CBE 3322: Heat Transfer Operations

Section 2c - 1D Steady-State Conduction

(Heat generation)

Dominic Pjontek, Ph.D., P.Eng.

University of Western Ontario
Thermal energy generation
◼ So far, we’ve only considered systems where the heat transfer was
due to temperature differences at the boundaries of a medium. It is
also important to consider the impact of thermal energy generation
on the resulting temperature distribution of a given medium.

◼ One common thermal generation process is through the conversion

of electrical to thermal energy (i.e., Ohmic or resistance heating):

power generation [W] E gen = I2R e electrical resistance [Ω]

current [A]

◼ If power generation is uniform throughout the volume:

volumetric generation E gen
I 2
Re
rate [W/m3] q = =
V V volume [m3]
1D steady-state conduction
(Heat generation) 2
Plane wall

◼ Consider the following plane wall:

◼ For this example, there is uniform energy generation per unit

volume ( q is constant) and surfaces are maintained at Ts,1 and Ts,2.
◼ Assuming constant thermal conductivity, the heat equation
simplifies as follows at steady-state:

d2 T q
2
+ =0
dx k

1D steady-state conduction
(Heat generation) 3
Plane wall
◼ Integrating the previous equation leads to the general solution:
q 2
T=− x + C1 x + C 2
2k
◼ For this system, we have the following boundary conditions:
❑ B.C. 1: T(-L) = Ts,1
Note that boundaries are at –L and +L
❑ B.C. 2: T(+L) = Ts,2

◼ The constants are thus evaluated to be:

Ts ,2 − Ts ,1 q 2 Ts ,1 + Ts ,2
C1 = and C2 = L +
2L 2k 2

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(Heat generation) 4
Plane wall

◼ As a result, the temperature distribution at steady-state for a plane

wall with thermal energy generation is:

q L2  x 2  Ts ,2 − Ts ,1 x Ts ,1 + Ts ,2
T (x ) = 1 − 2  + +
2k  L  2 L 2

◼ The heat flux at any point in the wall can thus be determined using
the above equation with Fourier’s law.

❑ It is important to note that heat flux is no longer independent

of x with heat generation.

1D steady-state conduction
(Heat generation) 5
Plane wall
◼ The previous equation simplifies when both surfaces are maintained
at the same temperature (Ts,1 = Ts,2):

q L2  x2 
T (x ) = 1 − 2  + Ts
2k  L 

q L2
where: Tmax  T0 = + Ts
2k

◼ The temperature distribution for this case can be expressed as:

T (x ) − T0  x 
2

= 
Ts − T0 L 
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(Heat generation) 6
Plane wall
◼ The equations developed so far require that the surface
temperature (Ts) be known. However, it is common that only the
temperature of the adjoining fluid (T∞) is known, rather than Ts.
◼ We can use the following boundary condition for this scenario:

dT
−k = h(TS − T )
dx x =L

◼ For a symmetrical temperature distribution (i.e., surface

temperatures are equal), the following relation can be substituted
into the temperature distribution:

q L
Ts = T +
h

1D steady-state conduction
(Heat generation) 7
Plane wall (Example)
◼ Let’s consider one dimensional conduction in the plane composite
wall below. The outer surfaces are exposed to a fluid at 25°C and a
convection heat transfer coefficient of 1000 W/m
.
2·K. The middle

wall B experience uniform heat generation (qB), while there is no

generation in walls A and C. The temperatures at the interfaces are
T1 = 261°C and T2 = 211°C.

◼ Assuming negligible contact

resistance at the interfaces,
determine the
. volumetric heat
generation qB.
◼ How could we determine the
thermal conductivity of material B?
◼ Sketch the temperature distribution.

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(Heat generation) 8
Cylindrical system

◼ Heat generation in cylindrical systems is also common in chemical

engineering (e.g., tubular reaction with an exothermic reaction, fuel
elements in a nuclear reactor).

◼ Under steady-state conditions for such

a system, the amount of heat
generated within the cylinder must
equal the heat lost via convection from
the surface to the surrounding fluid.

◼ The previous leads to a constant

surface temperature (Ts) for the
cylinder.

1D steady-state conduction
(Heat generation) 9
Cylindrical system

◼ The heat equation for the previous system is simplified as follows,

assuming a constant thermal conductivity:

1 d  dT  q
r + =0
r dr  dr  k

◼ For uniform heat generation, the equation can be integrated to:

q 2
T (r ) = − r + C1 ln r + C 2
4k

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(Heat generation) 10
Cylindrical system

◼ For this system, we have the following boundary conditions:

dT
❑ B.C. 1: =0 B.C. 2: T(ro) = Ts
dr r =0

◼ The constants are thus evaluated to be:

q 2
❑ C1 = 0 and C 2 = Ts + r0
4k

◼ The temperature distribution is thus:

q ro2  r2 
T (r ) = 1 − 2  + Ts
4k  ro 

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(Heat generation) 11
Cylindrical system
◼ The temperature distribution can be simplified to the following non-
dimensional form, based on the temperature at the center (Tc):

T (r ) − Ts
2
r
= 1 −  
TC − Ts  ro 
◼ For a problem where only the bulk fluid temperature is known, an
overall energy balance on the cylinder can be used as follows:

( )
q  ro2 L = h(2  ro L )(Ts − T )

q ro
Thus: Ts = T +
2h

1D steady-state conduction
(Heat generation) 12
Cylindrical system (Example)

◼ The cross section of a long cylindrical fuel element in a nuclear

reactor is shown below. Energy generation occurs uniformly in the
thorium (k ≈ 60 W/m·K) fuel rod (diameter = 25 mm) and is
wrapped in a thin aluminum cladding. Under steady-state conditions,
the proposed system has a heat generation of 7 x 108 W/m3, while
the cooling system has a bulk fluid temperature of 95°C and an
estimated convective heat transfer coefficient of 7 000 W/m2K.

◼ Is the proposed system satisfactory?

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(Heat generation) 13