Steady heat

conduction
 Objectives
 Understand the concept of thermal resistance and its limitations,
and develop thermal resistance networks for practical heat
conduction problems

 Solve steady conduction problems that involve multilayer

rectangular, cylindrical, or spherical geometries

 Develop an understanding of thermal contact resistance, and

circumstances under which it may be significant

 Identify applications in which insulation may actually increase

heat transfer

 Analyse finned surfaces, and assess how efficiently and

effectively fins enhance heat transfer
 Steady heat conduction
in plane walls
Heat transfer through the wall of a house can be
modelled as steady and one-dimensional. The
temperature of the wall in this case depends on one
direction only (say the x-direction) and can be
expressed as T(x).
 Rate of   Rate of   Rate of change 
     
 heat transfer 
  heat transfer    of the energy 
 into the wall   out of the wall   of the wall 
     
Q Q   dE wall ; For steady condition dE wall  0
in out
dt dt
In steady operation, the rate of heat transfer
through the wall is constant.
Heat transfer through a wall is
dT
one-dimensional when the
temperature of the wall varies in

Q cond ,wall   kA s W 
dx
one direction only
 Steady heat conduction
in plane walls
 dT
Q cond , wall
  kA
dx
L T2

Q dx    kA dT
cond , wall
x0 T  T1

Under steady conditions, the
temperature distribution in a
plane wall is a straight line:
dT/dx = const.
T1  T2

Q cond , wall
 kA W 
L
The rate of heat conduction through a
plane wall is proportional to the average
thermal conductivity, wall area, and
temperature difference, but is inversely
proportional to the wall thickness. Once the
rate of heat conduction is available, the
temperature T(x) at any location x can be
determined by replacing T2 by T, and L by x.
 Thermal resistance

Q   kA
dT concept
cond ,wall
dx
L
As , R wall  C/W 
kA
T1  T2

Q cond ,wall  W 
R wall

Conduction resistance of the wall, Rwall:

Thermal resistance of the wall against heat
conduction.

Thermal resistance of a medium Analogy between thermal and

depends on the geometry and the electrical resistance concepts.
thermal properties of the medium.
rate of heat transfer  electric current
thermal resistance  electrical resistance
Electrical resistance temperature difference  voltage difference
V1  V2
I where R e  L  e A 
Re
 Heat convection
conv  hA s Ts  T 

Q
1
As R conv  C/W 
hA s
T  T

Q conv  s W 
R conv

Convection resistance of the surface:

Schematic for convection
Thermal resistance of the surface against
resistance at a surface.
heat convection.

When the convection heat transfer coefficient is very large (h → ∞), the
convection resistance becomes zero and Ts ≈ T∞.
That is, the surface offers no resistance to convection, and thus it does
not slow down the heat transfer process.
This situation is approached in practice at surfaces where boiling and
condensation occur.
 Radiation
  A T 4  T 4   h A T  T   Ts  Tsurr 
Q W 
rad s s surr rad s s surr
R rad

1
where h rad   ; R rad  k/W 
h rad A s

Radiation resistance of the surface:

Thermal resistance of the surface against radiation.
Q
h rad  rad
A s Ts  Tsurr 
  Ts2  Tsurr
2
Ts  Tsurr 
Radiation heat transfer coefficient
Schematic for convection and
When Tsurr  T radiation resistances at a surface.
 Combined heat 
h combined  h conv  h rad  
 transfer coefficient 
 Termal resistance network
 Rate of   Rate of   Rate of 
     
 heat convection    heat conduction    heat convection 
 into the wall   through the wall   from the wall 
     

The thermal resistance network for heat transfer through a plane wall
subjected to convection on both sides, and the electrical analogy.
1 L 1
R total  R conv ,1  R wall  R conv , 2    C/W 
h 1 A kA h 2 A
Temperature drop

R
T  Q C

  UAT
Q W 
1
UA  C/K 
R total
U is overall heat transfer coefficient

 is
Once Q evaluated, the surface
temperature T1 can be determined from The temperature drop across a layer
is proportional to its thermal
  T ,1  T1  T ,1  T1
Q
resistance.
R conv ,1 1 h 1A
 Multilayer plane walls

The thermal resistance network

for heat transfer through a two-
layer plane wall subjected to
convection on both sides.

 T ,1  T , 2
Q
R total

1 L L 1
R total  R conv ,1  R wall ,1  R wall , 2  R conv , 2   1  2 
h 1A k 1A k 2 A h 2 A
 Ti  Tj
 
Q
R total , i  j
  T 1  T2 T 1  T2
Q 
R conv ,1  R wall ,1 1

L1
h 1A k 1A

The evaluation of the surface and

interface temperature when T 1 and
T are given and Q is calculated.
2
 Thermal contact resistance

Temperature distribution and heat flow lines along two solid plates
pressed against each other for the case of perfect and imperfect
contact.
 When two such surfaces are
pressed against each other, the
peaks form good material
contact but the valleys form
voids filled with air.

 These numerous air gaps of

varying sizes act as insulation
because of the low thermal
conductivity of air.

 Thus, an interface offers some

resistance to heat transfer, and
this resistance per unit interface
area is called the thermal
contact resistance, Rc.
A typical experimental setup for
the determination of thermal
contact resistance
 Q
 
contact  Q gap
Q The value of thermal
contact resistance depends
  h AT
Q c int erface on:
where h c thermal contact conductance  surface roughness,
 A
Q  material properties,
hc  W m 2 .C   temperature and pressure
Tint erface
at the interface
1 Tint erface
Rc  
 A
m 2  C W   type of fluid trapped at
hc Q the interface.
L 0.01m
R c, insulation    0.25m 2  C W
k 0.04 W m  C
L 0.01m
R c, copper    0.000026 m 2  C W
k 386 W m  C

Thermal contact resistance is significant and can even dominate the

heat transfer for good heat conductors such as metals, but can be
disregarded for poor heat conductors such as insulations.
The thermal contact resistance can
be minimized by applying
 a thermal grease such as silicon oil
 a better conducting gas such as
Effect of metallic coatings on
helium or hydrogen
thermal contact conductance
 a soft metallic foil such as tin, silver,
copper, nickel, or aluminum
 The thermal contact conductance is highest (and thus the
contact resistance is lowest) for soft metals with smooth
surfaces at high pressure.
 Generalized thermal
resistance networks
 Q
Q  Q
1 2

T1  T2 T1  T2
 
R1 R2
 1 1 
 T1  T2   
 R1 R 2 
  T1  T2
Q
R total

where
1 1 1 R 1R 2
   R total 
R total R1 R 2 R1  R 2 Thermal resistance network
for two parallel layers.
   T1  T2
Q
R total
where
R 1R 2
R total  R 12  R 3  R conv   R 3  R conv
R1  R 2
L1 L2
R1  ; R2 
k 1A1 k2A2
L3 1
R3  ; R conv 
k 3A3 hA 3
Two assumptions in solving complex
multidimensional heat transfer problems by
treating them as one dimensional using the
thermal resistance network are Thermal resistance network for
 any plane wall normal to the x-axis is combined series-parallel
isothermal (i.e., to assume the temperature to arrangement.
vary in the x-direction only)
 any plane parallel to the x-axis is adiabatic
(i.e., to assume heat transfer to occur in the x-
direction only)
 Heat conduction in cylinders
and spheres
Heat transfer through the pipe can be
modelled as steady and one-dimensional.

The temperature of the pipe depends on

one direction only (the radial r-direction)
and can be expressed as T = T(r).

The temperature is independent of the

azimuthal angle or the axial distance.

This situation is approximated in practice

Heat is lost from a hot-water pipe to in long cylindrical pipes and spherical
the air outside in the radial direction, containers.
and thus heat transfer from a long
pipe is one-dimensional.
 dT
Q
cond , cyl
  kA W 
dr
r2 Q  T2


cond , cyl
dr    kdT W 
r  r1 A T  T1

where ,
A  2rL
T1  T2

Q  2 Lk W 
ln r2 r1 
cond , cyl

Conduction resistance of cylinder layer

ln r2 r1 
R cyl 
2Lk
A long cylindrical pipe (or
ln Outer radius Inner radius 
spherical shell) with specified inner 
and outer surface temperatures T1 2  Length  Thermal conductivity
and T2.
 A spherical shell with specified
inner and outer surface temperatures T1 and T2.
T1  T2

Q cond , sph
 W 
R sph
Conduction resistance of spherical layer

r2  r1
R sph 
4r1r2 k
Outer radius - Inner radius

4  Outer radius  Inner radius  Thermal conductivity
Now consider steady one-dimensional heat flow through a cylindrical
(spherical layer) that is exposed to convection on both sides.

  T 1  T 2
Q W 
R total

For a cylindrical layer

R total  R conv ,1  R cyl  R conv , 2

1 ln r2 r1  1
R cyl   
2r1 L h 1 2Lk 2r2 L h 2
For a spherical layer

R total  R conv ,1  R sph  R conv , 2

1 r2  r1 1
R cyl   
4r1 2 h 1 4r1r2 k 4r2 2 h 2
 Multilayered cylinders and spheres
The thermal resistance network
for heat transfer through a 3-
layered composite cylinder   T 1  T 2
Q W 
subjected to convection on both R total
sides.

R total  R conv ,1  R cyl ,1  R cyl , 2  R cyl , 3  R conv , 2

1 ln r2 r1  ln r3 r2  ln r4 r3  1
    
h 1A1 2Lk 1 2Lk 2 2Lk 3 h2A4
   T 1  T1
Q
R conv ,1
T 1  T2

R conv ,1  R 1
T1  T3

R1  R 2
T  T3
 2
R2
T  T 2
 2
R 2  R conv , 2
 ...
 , which remains
The ratio T/R across any layer is equal to Q
constant in one-dimensional steady conduction.
  , has been calculated, the interface temperature
Once heat transfer rate Q
T2 between the first and second cylindrical layers can be determined:

  T 1  T2 T 1  T2
Q 
R conv ,1  R cyl ,1 1 ln r2 r1 

h 1 2r1 L  2Lk 1

We could also calculate T2 from;

  T2  T 2 T2  T 2
Q 
R 2  R 3  R conv , 2 ln r3 r2  ln r4 r3  1
 
2Lk 2 2Lk 3 h 0 2r4 L 

Although both relations will give the same result, we prefer the first
one since it involves fewer terms and thus less work.

The thermal resistance concept can also be used for other geometries,
provided that the proper conduction resistances and the proper surface
areas in convection resistances are used.
 Critical radius of insulation
Adding thicker insulation to a wall or to
the attic always decreases heat transfer
since the heat transfer area is constant, and
adding insulation always increases the
thermal resistance of the wall without
increasing the convection resistance.

Adding insulation to a cylindrical pipe or a

spherical shell, however, is a different
matter. The additional insulation increases
the conduction resistance of the insulation An insulated cylindrical pipe
layer but decreases the convection exposed to convection from the
resistance of the surface because of the outer surface and the thermal
increase in the outer surface area for resistance network associated
convection. with it.
  T1  T T1  T
Q 
The heat transfer from the pipe may R ins  R conv ln r2 r1   1
increase or decrease, depending on which
2Lk h 2r2 L 
effect dominates.
The critical radius of insulation for a
cylindrical body:
k
rcr ,cylinder  m 
h
The critical radius of insulation for a
spherical shell:
2k
rcr ,sphere 
h
The largest value of the critical radius we
are likely to encounter is
The variation of heat transfer
k max, insulation 0.05 W m  C rate with the outer radius of
rcr , max    0.01m
h min 5 W m  C
2
the insulation r2 when r1< rcr.
This value would be even smaller when the radiation effects and forced
convection (larger h) are considered.

Therefore, we can insulate hot water or steam pipes freely without worrying
about the possibility of increasing the heat transfer by insulating the pipes.
 Heat transfer from finned surfaces


Q conv
 hA s Ts  T 

When Ts and T ∞ are fixed, 2 ways to

increase the rate of heat transfer are;

 To increase the convection coefficient h

This may require the installation of a
pump or fan, or replacing with a larger
one.

 To increase the surface area As

attaching to the surface extended surfaces
called fins made of conductive materials.
The thin plate fins of a car radiator greatly increase the rate of heat transfer
to the air.
 Fin equation
 Rate of   Rate of heat   Rate of heat 
     
 heat conduction into 
  conduction from    convection from 
 the element at x   the element at x  x   the element 
     
Q  Q  Q 
cond , x cond , x  x conv

Consider, volume element of a fin at where , Q 

conv
 h px T  T 
location x having a length of Δx,  
Q Q
cross-sectional area of Ac, and cond , x  x cond , x
 hpT  T   0
perimeter of p. x
Taking the limit as x  0
dQ 
cond
 hpT  T   0
dx
 dT
Q cond
  kA c
dx
d  dT 
 kA c   hpT  T   0
dx  dx 
d2
2
 m 2
0
dx
hp
where m 
2
;   T  T known as temperature excess
kA c
 The general solution of the differential
equation
x   C 1 e mx  C 2 e  mx
The temperature of the plate to which the fins are
attached is normally known in advance.
Boundary condition at fin base 0    b  Tb - T
Boundary conditions at the fin base
1) Infinitely Long Fin (Tfin tip = T∞) and the fin tip.

Boundary condition at fin tip

 L   T L   T  0

where L  
The variation of temperature along the fin
T x  T
e e  mx
where   T - T ; m  hp kA
 x hp kAc

T T
 c
b 

The steady rate of heat transfer from the entire fin

dT
Q longfin
  kA
c
 hpkA T  T
c b 

dx x 0
 Variation of temperature

Under steady conditions, heat transfer

from the exposed surfaces of the fin is
equal to heat conduction to the fin at
the base.

The rate of heat transfer from the fin

could also be determined by
considering heat transfer from a
differential volume element of the fin
and integrating it over the entire
surface of the fin:

   hT x   T dA   hx dA

Q fin  fin fin
A fin A fin
A long circular fin of uniform
cross section
 
2) Negligible heat loss from the fin (adiabatic fin tip, Q fin,tip=0)

Fins are not likely to be so long that their temperature approaches the
surrounding temperature at the tip. A more realistic assumption is for heat
transfer from the fin tip to be negligible since the surface area of the fin tip is
usually a negligible fraction of the total fin area.
Then the fin tip can be assumed to be insulated,
and the condition at the fin tip can be expressed
as;
d
0
dx x  L
Variation of temperature along the fin
T x   T cosh mL  x 

Tb  T cosh mL
3) End of the tip fin is insulated dT/dx=0
Heat transfer from the entire fin
dT

Q adiabatic , tip
  kA c
 hpkA c Tb  T  tanh mL
dx x  0
 Convection from fin tip
The fin tips, in practice, are exposed to the
surroundings, and thus the proper boundary
condition for the fin tip is convection that
also includes the effects of radiation.

The fin equation can still be solved in this

case using the convection at the fin tip as
the second boundary condition, but the
analysis becomes more involved, and it
results in rather lengthy expressions for the
temperature distribution and the heat
transfer.

Yet, in general, the fin tip area is a small

fraction of the total fin surface area, and
thus the complexities involved can hardly
justify the improvement in accuracy.
A practical way of accounting for the heat loss from the fin tip is to
replace the fin length L in the relation for the insulated tip case by a
corrected length defined as
Ac
Lc  L 
p
t
L c , rec tan gular fin  L  t the thickness of the rectangular fins
2 D the diameter of the cylindrical fins
D
L c ,cylindrical fin L
2
The corrected length approximation gives very good results when the
variation of temperature near the fin tip is small (which is the case when
aL≥ 1) and the heat transfer coefficient at the fin tip is about the same as
that at the lateral surface of the fin.

Fins subjected to convection at their tips can be treated as fins with

insulated tips by replacing the actual fin length by the corrected length.
 Fin efficiency

Q fin , max
 hA T  T
fin b 


Fins enhance heat transfer from a Ideal and actual temperature

surface by enhancing surface area distribution along a fin
 Fin efficiency
Zero thermal resistance or infinite thermal conductivity Tfin  Tb 

Q  hA T  T 
fin , max fin b 


Q Actual HT rate from the fin
fin  fin


Q Ideal HT rate from the fin if the
fin , max

entire fin were at the base temperature

Rate of heat transfer from a fin A fin  pL

  Q
Q fin fin

fin , max
 fin hA fin Tb  T  when its efficiency is known


Q hpkA c Tb  T  1 kA c 1 Constant cross section
long , fin  fin
  

Q fin , max
hA fin Tb  T  L hp mL of very long fins


Q hpkA c Tb  T  tanh aL tanh mL Fins with
adiabatic , tip / insulated , tip  fin
 

Q fin , max
hA fin Tb  T  mL insulated tips
A fin  pL c
Efficiency of circular, rectangular, and triangular fins on a plain surface of
width w
Efficiency of annular fins of constant thickness t.
Efficiency of straight fins of rectangular, triangular, and parabolic
profiles.
• Fins with triangular and parabolic profiles contain less material and are
more efficient than the ones with rectangular profiles.
• The fin efficiency decreases with increasing fin length. Why?
• How to choose fin length? Increasing the length of the fin beyond a certain
value cannot be justified unless the added benefits outweigh the added cost.
• Fin lengths that cause the fin efficiency to drop below 60 percent usually
cannot be justified economically.
• The efficiency of most fins used in practice is above 90 percent.
 Fin effectiveness
Fins are used to enhance heat transfer, and not recommended unless, the
enhancement in heat transfer justifies the added cost and complexity.

Q Q HT rate from the fin of base area A b

 fin , max  fin
 fin


Q no , fin
hA b Tb  T  HT rate from the surface of area A b
Q Q  hA fin Tb  T  A fin
 fin , max  fin
 fin
 fin  fin

Q no , fin
hA b
T b
 T
 hA b
T b
 T
 A b

Q hpkA c Tb  T  pk
 long , fin  fin
 

Q no , fin
hA b Tb  T  hA c

• Thermal conductivity, k of the fin should be as high as

possible. Use aluminum, copper, iron.
• Ratio of the perimeter to the cross-sectional-area of
the fin p/Ac should be as high as possible. Use thin
and slender pin fins.
• Low convection heat transfer coefficient h. Place fins
on gas (air) instead of liquid, natural convection
instead of forced convection.
 When determining the rate of heat transfer, we must consider
the unfinned portion of the surface as well as the fins.
Total rate of heat transfer from a
finned surface
Q
total , fin
 Q unfin
 Q fin

 hA unfin
T b
 T    hA
 unfin
T unfin b
T 

 h A unfin
 A unfin unfin
T  T 
b 

Overall effectiveness for a finned

surface
Q hA   A T  T 
   total , fin unfin fin fin b 

Q hA T  T 
fin , overall
total ,no fin no fin b 

The overall fin effectiveness depends;

1. fin density (number of fins per unit
length)
2. effectiveness of the individual fins
3. overall effectiveness
 Proper length of a fin
Q hpkA T  T  tanh mL
fin
 c b 
 tanh mL
Q
long fin
hpkA T  T 
c b 

Because of the gradual temperature mL = 5  an infinitely long fin

drop along the fin, the region near the mL = 1 offer a good compromise
fin tip makes little or no contribution between HT performance and the fin
to HT. size.
• Heat sinks: Specially designed finned
surfaces which are commonly used in
the cooling of electronic equipment,
and involve one-of-a-kind complex
geometries.

• The heat transfer performance of

heat sinks is usually expressed in
terms of their thermal resistances R.

• A small value of thermal resistance

indicates a small temperature drop
across the heat sink, and thus a high
fin efficiency.

T T
Q 
fin
b
 hA  T  T

fin fin b 

R
 Summary
 Steady Heat Conduction in Plane Walls
 Thermal Resistance Concept
 Thermal Resistance Network
 Multilayer Plane Walls

 Thermal Contact Resistance

 Generalized Thermal Resistance Networks

 Heat Conduction in Cylinders and Spheres

 Multilayered Cylinders and Spheres

 Critical Radius of Insulation

 Heat Transfer from Finned Surfaces

 Fin Equation
 Fin Efficiency
 Fin Effectiveness
 Proper Length of a Fin