Conduction on Steady State

By Hart Lenard Y. David

General Equation of Conduction

Consider a small rectangular element of length Δx, width Δy, and height Δz as shown
An energy balance on this element during a small time interval Δt can be
expressed as:

or

Eq. 1
Noting that the volume of the element is Velement = ΔxΔyΔz, the change in the
energy content of the element and the rate of heat generation within the
element can be expressed as

Substituting to Eq. 1, we get

Dividing by ΔxΔyΔz and rearranging gives

Eq. 2
Noting that the heat transfer areas of the element for heat conduction in the x,
y, and z directions are Ax = ΔyΔz, Ay = ΔxΔz, and Az = ΔxΔy, respectively, and
taking the limit as Δx, Δy, Δz and Δt → 0 yields

Eq. 3

since, from the definition of the derivative and Fourier’s law of heat conduction,

Equation 3 is the general heat conduction equation in rectangular coordinates.

General Heat Conduction Equation (Cylindrical coordinates)

Take:

By manipulation, we obtain:
General Heat Conduction Equation (Spherical coordinates)

Take:

By manipulation, we obtain:
Steady Heat Conduction in Single Plane
Wall
 Recall: Heat transfer in a certain direction occurs only when there is a
temperature gradient in that direction
 A wall surface is nearly isothermal.
 No heat transfer through the wall from the top to bottom, or from left to
right
 There is considerable temperature difference between the inner and outer
surfaces of the wall, thus there is significant heat transfer in the direction
from the inner surface to the outer surface.
 Heat transfer is therefore one-dimensional
 If the temperatures on the surfaces of the wall remain constant, the
heat transfer is said to be steady.
Energy balance of the wall:

or

Eq. 4

But for steady operation, dEwall/dt = 0. Therefore, the rate of heat transfer into
the wall must be equal to the rate of heat transfer out of it or in other words,
the rate of heat transfer through the wall must be constant.
Consider a plane wall of thickness L and average thermal conductivity k. The two
surfaces of the wall are maintained at constant temperatures of T1 and T2. For
one-dimensional steady heat conduction through the wall, we have T(x).
Fourier’s Law:

Eq. 5

Where and the wall area A are constant. Thus dT/dx = constant, which
means that the temperature through the wall varies linearly with x.

Separating variables then integrating from x = 0, where T(0) = T1, to x = L, where

T(L) = T2
We get, after performing integrations and rearranging:

Eq. 6 (W)

which is identical to Eq. 4.

The rate of heat conduction through a plane wall is proportional to the average
thermal conductivity, the wall area, and the temperature difference, but is
inversely proportional to the wall thickness.
Steady Heat Conduction in Composite
Plane Wall
Thermal Resistance Concept
Equation 6 can be rearranged as

Eq. 7 (W)

where
Eq. 8 (°C/W)

is the thermal resistance of the wall against heat conduction or simply the
conduction resistance of the wall.
Thermal resistance concept (convection)
Newton’s Law of Cooling:

Rearranging, it becomes

Eq. 9 (W)

where

Eq. 10 (°C/W)

is the thermal resistance of the surface against heat convection, or simply the
convection resistance of the wall.
Thermal Resistance Network
Consider steady one-directional heat flow through a plane wall of thickness L,
area A, and thermal conductivity k that is exposed to convection on both sides to
fluids at temperatures T∞1 and T∞2 with heat transfer coefficients h1 and h2,
respectively. Assume that T∞2 < T∞1.
Under steady conditions,

or
Eq. 11
Rearranging:

Eq. 12

Adding the numerators and denominators yields

Eq. 13 (W)
where

Eq. 14 (°C/W)

 The heat transfer area A is constant for a plane wall

 The rate of heat transfer through a wall separating two mediums is equal to
the temperature difference divided by the total thermal resistance
 The thermal resistances are in series; Rtotal is determined by summing up the
individual thermal resistance (analogous to electrical resistances in series)

The rate of steady heat transfer between two surfaces is equal to the
temperature difference divided by the total thermal resistance between those
two surfaces.
The thermal resistance concept can be used to determine the rate of steady heat
transfer through composite or multilayer walls.

Consider a plane wall that consists of two layers. The rate of heat transfer
through this wall can be expressed as

Eq. 15

where

Eq. 16
 Subscripts 1 and 2 in the Rwall relations indicate the first and second layers,
respectively.
 The total thermal resistance is simply the arithmetic sum of the individual
thermal resistances in the path of heat flow.
 An additional resistance is added to the total thermal resistance for every
additional layer.

Once is known, an unknown surface temperature Tj at any surface or

intersurface j can be determined from

where Ti is the known temperature at location i and Rtotal, i-j is the total thermal
resistance between locations i and j.
 Thermal Contact Resistance

 Ideally, “perfect contact” assumed at the interface of two

layers in multilayer solids
 No temperature drop at the interface
 Reality: no perfect contact due to the irregularities of the
surface at microscopic level
 Peaks will form good material contact while valleys will form
voids filled with air
 These air gaps act as insulation because of the low conductivity
of air
 An interface offers resistance to heat transfer

 The resistance per unit interface area is called the

thermal contact resistance, Rc
Consider heat transfer through two metal rods of cross-sectional area A that are
pressed against each other. Heat transfers through the interface of the rods is
the sum of the heat transfers through the solid contact spots and the gaps in
noncontact areas
Eq. 17
It can also be expressed as (analogous to Newton’s Law of Cooling)
Eq. 18
where A is the apparent interface area (same as the cross-sectional area of the
rods), and ΔTinterface is the effective temperature difference at the interface.
The quantity hc, corresponding to the convection heat transfer coefficient, is
called the thermal contact conductance and is expressed as

Eq. 19 (W/m2 · °C)

The thermal contact conductance is related to the thermal contact resistance by

Eq. 20 (m2 · °C/W)

Variable Thermal Conductivity

 Recall that the thermal conductivity of a material varies with

temperature
 For many materials, the variation is mild in the range of
practical interest and can be assumed constant
When the variation of thermal conductivity with temperature k(T)
is known, the average value of thermal conductivity in the
temperature range between T1 and T2 can be determined by

Eq. 21
The variation of thermal conductivity of a material with temperature in the
temperature range of interest can be approximated as a linear function

Eq. 22

where β is called the temperature coefficient of thermal conductivity.

The average value of thermal conductivity in the temperature range T1 and T2
can be determined from

Eq. 23

Note that the average thermal conductivity in this case is equal to the thermal
conductivity value at the average temperature.
Sample Problem 1

Consider a 4-m-high, 6-m-wide, and 0.3-m-thick brick wall whose thermal

conductivity is k = 0.8 W/m · °C. On a certain day, the temperatures of the inner

and the outer surfaces of the wall are measured to be 14°C and 6°C,

respectively. Determine the rate of heat loss through the wall on that day.

3-17, (Cengel) Heat Transfer – A Practical Approach (2nd edition)

Sample Problem 2

Consider a 1.2-m-high and 2-m-wide double-pane window consisting

of two 3-mm-thick layers of glass (k = 0.78 W/m · °C) separated by
a 12-mm-wide stagnant air space (k = 0.026 W/m · °C). Determine
the steady rate of heat transfer through this double-pane window
and the temperature of its inner surface for a day during which the
room is maintained at 24°C while the temperature of the outdoors
is -5°C. Take the convection heat transfer coefficients on the inner
and outer surfaces of the window to be h1 = 10 W/m2 · °C and h2 =
25 W/m2 · °C, and disregard any heat transfer by radiation.
3-19, (Cengel) Heat Transfer – A Practical Approach (2nd edition)
Sample Problem 3

Consider a 1.5-m-high and 0.6-m-wide plate whose thickness is 0.15 m. One side

of the plate is maintained at a constant temperature of 500 K while the other

side is maintained at 350 K. The thermal conductivity of the plate can be

assumed to vary linearly in that temperature range as k(T) = k0(1 + βT) where k0

= 25 W/m · K and β = 8.7 x 10-4 K-1. Disregarding the edge effects and assuming

steady one-dimensional heat transfer, determine the rate of heat conduction

through the plate.

2-102, (Cengel) Heat Transfer – A Practical Approach (2nd edition)