Advanced Concepts in Conduction

P. R. Dhamangaonkar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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The Bio-heat Equation

* heat transfer within the human body

* New medical treatments are developed that involve extreme
temperatures
* more adverse environments are explored, such as the Arctic,
underwater, or space

There are two main phenomena that make heat transfer in living
tissues more complex than in conventional engineering materials:
• metabolic heat generation and
• the exchange of thermal energy between flowing blood and the
surrounding tissue.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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Pennes or bioheat equation
the metabolic heat generation and exchange of thermal energy with
the blood can be viewed as effects of thermal energy generation

The perfusion term accounts for energy exchange between the blood
and the tissue and is an energy source or sink according to whether
heat transfer is from or to the blood, respectively.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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Assumption:
for the perfusion term, within any small volume of tissue, the blood
flowing in the small capillaries enters at an arterial temperature,
Ta, and exits at the local tissue temperature, T.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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This equation can be used to estimate the temperature distribution
within the living tissue.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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Thermoelectric Power Generation

* operates on a fundamental principle termed the Seebeck effect

* when a temperature gradient is established within a material, a
corresponding voltage gradient is induced
* The Seebeck coefficient S is a material property, volts/K

For a constant property material experiencing one-

dimensional conduction,
(E1-E2)=S(T1-T2)---------------- (1)
The Seebeck coefficient is very small in metals, but
can be relatively large in some semiconducting
materials.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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If the material is installed in an electric circuit, the voltage difference
induced by the Seebeck effect can drive an electric current I, and
electric power can be generated from waste heat that induces a
temperature difference across the material.

A simplified thermoelectric circuit,

consisting of two pellets of
semiconducting material, is shown
Heat is supplied to the top and lost
from the bottom of the assembly,
and thin metallic conductors
connect the semiconductors to an
external load represented by the
electrical resistance, Re,load.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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In addition to inducing an electric current I, thermoelectric effects
also induce the generation or absorption of heat at the interface
between two dissimilar materials.
This heat source or heat sink phenomenon is known as the Peltier
effect, and the amount of heat absorbed qP is related to the Seebeck
coefficients of the adjoining materials by an equation of the form

qP=I(Sp-Sn)T=ISp-nT---------------------------------(2)

Where Sp and Sn Seebeck coefficients of p- and n-type

semiconductors and Sp-n is the differential Seebeck coefficient

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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The heat absorption is positive (generation is negative) when the
electric current flows from the n-type to the p-type semiconductor.
Hence, Peltier heat absorption occurs at the warm interface between
the semiconducting pellets and the upper, thin metallic conductor,
while Peltier heat generation occurs at the cool interface between
the pellets and the lower conductor.

When T1 T2, the heat transfer rates to and from the device, q1 and
q2, respectively, can be found by solving the appropriate form of the
energy equation.

Let’s see for steady-state, one-dimensional conduction within the

assembly.

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 Assumptions:
• the thin metallic connectors are of relatively high thermal and
electrical conductivity
• Ohmic dissipation occurs exclusively within the semiconducting
pellets, each of which has a cross-sectional area Ac,s.
• The thermal resistances of the metallic conductors are negligible

The electrical resistance of each of the two pellets,

Re,s =ρe,s (2L)/Ac,s where ρe,s is the electrical resistivity of the
semiconducting material

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College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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Assuming negligible contact resistances and identical, as well as
constant, thermophysical properties in each of the two pellets (with
the exception being Sp = -Sn).
The heat conduction out of and into the semiconducting material,

This shows that because of the Peltier effect, q1 and q2 are not equal
to the heat transfer rates into and out of the pellets

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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q1=q(x=- L)+qP,1 =q(x=-L)+ISp-n T1 ------------------------(5)
Similarly at x= L,
q2=q(x= L)- ISn-p T2 =q(x=L)+ISp-n T2 ------------------------(6)

Combining equation 4(b) and 5

Combining equation 4(a) and 6

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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From an overall energy balance on the thermoelectric device, the
electric power produced by the Seebeck effect is,
P= q1- q2 ----------------------------------(8)

Substituting equation 6 and 7 into 8

The voltage difference induced by the Seebeck effect is relatively

small for a single pair of semiconducting pellets.
To amplify the voltage difference, thermoelectric modules are
fabricated.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

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The total module electric power, PN,

(a) Cross-section of a module

consisting of N semiconductor pairs.
(b) Equivalent thermal circuit for a
convectively heated and cooled
module.
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The efficiency of the Thermo-electric ckt is defined as
ηTE ≡ P/q1.
Efficiency depends on the electrical current in a complex manner.
However, the efficiency can be maximized by adjusting the current
through changes in the load resistance.
The resulting maximum efficiency is given as:

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Note that thermoelectric modules can be operated in reverse;
supplying electric power to the module allows one to control the heat
transfer rates to or from the outer ceramic surfaces. Such
thermoelectric chillers or thermoelectric heaters are used in a wide
variety of applications.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
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