ELECTRIC WATER HEATER Water heater is an equipment used to produce hot water.

In an electric water heater we make use of electrical energy to heat up the water content.The main component in a water heater is a heating element. It also consists of all the pipe lines or pockets required to accommodate the water inlet & outlet line, safety features etc. These pipes have to be fixed with a base component by any convenient matal joining processes. The major components required in a standard water heater are, SI NO COMPONENTS 1 2 3 4 5 Container Inlet Pipe Outlet Pipe Safety devices REQUIRED MATERIAL PROPERTY Good thermal resistivity Good Stability Good Stability Good electrical conductivity PURPOSE To cotain the water To generate heat energy water intake Hot water outlet To sense the temperature and to keep it at the required level.

Heating element Good electrical resistivity

The detailed description of an electric water heater which is given below, 1. HEATING ELEMENT The prime genereator of heat energy. Here it makes use of its high electrical resistivity property to produce heat. This heat generated is transmitted to water by convection heat transfer. Convection heat transfer is that mode of heat transfer in which the heat is transmitted by the movement or circulation of molecules within the fluids(ie. Liquids and gases). It can't take place in solids since there is no significant diffusion happens in solids. There 2 types of convection a) Natural Convection b) Forced Convection a) Natural Convection Here heat itself causes fluid motion via expansion and buoyancy while at the same time causing heat to be transmitted by this bulk motion of the fluid. The onset of natural convection is determined by the Rayleigh's number,Ra and is given by Ra=gL^3/D Where, difference in densities between two parcels of material that are mixing g local gravitational acceleration L characteristic length scale of convection D diffusivity of the fluid dynamic viscosity of the fluid

But we have the density variations due to thermal expansion as, = 0T where, 0 reference density or average density - co-efficient of thermal expansion T temperature difference across the medium The general diffusivity 'D' is redefined as thermal diffusivity 'k'. Inserting these substitutions produces a Rayleigh's no. that can be used to predict the thermal convection as, Ra=0TgL^3/k b) Forced Convection In forced heat convection, transfer of heat is due to the movements of fluid which is a result of some external forces such as a fan or a pump. 2. WATER INLET PIPE a) Inner Part To supply water into the tank without disturbing the free flow of hot water through the outlet pipe. The pipe hole size is deterministic in the time for complete filling of the water inside. b) Outer Part It must have enough strength to withstand all the loads coming on it. 3. WATER OUTLET PIPE a) Inner Part To deliver hot water outside the tank. The hot water taken out should not be mixed up with the cold water entring at the inlet. It must posses minimum value of mixing factor. The pipe hole size is deterministic in the discharge of the water outside. b) Outer Part It must have enough strength to withstand all the loads coming on it. 4. SAFETY FEATURES In order to control the heating process, we would be introducing some safety devices that would be working with the help of the heat energy. Device will be having a sensing element which responds to the heat changes which in turn actuates some mechanisms that finally cuts the power supply. This mechanism comes to its initial state when the temperature inside the tank comes down. Thus it is able to control the heating process.