Section 6.

HEAT TRANSFER

Dr. Congxiao Shang

6.1 Definitions
Mechanisms of Heat (Thermal Energy) Transfer:
Conduction: transmission of heat
across matter, due to direct
physical contact, e.g. in solids,
liquids and gases.
Radiation: heat transfer due to
electromagnetic radiation across a
space, even in a vacuum.
Convection: heat transfer by currents
in a gas or liquid, due to temperature
differences or forced flow, an important
mechanism of energy transfer between
a solid surface and a liquid or a gas.
All mechanisms may be involved in practical heat transfer,
but the dominant mechanism differs in different cases.
(Source of illustrations: http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/
heattransfer/heattransfer.html)

6.1 Definitions
Concepts & Terminologies:
THERMAL CAPACITY (of a system): Quantity of ENERGY required
to heat a whole system by 1 K (Kelvin). Unit: JK-1

SPECIFIC HEAT (or SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY): Quantity of

ENERGY required to heat a unit mass of a system by 1 K.
Unit: Jkg-1K-1

Kelvin = Degree Celsius (oC) + 273

J= joule

6.1 Definitions
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, k :
a measurement of heat flow through a Q
A
body. It is the heat transmitted in unit
time, in a direction normal to a surface
of unit area, through a distance, d,
T1
across a unit temperature difference
over the distance.

T2
Temperature profile

Q, heat flow per unit time (Js-1) d, distance (m)

k=

A, area (m2) (T1-T2) temperature difference (K)

Unit: Wm-1K-1

(or Wm-1 C-1)

(error in handout m-3 )

(Eq. 6a)

( note: 1W = 1 J s-1)

(analogous to electrical conductivity or hydraulic permeability)

6.1 Definitions
Another way of understanding the
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, k, is to
re-arrange the equation as :

A
T1

Q, heat flow per unit time (Js-1)

T2
Temperature profile

A, area (m2)
=k

(T1-T2) temperature difference (K)

d, distance (m)

Heat flow per unit time per unit area is

proportional to the temperature gradient;
this proportionality is called thermal
conductivity, k.

(Eq. 6b)
The temperature
difference per unit
distance is called
temperature gradient

The higher the thermal conductivity, the faster the heat flows

materials:

6.1 Definitions
Why are diamonds so cool?
Material

Thermal conductivity
(298 K), Wm-1K-1

Diamond

895-2300 ( the highest k)

Carbon
Nanotubes

1400

Silver

429

Copper

386

Gold

317

Aluminium

237

Iron

80.2

Brick

0.15 0.6
0.12 -0.04
0.04 (very low k)
0.01

Wood
Wool

Styrofoam
(for building
insulation)

Why dose wool feel so warm?

6.1 Definitions
THERMAL RESISTIVITY, : reciprocal of conductivity, 1/k
Unit: m K W-1
THERMAL Resistance of a system, R:
where R is the resistance
d is the thickness
is the resistivity
(error in handout, not divided by A)

R = d = d/k

Note that the R-value above is a UNIT AREA THERMAL RESISTANCE

(or thermal insulance), because the resistivity, , is related to the
conductivity, k, which is measured per unit area.
Unit for R: m K W-1 m = Km2 W-1
(The reason for defining the thermal resistance, R, is that the R values
are additive in multi-layer insulations and this makes calculations
simpler. This will be explained later)

6.2 Conduction
Q. How much heat is conducted
through a system ?

We know:
-the larger the A, the larger the heat flow; T
-the larger the d, the smaller the heat flow. 1

Q
(T1 T2 )
k
A
d

T2
Temperature profile

Therefor
e

kA(T1 T2 ) A(T1 T2 ) A(T1 T2 )

Q

d
d
R

; or

Direct analogy with electricity:-

Q (T1 T2 )

A
R
( V1 V2 )
I
R

Current (I) is equivalent to Heat Flow per unit area (Q/A) ; & Potential
Difference (V1 - V2) or voltage is equivalent to temperature difference (T1-T2).

6.2 Conduction

brick
cavity

R = R1 + R2 + R3 + ........
i.e. resistances in series

Electrical Analogue

st

brick

pla

Since the thermal resistance of each

component has considered the thickness, the
Total UNIT AREA THERMAL RESISTANCE
is simply given by

er

In most situations we have composite materials to deal with - e.g. a wall

consisting of an outer skin (brick), a cavity, an inner skin and then plaster.

6.2 Conduction
Resistance in Parallel: e.g. conduction through a wall with a window, which is
more complicated, as total (average) heat transfer depends on the thermal
resistances and the relative areas of both components.

A1 (T1 T2 ) A2 (T1 T2 ) ( A1 A2 )(T1 T2 )

Q Q1 Q2

R1
R2
R
1 1
A1
1
A2

R R1 ( A1 A2 ) R2 ( A1 A2 )

1
1
a1
a2
R1
R2

Proportion of wall or window area to the

total area

The U - value is defined as 1/R, where R is resistance per unit area

6.2 Conduction
Thermal transmittance, the U value:
The U value is simply defined as 1/R; Unit: WK-1m-2
(Remember: R is resistance per unit area, so U is transmittance
per unit area as well)
Both the R-value and the U-value are used to grade the insulation
properties of a material or a system (e.g. a double-glazed assembly).
A higher R-Value means the materials
are more resistant to heat loss.
A lower U-Value means the system
will transmit less heat.

clear ?

Both mean the same thing & are desirable, from the insulation point of view.

6.2 Conduction
Simple Example:

er

Brick
st

0 C

20C

pla

Brick wall 105 mm thick

plaster
15 mm thick on inside
Internal temperature = 20C
External Temperature= 0 C
kbrick
= 0.84 W m-1 K -1
kplaster = 0.50 W m-1 K -1

Tbp

105mm

What is the U - value of the construction and also

the temperature at the interface between the
brick and the plaster?

15mm

6.2 Conduction
Simple Example:

Brick

0. 015
0. 030
0. 50

st

er

0 C

pla

0.105
Rbrick d d / k
0.125m 2 CW 1
0.84
R plaster

Tbp

105mm

20C

15mm

Total resistance, R = 0.125 + 0.030 = 0.155 m2 C W-1

and the U-value = 1/R = 1/0.155
=
6.45 W m-2 C-1
==============
Now heat flow in plaster = heat flow in brick=heat flow through the whole body

20Tbp Tbp 0 20 0 200

So if Tbp is temperature at interface

129
R plaster Rbrick
R
0.155
Hence

Tbp

= 129 * 0.125

16 . 1C
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