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Fundamentals of Heat Transfer

Engineering Sciences 183
Spring 2017
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am. Cruft Hall 309

Course description:
The macroscopic description of the fundamentals of heat transfer and their
application to practical problems in energy conversion, electronics and living systems
with an emphasis on developing a physical and analytical understanding of conductive,
convective and radiative heat transfer. Emphasis will be given to problem solving skills
based on applying governing principles, mathematical models and physical intuition.
Topics included in the course will be: steady state heat conduction in 1,
2 and 3D; transient heat conduction in 1D and 3D; introduction to convective heat
transfer, forced convection as well as free convection; heat exchange analysis and design;
elements of radiative heat transfer. There will be an emphasis on mathematical
description of heat transfer and methods of solution, as well as using commercially
available computer software, such as COMSOL.
The course will consist of four components: (i) classroom lectures (ii) problem
sets and (iii) semester-long, multi-disciplinary team projects.
The collaborative team projects are an essential and integral part of the course.
They are paper design projects that utilize knowledge of the underlying heat transfer
principles gained from the classes, the textbook and problem sets to tackle contemporary
problems in which heat transfer plays a major role.

Prerequisites
Physics 11a or Physics 15a
Applied Mathematics 21a or Mathematics 21a (previously)
Applied Mathematics 21b or Mathematics 21b (previously or concurrently)
Prerequisites by topic
Calculus
Elementary differential equations
Elementary linear algebra (co-requirement)

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Desired but not essential: Familiarity with one of the common computational software
packages, eg MATHLAB or COMSOL. Introduction to COMSOL will be given in one
of the early classes and both the software packages are freely available to all registered
students.
Course website: Information about the course, details of the teaching staff and
organizational details as well as problem and solution sets will be posted on the course
web site at: https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/22943
Textbook: Although complemented by other materials, the class content will closely
follow the content of the textbook:
Fundamentals of Heat Transfer, by T.L. Bergman, A. S. Lavine, F. P. Incropera and
D. P. Dewitt. Wiley. See announcement page on class web site (above)
Other useful texts are:
Principles of Heat Transfer (eighth edition) by F. Kreith and R. M. Manglik,
Cengage Brain. ISBN13: 978-1-305-38710-2.
Heat and Mass Transfer (second edition) by K. C. Rolle, Cengage Learning
A Heat Transfer Textbook (4th edition) by J.H. Lienhard IV and J.H. Lienhard V is
available free of charge at http://web.mit.edu/lienhard/www/ahtt.html.

Outline see separate pdf file for detailed schedule

1.
Concepts of radiation, conduction and convection
2.
Radiation intensity and black body radiation
3.
Surface emission, absorption and reflection. Kirchhoffs law
4.
Steady state heat conduction in various geometries.
5.
Analog with electrical circuits and methods of methods of solution.
6.
Heat transfer in the body. Heat transfer in thermoelectrics.
7.
Transient heat conduction.
8.
Convective heat flow and boundary layers.
9.
Internal and external flows.
10. Free convection.
11. Influence of phase changes: boiling and condensation, solidification
Instructor:

Professor David Clarke

303 Cruft Hall
tel.: 496 0424
email: Clarke@seas.harvard.edu
Office hours: to be determined

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Teaching Fellows:
Lectures

TBD

Lectures are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 am in Cruft 309.

Learning Assistants Sections

There will be weekly sections offered by each teaching fellow. In the sections, we will
cover examples illustrating the concepts taught in class and answer questions related to
problem sets and exams. While attendance is optional, it is strongly encouraged.
Time TBD, Location TBD
Laboratories
The course will include several laboratory demonstrations. The majority will be carried
out during the regularly scheduled class times.
Laboratories:
0. Introduction to COMSOL.
1. Radiative heat transfer, black-body radiation and emissivity. IR imaging of radiative
heat transfer.
2. Transient heat conduction in one dimension and measurement of thermal diffusivity
of materials.
3. Characterization of thermoelectrics
4. Quantification of convective heat transfer from a semiconductor device
Instructional labs: Elaine Kristant, G11 and David Clarke
Tests, Quizzes and Examinations
At the beginning of each class, there will be a short, informal test of the reading material
assigned for the class. In addition, two mid-term exams will be scheduled for the regular
lecture periods, one approximately one-third through the course and the other
approximately two-thirds through the course. There will not be a final exam.
There are no make-up examinations for the mid-term exams. If notification of an
unavoidable absence from an exam is given to the instructor before the exam, the weights
of the homework and the final examination may be re-adjusted to compensate for the
absence.
Problem sets
Homework will be assigned approximately on a weekly basis and will be due by the
beginning of the lecture on Tuesday of the following week. Solutions will be typically
handed out at the second class following the due date. The relatively low proportion of
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final grades associated with the problem sets is not due to their lack of importance but
rather as an encouragement to learn the subject from each other by working together. It
is very likely that the better you learn from doing the problem sets, the better you will do
in the formal exams and in the team projects.
Guidelines for submission:
1. Hand in your work on white, lined or gridded 8.5" x 11" sheets. Typed solutions
are highly encouraged.
2. In the top left corner, put your name, the problem set number, the due date, and
the course name.
3. Put your answers in numerical order as assigned.
4. Problem sets will be graded both for correctness and for clarity: the graders are
not required to guess the intended meaning of poorly written answers.
5. Your work should be neat and orderly; make large, clear and clearly labeled
diagrams.
6. Formulae and numbers alone aren't sufficient; a written explanation should
accompany each solution describing the reasoning you used in answering the
questions. You will lose marks if you do not include this explanation.
Collaborating on problem sets:
1. Collaboration in planning and thinking through homework problems is permitted
but you should prepare your own solutions. You are allowed and encouraged to
work with other students currently taking ES183 in discussing, brainstorming, and
walking through solutions to homework problems, but when you are through
interacting, you should write up your solutions independently.
2. If you have collaborated with students in the course in the planning and design of
solutions to homework problems, list the names of your collaborators at the end of
your paper.
3. Under no circumstances may you use solutions sets to problems that are available
on any web site or other electronic medium.

Handing in problem sets:

1. Problem sets must be turned in by 10 AM on Tuesday each week, unless
otherwise announced.
2. Give your problem sets to one of the TFs.
Late problem sets:
1. Homework handed in late will be penalized 20% per weekday unless prior
permission is obtained from the instructor. Homework handed in one week late
will not receive any credit. Extensions are granted only in exceptional cases, such
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as an extended illness and can be granted only by the instructor. A written

confirmation of the extension must be stapled to your problem set if you are to
receive any credit beyond that outlined earlier.
2. Your submissions must still be original work; copies of the official solutions or
the solutions of others are not acceptable.
3. Everybody gets one "free" deadline extension, for which they can still obtain full
credit for a problem set turned in up to one week late.
Getting graded problem sets back:
1. Problem sets are returned during class.
2. If you miss class, pick up your graded problem set from your TF within two
weeks of the due date.
Administration of grades:
1. Keep your graded problem sets; they are your only proof of completion of work.
2. After two weeks from the due date you can no longer get re-grades.
3. Once the final has been taken, problem set grades can no longer be changed.
Requests for re-grades:
Requests for correction of grading mistakes in examination books must be made
when the work is returned to you. Once an examination book is removed from the
room in which it is returned to you, grades can no longer be changed. For homework
sets, requests must be made within two weeks of issuance of the assigned grade.
Clerical errors will be corrected immediately. If an exam or a homework assignment
is submitted for re-evaluation, the entire exam or assignment will be re-graded from
scratch. The resulting score can go either up or down. The score will not be changed
unless it results in a change of 5% or more of the maximum point total for each
examination, or a 10% on homework assignments.
Determining your final grade
The final grade is calculated from your grades for the midterm examinations, the team
projects, and the problem sets, with the following weights:
1st Midterm Exam:
20 %
nd
2 Midterm Exam:
20 %
Team project:
35 %. NB. Includes assessment of team working skills
Problem sets:
25 %
ABET info
ABET Category content: Engineering Science 80%, Engineering Design 20%.

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Accommodations for students with disabilities

Students needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of disability should
be in contact with Harvards Accessible Education Office. They will provide a letter that
you should present to the instructor. You should also speak directly to the instructor by
the end of the second week, namely by 3rd February.