-3 0 C

3 .4 1 8 x1 0
W
K c Ac (20.18)(2.9 x 2.5)

Qconv, fire conduction 3.418kW

RA RB 0 .0 2 6 5 C
K A 1 4 .0 5 3W

m0 C

1marks

1marks

200 70
(8.114 x10 ) RA RB (3.418 x103 )
3

LA
LB
2.1
1.2

K A AA K B AB K A (2.9 x 2.5) 2 K A (2.9 x 2.5)

K B 2 8 .1 0 7W

m0 C

3marks