HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION

5.2. HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION

5.2.1. FOURIERS LAW
The heat ux due to conduction in the x direction is given by Fouriers law

(5-1)
where

is the rate of heat transfer (W), k is the thermal conductivity

[W/(mK)], A is the area perpendicular to the x direction, and T is

temperature (K). For the homogeneous, one-dimensional plane shown in Fig.
5-1a , with constant k, the integrated form of (5-1) is

(5-2)
where x is the thickness of the plane. Using the thermal circuit shown in
Fig. 5-1b , Eq. (5-2) can be written in the form

(5-3)
where R is the thermal resistance (K/W).

Figure 5-1. Steady, one-dimensional conduction in a homogeneous

planar wall with constant k. The thermal circuit is shown in (b) with
thermal resistance x/(kA).

5.2.2. THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

The thermal conductivity k is a transport property whose value for a variety
of gases, liquids, and solids is tabulated in Sec. 2. Section 2 also provides
methods for predicting and correlating vapor and liquid thermal
conductivities. The thermal conductivity is a function of temperature, but the
use of constant or averaged values is frequently sucient. Room
temperature values for air, water, concrete, and copper are 0.026, 0.61, 1.4,
and 400 W/(m K). Methods for estimating contact resistances and the
thermal conductivities of composites and insulation are summarized by
Gebhart, Heat Conduction and Mass Diusion , McGraw-Hill, 1993, p. 399.

5.2.3. STEADY-STATE CONDUCTION

One-Dimensional Conduction In the absence of energy source terms,

is

constant with distance, as shown in Fig. 5-1a . For steady conduction, the
integrated form of (5-1) for a planar system with constant k and A is Eq. (5-2)
or (5-3). For the general case of variables k (k is a function of temperature)
and A (cylindrical and spherical systems with radial coordinate r, as sketched
in Fig. 5-2), the average heat-transfer area and thermal conductivity are
dened such that

(5-4)
For a thermal conductivity that depends linearly on T,

(5-5)

Figure 5-2. The hollow sphere or cylinder.

Nomenclature and UnitsHeat Transfer by Conduction, by
Convection, and with Phase Change
Symbol

Denition

SI units

Area for heat transfer

m2

Ac

Cross-sectional area

m2

Af

Area for heat transfer for nned portion of

m2

tube

Ai

Inside area of tube

Ao

External area of bare, unnned tube

m2

A of

External area of tube before tubes are

m2

attached = A o

AT

Total external area of nned tube

m2

A uf

Area for heat transfer for unnned portion of

m2

nned tube

A1

First Fourier coecient

ax

Cross-sectional area of n

Geometry: b = 1, plane; b = 2, cylinder; b = 3,

m2

sphere

bf

Height of n

B1

First Fourier coecient

Bi

Biot number, hR /k

Specic heat

J/(kgK)

cp

Specic heat, constant pressure

J/(kgK)

Diameter

Di

Inner diameter

Do

Outer diameter

Fanning friction factor

Fo

Dimensionless time or Fourier number, t /R

gc

Conversion factor

1.0 kgm/(Ns 2)

Acceleration of gravity, 9.81 m 2/s

m2/s

Mass velocity,

G max

Mass velocity through minimum free area

; G v for vapor mass velocity

kg/(m2s)
kg/(m2s)

between rows of tubes normal to the uid

stream
Gz

Graetz number = Re Pr

Heat-transfer coecient

W/(m2K)

Average heat-transfer coecient

W/(m2K)

Heat-transfer coecient for nned-tube

W/(m2K)

hf

exchangers based on total external surface

hf

Outside heat-transfer coecient calculated

W/(m2K)

for a bare tube for use with Eq. (5-73)

Eective outside heat-transfer coecient

W/(m2K)

based on inside area of a nned tube

hi

Heat-transfer coecient at inside tube

W/(m2K)

surface

ho

Heat-transfer coecient at outside tube

W/(m2K)

surface

h am

Heat-transfer coecient for use with T am ,

W/(m2K)

see Eq. (5-33)

h lm

Heat-transfer coecient for use with T Im ;

see Eq. (5-32)

W/(m2K)

Thermal conductivity

W/(mK)

Average thermal conductivity

W/(mK)

Length of cylinder or length of at plate in

direction of ow or downstream distance.

Length of heat-transfer surface

Fin parameter dened by Eq. (5-75).

Mass ow rate

Nu D

kg/s

Nusselt number based on diameter D, hD /k

Average Nusselt number based on diameter D,

Nu lm

Nusselt number based on h lm

Flow behavior index for nonnewtonian uids

Perimeter

pf

Fin perimeter

Center-to-center spacing of tubes in a bundle

Absolute pressure; P c for critical pressure

kPa

Pr

Prandtl number, /

Rate of heat transfer

Amount of heat transfer

Rate of heat transfer

Q /Q i

Heat loss fraction, Q /[cV (T i T )]

Distance from center in plate, cylinder, or

sphere

Thermal resistance or radius

K/W or m

Ra x

Rayleigh number, T gx 3/

Re D

Reynolds number, GD /

Volumetric source term

W/m3

Cross-sectional area

m2

S1

Fourier spatial function

Time

t sv

Saturated-vapor temperature

ts

Surface temperature

Temperature

K or C

Tb

Bulk or mean temperature at a given cross

section
Bulk mean temperature, (T b ,in + T b ,out)/2

TC

Temperature of cold surface in enclosure

Tf

Film temperature, (T s + T e )/2

TH

Temperature of hot surface in enclosure

Ti

Initial temperature

Te

Temperature of free stream

Ts

Temperature of surface

Temperature of uid in contact with a solid

surface

Overall heat-transfer coecient

W/(m2K)

Volume

m3

VF

Velocity of uid approaching a bank of

m/s

nned tubes

Velocity upstream of tube bank

m/s

WF

Total rate of vapor condensation on one

kg/s

tube

Cartesian coordinate direction,

characteristic dimension of a surface, or

distance from entrance

Vapor quality, x i for inlet and x o for outlet

zp

Distance (perimeter) traveled by uid

across n
Greek Symbols

Thermal diusivity, k /(c )

m2/s

Volumetric coecient of expansion

K1

Contact angle between a bubble and a

surface

Mass ow rate per unit length

kg/(ms)

perpendicular to ow
P

Pressure drop

Pa

Temperature dierence

Temperature dierence

T am

Arithmetic mean temperature dierence,

see Eq. (5-32)

T Im

Logarithmic mean temperature dierence,

see Eq. (5-33)

x

Thickness of plane wall for conduction

First dimensionless eigenvalue

1,0

First dimensionless eigenvalue as Bi

approaches 0
1,

First dimensionless eigenvalue as Bi

approaches

Correction factor, ratio of nonnewtonian to

newtonian shear rates

Emissivity of a surface

Dimensionless distance, r /R

/i

Dimensionless temperature, (T T )/(T i

T )

Latent heat (enthalpy) of vaporization

J/kg

(condensation)

Viscosity; l , L viscosity of liquid; G , g ,

kg/(ms)

v viscosity of gas or vapor

Kinematic viscosity, /

m2/s

Density; L , l for density of liquid; G , v

kg/m3

for density of vapor

Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.67 108

W/(m2K4)

Surface tension between and liquid and its

N/m

vapor

Time constant, time scale

Eciency of n

and the average heat thermal conductivity is

(5-6)
where

For cylinders and spheres, A is a function of radial position (see Fig. 5-2): 2
rL and 4 r 2, where L is the length of the cylinder. For constant k, Eq. (5-4)
becomes

(5-7)
and

(5-8)
Conduction with Resistances in Series A steady-state temperature prole
in a planar composite wall, with three constant thermal conductivities and no
source terms, is shown in Fig. 5-3a . The corresponding thermal circuit is
given in Fig. 5-3b . The rate of heat transfer through each of the layers is the
same. The total resistance is the sum of the individual resistances shown in
Fig. 5-3b :

(5-9)
Additional resistances in the series may occur at the surfaces of the solid if
they are in contact with a uid. The rate of convective heat transfer, between
a surface of area A and a uid, is represented by Newtons law of cooling as

(5-10)
where 1/(hA ) is the resistance due to convection (K/W) and the heat-transfer
coecient is h [W/(m2K)]. For the cylindrical geometry shown in Fig. 5-2, with
convection to inner and outer uids at temperatures T i and T o , with heattransfer coecients h i and h o , the steady-state rate of heat transfer is

(5-11)
where resistances R

and R

are the convective resistances at the inner and

outer surfaces. The total resistance is again the sum of the resistances in
series.

Example 1 : Conduction with Resistances in Series and Parallel

Figure 5-4 shows the thermal circuit for a furnace wall. The outside surface
has a known temperature T 2 = 625 K. The temperature of the surroundings

Figure 5-3. Steady-state temperature prole in a composite wall with

constant thermal conductivities kA,kB, and kC and no energy
sources in the wall. The thermal circuit is shown in (b). The total
resistance is the sum of the three resistances shown.

Figure 5-4. Thermal circuit for Example 1. Steady-state conduction in

a furnace wall with heat losses from the outside surface by
convection (hC) and radiation (hR) to the surroundings at
temperature Tsur. The thermal conductivities kD, kB, and kS are
constant, and there are no sources in the wall. The heat ux q has
units of W/m2.
T sur is 290 K. We want to estimate the temperature of the inside wall T 1. The
wall consists of three layers: deposit [k D = 1.6 W/(mK), x D = 0.080 m ],
brick [k B = 1.7 W/(mK), x B = 0.15 m], and steel [k S = 45 W/(mK), x S =
0.00254 m]. The outside surface loses heat by two parallel mechanisms
convection and radiation. The convective heat-transfer coecient h C = 5.0
W/(m2K). The radiative heat-transfer coecient h R = 16.3 W/(m2K). The
latter is calculated from

(5-12)
where the emissivity of surface 2 is 2 = 0.76 and the Stefan-Boltzmann
constant = 5.67 108 W/(m2K4).
Referring to Fig. 5-4, the steady-state heat ux q (W/m2) through the wall is

Solving for T 1 gives

and

Conduction with Heat Source Application of the law of conservation of

energy to a one-dimensional solid, with the heat ux given by (5-1) and
volumetric source term S (W/m3), results in the following equations for
steady-state conduction in a at plate of thickness 2R (b = 1), a cylinder of
diameter 2R (b = 2), and a sphere of diameter 2 R (b = 3). The parameter b
is a measure of the curvature. The thermal conductivity is constant, and
there is convection at the surface, with heat-transfer coecient h and uid
temperature T .

(5-13)
The solutions to (5-13), for uniform S, are

(5-14)
where Bi = hR /k is the Biot number. For Bi << 1, the temperature in the
solid is uniform. For Bi >> 1, the surface temperature T (R ) = T .
Two- and Three-Dimensional Conduction Application of the law of
conservation of energy to a three-dimensional solid, with the heat ux given
by (5-1) and volumetric source term S (W/m3), results in the following
equation for steady-state conduction in rectangular coordinates.

(5-15)
Similar equations apply to cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems.
Finite dierence, nite volume, or nite element methods are generally
necessary to solve (5-15). Useful introductions to these numerical techniques
are given in the General References and Sec. 3. Simple forms of (5-15)
(constant k, uniform S ) can be solved analytically. See Arpaci, Conduction

Heat Transfer , Addison-Wesley, 1966, p. 180, and Carslaw and Jaeger,

Conduction of Heat in Solids , Oxford University Press, 1959. For problems

involving heat ow between two surfaces, each isothermal, with all other
surfaces being adiabatic, the shape factor approach is useful (Mills, Heat

Transfer , 2d ed., Prentice-Hall, 1999, p. 164).

5.2.4. UNSTEADY-STATE CONDUCTION

Application of the law of conservation of energy to a three-dimensional solid,
with the heat ux given by (5-1) and volumetric source term S (W/m3), results
in the following equation for unsteady-state conduction in rectangular
coordinates.

(5-16)
The energy storage term is on the left-hand side, and and c are the density
(kg/m3) and specic heat [J/(kg K)]. Solutions to (5-16) are generally obtained
numerically (see General References and Sec. 3). The one-dimensional form
of (5-16), with constant k and no source term, is

(5-17)
where = k /(c ) is the thermal diusivity (m 2/s).
One-Dimensional Conduction: Lumped and Distributed Analysis The
one-dimensional transient conduction equations in rectangular (b = 1),
cylindrical (b = 2), and spherical (b = 3) coordinates, with constant k, initial
uniform temperature T i , S = 0, and convection at the surface with heattransfer coecient h and uid temperature T , are

(5-18)
The solutions to (5-18) can be compactly expressed by using dimensionless
variables: (1) temperature /i = [T (r ,t ) T ]/(T i T ); (2) heat loss

fraction Q /Q i = Q /[cV (T i T )], where V is volume; (3) distance from

center = r /R ; (4) time Fo = t /R 2; and (5) Biot number Bi = hR /k . The
temperature and heat loss are functions of , Fo, and Bi.
When the Biot number is small, Bi < 0.2, the temperature of the solid is
nearly uniform and a lumped analysis is acceptable. The solution to the
lumped analysis of (5-18) is

(5-19)
where A is the active surface area and V is the volume. The time scale for
the lumped problem is

(5-20)
Table 5-1. Fourier Coecients and Spatial Functions for Use in Eqs.
(5-21)
Geometry

A1

B1

S1

Plate

Cos(1)

Cylinder

J 0(1)

Sphere

The time scale is the time required for most of the change in / i or Q/Q i to
occur. When t =, /i = exp(1) = 0.368 and roughly two-thirds of the
possible change has occurred.
When a lumped analysis is not valid (Bi > 0.2), the single-term solutions to (518) are convenient:

(5-21)
where the rst Fourier coecients A 1 and B 1 and the spatial functions S 1
are given in Table 5-1. The rst eigenvalue 1 is given by (5-22) in conjunction
with Table 5-2. The one-term solutions are accurate to within 2 percent when

Fo > Foc . The values of the critical Fourier number Fo c are given in Table 5-2.
The rst eigenvalue is accurately correlated by (Yovanovich, Chap. 3 of
Rohsenow, Hartnett, and Cho, Handbook of Heat Transfer

, 3d ed., McGraw-

Hill, 1998, p. 3.25)

(5-22)
Equation (5-22) gives values of 1 that dier from the exact values by less
than 0.4 percent, and it is valid for all values of Bi. The values of 1,, 1,0, n ,
and Foc are given in Table 5-2.

Example 2 : Correlation of First Eigenvalues by

Eq. (5-22) As an

example of the use of Eq. (5-22), suppose that we want 1 for the at plate
with Bi = 5. From Table 5-2, 1, = /2,

, and n = 2.139. Equation

(5-22) gives

The tabulated value is 1.3138.

Example 3 : One-Dimensional, Unsteady Conduction Calculation As

an example of the use of Eq. (5-21), Table 5-1, and Table 5-2, consider the
cooking time required to raise the center of a spherical, 8-cm-diameter
dumpling from 20 to 80C. The initial temperature is uniform. The dumpling is
heated with saturated steam at 95C. The heat capacity, density, and thermal
conductivity are estimated to be c = 3500 J/(kgK), =1000 kg/m3, and k = 0.5
W/(mK), respectively.
Because the heat-transfer coecient for condensing steam is of order 10 4,
the Bi limit in Table 5-2 is a good choice and 1 = . Because we know the
desired temperature at the center, we can calculate /i and then solve (5-21)
for the time.

For Bi , A 1 in Table 5-1 is 2 and for = 0, S 1 in Table 5-1 is 1. Equation (521) becomes

Table 5-2. First Eigenvalues for Bi 0 and Bi and Correlation

Parameter n
The single-term approximations apply only if Fo Fo c .
Geometry

Bi 0

Bi

Foc

Plate

1 /2

2.139

0.24

Cylinder

1 2.4048255

2.238

0.21

Sphere

2.314

0.18

Solving for t gives the desired cooking time.

Example 4 : Rule of Thumb for Time Required to Diuse a

Distance R A general rule of thumb for estimating the time required to
diuse a distance R is obtained from the one-term approximations. Consider
the equation for the temperature of a at plate of thickness 2R in the limit as
Bi . From Table 5-2, the rst eigenvalue is 1 = /2, and from Table 5-1,

When t = R 2/, the temperature ratio at the center of the plate ( = 0) has
decayed to exp( 2/4), or 8 percent of its initial value. We conclude that

diusion through a distance R takes roughly R

/ units of time, or

alternatively, the distance diused in time t is about

(t )1/2.

One-Dimensional Conduction: Semi-innite Plate Consider a semiinnite plate with an initial uniform temperature T i . Suppose that the
temperature of the surface is suddenly raised to T ; that is, the heat-transfer
coecient is innite. The unsteady temperature of the plate is

(5-23)
where erf(z ) is the error function. The depth to which the heat penetrates in
1/2

time t is approximately (12 t )1/2.

If the heat-transfer coecient is nite,

(5-24)
where erfc(z ) is the complementary error function. Equations (5-23) and (524) are both applicable to nite plates provided that their half-thickness is
greater than (12t )1/2.

Two- and Three-Dimensional Conduction The one-dimensional solutions

discussed above can be used to construct solutions to multidimensional
problems. The unsteady temperature of a rectangular, solid box of height,
length, and width 2H, 2L, and 2W, respectively, with governing equations in
each direction as in (5-18), is

(5-25)
Similar products apply for solids with other geometries, e.g., semi-innite,
cylindrical rods.
Citation
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Don W. Green; Robert H. Perry: Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, Eighth

Edition. HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION, Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008
1997 1984 1973 1963 1950 1941 1934), AccessEngineering

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