PRINCIPLES OF HEAT

TRANSFER
By Nur Hashimah Alias

Heat Transfer
The transfer of energy in the form of heat occurs in many

chemical and other types of processes.

Heat transfer often occurs in combination with other
separation processes, such as drying of foods, alcohol
distillation, burning of fuel, and evaporation.
Why it occurs: because of a temperature-difference
driving force and heat flows from the high to the lowtemperature region
Mode of heat transfer : Conduction, Convection and
Radiation

Conduction
Occurs when a temperature gradient exists through a

solid or a stationary fluid (liq/gas)

Heat is conducted by transfer of energy of motion
between adjacent molecules.
Specifically energy is transferred by free electron:metallic
solids
Example ??

Convection
Occurs within a moving fluid or between a solid surface

and a moving fluid when they are at different

temperatures.
A fluid is forced to flow past a solid surface by
mechanical, natural and free convection : warmer or coller
fluid next to solid surface causes a circulation because of
(a density difference resulting from the temperature
differences in the fluid)
Example:???

Radiation
Radiation is the transfer of energy through SPACE by

means of Electromagnetic Waves.

No physical medium is needed for its propagation
The same law: transfer of light that govern the radiant
transfer of heat.
Solid and liquid tend to absorb the radiation transferred to
them, so radiation is primarily important in transfer
through space and gases
Important in transport of heat to earth from the sun
Examples:??

Heat Transfer
(Rate of heat in)+(Rate of generation of heat) =

(Rate of heat out)+(Rate of accumulation of heat)

Based on Fouriers Law (assuming heat by conduction)

Fouriers Law of Heat Conduction

Applied to all three main types :momentum, heat and mass

transfer
Heat conduction in fluids and solids follow equation:
: heat-transfer rate in x direction in Watts (J/s)
A : cross-sectional area normal to the direction of flow of
heat (m2)
x : distance in (m)
K : thermal conductivity (W/m.k)

Fouriers Law of Heat Conduction

Quantity : Called as Heat Flux (W/m2)

Quantity : Temperature gradient in the x direction
Minus sign : required because if the heat flow is positive in
a given direction, the temperature decrease in this
direction.

Fouriers Law of Heat Conduction

Fouriers Law Equation can be integrated for the case of

steady state heat transfer through a flat wall of constant A;

Integrating and assuming that k is constant and does not

vary with temperature;

Example 1
Calculate the heat loss per m2 of surface area for an

insulating wall composed of 25.4 mm thick fiber insulating

board, where the inside temperature is 352.7K and
outside temperature is 297.1K. Given that the thermal
conductivity of fiber insulating board is 0.0048W/m.K.
Answer: 105.1 W/m2

Example 2
Calculate the heat loss per m2 of surface area for a

temporary insulating wall of a food cold storage room

where the outside temperature is 299.9K and the inside
temperature 276.5K. The wall is composed of 25.4 mm of
corkboard having k of 0.0433 W/m.K.
Answer : 39.9 W/m2

Thermal Conductivity
Gases have quite low values of thermal conductivity, liquids

intermediate values and solid metals very high values.

Thermal conductivity varies moderately with temperature and

often expressed as a liner variation :

Thermal Conductivity
Mechanism of thermal conduction
1. Gases : the molecules are continuous random motion,

colliding with one another and exchanging energy and

momentum
2. Liquid : Similar with gas (higher energy molecules collide
with lower energy molecules) but the molecules are packed
closely together. Hence, molecular force exerted a strong effect
on energy exchange.
3. Solid : two mechanisms

a) applies to metallic solids, heat like electricity is conducted

by free electron which move to metal lattice
b) Present in all solids : heat is conducted by transmission of
energy of vibration between adjacent atom.

Convective Heat-Transfer Coefficient

When the fluid outside the solid surface is in forced or natural
convective motion, the rate of heat transfer from solid to the fluid
expressed as:

: Temperature of solid surface (K)

: Average or bulk temperature of fluid flowing past (K)
h : Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2)
Coefficient h is a function of the system geometry, fluid properties,

flow velocity and temperature difference.

When a fluid flows past a surface there is a thin (almost stationary

layer or film) adjacent to the wall which present most of the

resistance to heat transfer. Hence, h also call as film coefficient.

Conduction Heat Transfer

1. Conduction through a flat slab or wall
For a flat slab or wall where the cross sectional area A

and k are constant;

)
If the thermal conductivity is not constant but varies linearly
with temperature:

Conduction Heat Transfer

Heat conduction in a flat wall: (a) geometry of wall; (b)

temperature plot.

Conduction Heat Transfer

In transport processes, the rate of a transfer process

equals the driving force over the resistance. Hence;

Where R= and the resistance in K/W or h..F/btu

Conduction Heat Transfer

2. Conduction through a Hollow Cylinder
In many industries, heat is being transferred through the walls of
thick-walled cylinder, such as pipe that may or may not be
insulated.

Heat conduction in a cylinder

Conduction Heat Transfer

Considering the heat is flowing radially from the inside

surface to the outside:

The cross sectional area normal to the heat flow is;
Rearranging and integrating;

Conduction Heat Transfer

Multiplying numerator and denominator by

Where,

Conduction Heat Transfer

is the area log mean
In engineering practice, if the linear mean area of is

within 1.5% of the log mean area.

Example 3
A thick walled cylindrical tubing hard rubber having an
inside radius of 5 mm and the outside radius of 20mm is
being used as temporary cooling coil in a bath. Ice water is
flowing rapidly inside and the inside wall temperature is
274.9K. The outside surface temperature is 297.1K. A total
of 14.65W must be removed from the bath by the cooling
coil. How many m of tubing are needed. Given that the
thermal conductivity k=0.151W/m.K
Answer: 0.964m

Solution for example 3

The negative sign indicates the heat flow from on the

outside to on the inside.

Since 15.2W is removed for 1m length;

Conduction Heat Transfer

3. Conduction Through a Hollow Sphere

Using Fouriers Law for a constant thermal conductivity with

distance , where r is the radius of the SPHERE;
The cross sectional area normal to the heat flow is

Conduction Through Solids in Series

1. Plane walls in series
The temperature profile in the three materials A, B and C
are shown.

Heat flow through a multilayer wall.

 Since the heat flow, q must same at each layer, Fouriers

Law can be written;

Solving for
Rearrange the equation;

Resistance: ); Total resistance, ++

Example 5
A cold storage room is constructed of an inner layer

of
12.7 mm of pine, a middle layer of 101.6 mm of cork
board and an outer layer of 76.2 mm concrete. The wall
surface temperature is 255.4K inside the cold room and
297.1 K at the outside of the concrete. Use conductivities
of 0.151, 0.0433 and 0.762W/m.k for pine, cork board and
concrete respectively. Calculate the heat loss in Watt for
1m2 and the temperature at the interface between the
wood and cork board.

Answer: -16.48 W, T2=256.7K

2. Multilayer cylinders
Heat transfer often occurs through multilayers of cylinder, e.g : heat
is being transferred through the walls of an insulated pipe.

Radial heat flow through multiple cylinders in a series.

 Figure shows a pipe with two layers of insulation around

it.
The temperature drop is across material A, across
material B and across material C
Heat transfer rate, q will be the same for each layer
(steady state).

Combining equations to eliminate and

Example 6
A thick-walled tube of stainless steel (A) having a k=21.63

W/m.k with dimensions of 0.00254 m ID and 0.0508 m

OD is covered with a 0.0254m thick layer of an insulation
(B), k=0.2423 W/m.K. The inside wall temperature of the
pipe is 811K and the outside surface of the insulation is at
310.8K. For a 0.305m length of pipe, calculate the heat
loss and also the temperature at the interface between
the metal and the insulation.
Answer: 331.7 W, 805.5K

Heat Transfer Applications

Application of heat transfer concept can be found in

heater-treater (emulsion treating processes), stabilizer

(multistage separator, distillation column, packed column),
direct fired heater, heat exchanger, furnace, reboiler, etc.
General heat transfer equation is:
q = mCpT

where q is the heat (BTU/hr) or (kW), m is the flow rate

(lb/hr) or (kg/hr), Cp is the specific heat (BTU/lb-oF) or

(J/kg.oC) and T is the temperature different (oF ) or (oC).

Heat Transfer Applications

Heat transfer for heater-treater equipment is:

q = 1100 Qoil T [0.5(SG)oil + 1]

where Qoil is the oil flow rate (BOPD) or (m 3/hr), and (SG)oil
is the specific gravity of oil relative to water.