HEAT TRANSFER
THROUGH
COMPOSITE WALL
III SEM/BASIC MECHANICAL ENGINEERING/Dr.R.Sudhakaran 1/3
Steady State Conduction through a plane wall
dT
q x constant k
dx
T1 dT
k if k constant, then constant
dx
.
. dT T T T T
Q Q 2 1
, q x k 1 2
dx L L
T T
T2 T1 q x 1 2
L
x k
L
Thermal resistance (in k/W)
(which opposing heat flow)
Electrical Analogy Thermal Analogy to Ohm’s Law
OHM’s LAW :Flow of Electricity
T qR therm
V=IR elect
Temp Drop=Heat Flow × Resistance
Voltage Drop = Current flow ×Resistance
V (T s1 T s 2 ) temperatur e difference
i q
R L / kA material constant
Steady State Conduction through a composite wall
T1 A B C
. T2 .
Q T3 Q
Q
kA
kB
kA kB kC Ck T4
x
ΔxA ΔxB ΔxC
T 1 T T 1 T T1 T
Q 2
2
2
x x x
k A A k A B k A C
4
Steady State Conduction through a composite wall
x x x
Q T1 T 2 T 2 T 3 T 3 T 4
kA A kA B kA C
T T
Q 1 4
x x x
k A
A k A B k A C
5
1 D Heat flow from fluid to fluid through plain wall
T∞,1
..…... .. .. . … . . ... .... ... .. .. ... ..
k Cold fluid
Ts,1 ... ........................ .. ..............
. . . . . .. . . . . . Ts,2
T∞,2
Hot fluid
x=0 x=L
T∞,1 Ts,1 Ts,2 T∞,2
qx
1 L 1
h1A k A h2A
1 L 1
R t
h A
kA
h A
(Thermal Resistance )
1 2
2.2…1-D Heat flow from fluid to fluid through composite wall
T∞,1
A B C
h1
KA KB KC h2
T∞,2
T∞,1 LA LB LC T∞,2
qx 1 LA LB LC 1
kA A kB A kC A
h1A h2A
T ,1 T ,2 T ,1 T ,2
q
x
R 1 L L B L 1
t
A
C
h1 A k A k B k C h 2 A
Parallel composite
The heat transfer rate in the network is parallel
T1 T 2 1
qx R tot
R tot 1 R1 1 R 2
Alternatively, the heat transfer rate can be calculated as the sum of heat transfer rates in the individual
materials, i.e.
T1 T 2 T1 T 2
qx q 1x q 2 x
R1 R 2
Series composite
T 1
T 1 T 4
q
x
R t
T 4
L LB LC
R
A
t R tot
k A A k B A k C A
Contact Resistance
•In composite systems, the interface between two layers is usually not perfect. This is due to surface roughness
effect.
•Contact spots between the two layers are interspersed with gaps that are, in most instances, air filled.
•The additional resistance between the two layers, called thermal contact resistance Rt, results in temperature
drop across the interface.
•Thermal contact resistance is dependent upon the solid materials, surface roughness, contact pressure,
temperature, and interfacial fluid.
Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
A modified form of Newton’s Law of Cooling to encompass multiple resistances
to heat transfer.
T ,1 T , 2 T ,1 T
q ,2
UA T
x
R 1 L L B L 1
t A
C
h 1 A k A k B k C h 2 A
In above equation,
1
U Overall heat transfer coefficient
Rt A
1 1
U
R t A 1 L 1
h 1 k h 2
Conduction through hollow cylinder
Consider a hollow cylinder of length L (shown below), whose inner and outer surfaces are exposed to fluids at
different temperatures. The system is analyzed by the standard method as follows:
Conduction through hollow cylinder (continue….)
For steady-state conditions with no heat generation, the heat equation for the system is
1 d d T
k r 0
r d r d r
T r 1 T s , 1
The boundary conditions are T 2 r
T s , 2
Integrating the heat equation (assuming constant k) and using the boundary conditions yield
T s ,1 T s , 2 r
T r ln T
ln r1 r 2 r2
s, 2
Therefore, the temperature distribution associated with radial conduction through a cylindrical wall is
logarithmic.
The heat transfer rate is obtained by using the temperature distribution with Fourier’s law:
d T
q r k A k 2 r L
T
d where,
d r d r
2 L k T s ,1 T s , 2 R t , cond
T
ln r 2 r 1
ln r 2 r 1 qr 2 L k
Conduction through hollow cylinder (continue….)
For pure conduction, we considered resistances in series in which our primary
interest was in the temperatures at the inner and outer walls (not the interior walls).
For convection, a similar principle arises.
Consider a pipe filled with hot fluid at temperature T 1. Define intermediate
temperatures as follows:
T1
T2
Insulation
Hot liquid Air T5
T3
Pipe
T4
Conduction through Composite Cylinder
Consider a composite cylindrical wall of length L shown below.
Conduction through Composite Cylinder (continue)
Assumption: Neglecting interfacial contact resistances
The heat transfer rate may be expressed as
T ,1 T , 4
q r
1
ln r 2 r 1
ln r 3 r 2
ln r 4 r 3
1
2 r1 L h 1 2 k A L 2 k B L 2 k C L 2 r4 L h 4
Above equation may be expressed in terms of an overall heat transfer coefficient as
T , 1 T , 4
qr
R tot
U A T , 1 T , 4
If U is defined in terms of the inside area A1, above equations may be equated to yield
1
U 1
1 r1 r2 r1 r3 r1 r4 r1 1
ln ln ln
h1 kA r1 kB r 2 k C r3 r4 h 4
Note: Similar equations could be written for U2, U3, etc. U 1 A1 U 2 A 2 U 3 A 3 U 4 A 4 R t 1
Conduction through Composite Cylinder (continue)
For pure conduction, we considered resistances in series in which our primary
interest was in the temperatures at the inner and outer walls (not the interior walls).
For convection, a similar principle arises.
Consider a pipe filled with hot fluid at temperature T1. Define intermediate
temperatures as follows:
T1
T2
Insulation
Hot liquid Air T5
T3
Pipe
T4
The heat transfer rate for each "step":
q1->2 = conduction
Convection or convection?
q2->3 = conduction
Conduction or convection?
q3->4 = Conduction
conduction or convection?
q4->5 = Convection
conduction or convection?
(T5–T1) = (T5-T4) + (T4-T3) + (T3-T2) + (T2-T1)
Q = UoAo (T5-T1)
Q = hoAo (T5-T4) Outside film (air)
Q = kinsul Alm (T4-T3) / Drinsul Insulation
Q = kpipe Alm (T3-T2) / Drpipe Pipe
Q = hiAi (T2-T1) Inside film (hot liquid)
(T5–T1) = (T5-T4) + (T4-T3) + (T3-T2) + (T2-T1)
(T5-T1) = Q / UoAo Similar substitutions yield:
Q Q Q rinsul Q r pipe Q
U o Ao ho Ao A lm k insul A lm k pipe hi Ai
1 1 rinsul r pipe 1
U o Ao ho Ao A lm k insul A lm k pipe hi Ai
The overall heat transfer coefficient can written in terms of the
diameters as:
1 Do D o ln(D o / D i ) 1
Uo D ih i 2k w ho
1 Do Do (D o Di ) 1
Uo Dih i D LM 2k w ho
where kw is the thermal conductivity of the pipe wall and (D o-Di )/2 is
the wall thickness, x w.
With U known, it is a simple matter to calculate the overall
heat transfer rate given the total temperature difference.
Note that we have used the symbol Uo because the overall heat
transfer coefficient was defined with respect to the outside area
(Ao) of the pipe. This is the most common practice.
We could equally have defined 1/Ui or UiAi. In this case, we
would use Ai as the basis for calculations. In either case, the
values of U would be slightly different, but UA and hence q are
the same.
Equation for 1/Ui
1 1 D i ln D o / D i Di
Ui hi 2kw D o ho
Rule of thumb: If the ratio of Do/Di is less than 1.5, then the arithmetic average of
Do and Di is roughly equal to the log mean average (good for ANY log mean average).
Limiting Resistance:
•A very useful concept in heat transfer is that of limiting resistance.
•What is limiting resistance?
•What would the limiting resistance be for a hot liquid flowing inside an uninsulated
pipe?
•How would you increase the heat transfer rate?
Conduction through Sphere
Heat Equation 1 d 2 dT
r 0
r2 dr dr
T s ,1 T s ,1 T s , 2
1 r1 / r
Temperature Distribution for Constant k: T r 1
r1 / r 2
Heat flux, Heat Rate and Thermal Resistance:
dT k
q r k
dr
2
r 1 / r1 1 / r2
T s ,1 T s , 2
4 k
q r 4 r 2 q r
1 / r1 1 / r2
T s ,1 T s , 2
R t ,co n d
1 / r1 1 / r2
4 k
Composite Shell:
To v e ra ll
qr U A T o v e r a ll
R to t
U A R to t 1 C o n s ta n t
U i Ai R to t 1 D e p e n d s o n Ai
2.6… Boundary and Initial Conditions
Heat equation is a differential equation:
Second order in spatial coordinates: Need 2 boundary conditions
First order in time: Need 1 initial condition
Boundary Conditions
1) B.C. of first kind (Dirichlet condition):
Ts
Constant Surface Temperature
At x=0, T(x,t)=T(0,t)=Ts
T(x,t)
x=0 x
Boundary and Initial Conditions (Continue…)
B.C. of second kind (Neumann condition): Constant heat flux at the surface
1. Finite heat flux
qx” = qs”
T T
q s" k const slope
x x0 x T(x,t)
x
2. Adiabatic surface qx”=0
T T
q s" k 0 slope 0
x x0 x T(x,t)
x
Boundary and Initial Conditions (continue…)
3) B.C. of third kind: When convective heat transfer occurs at the surface
q”convection = q”conduction
T
k h [ T T ( 0 , t )]
x x0
T(0,t)
T , h
T(x,t)
x
Critical Radius of Insulation
We know that by adding more insulation to a wall always decreases heat transfer.
This is expected, since the heat transfer area A is constant, and adding insulation will always increase
the thermal resistance of the wall without affecting the convection resistance.
However, adding insulation to a cylindrical piece or a spherical shell, is a different matter.
The additional insulation increases the conduction resistance of the insulation layer but it also
decreases the convection resistance of the surface because of the increase in the outer surface area for
convection.
Therefore, the heat transfer from the pipe may increase or decrease, depending on which effect
dominates.
A critical radius (rcr) exists for radial systems, where:
adding insulation up to this radius will increase heat transfer
adding insulation beyond this radius will decrease heat transfer
For cylindrical systems, rcr = kins/h
For spherical systems, rcr = 2kins/h
Critical Radius of Insulation (continue….)
Consider a cylindrical pipe, where,
r1 -- outer radius
T1 -- constant outer surface temperature
k -- thermal conductivity of the insulation
r2 -- outer radius
- temperature of surrounding medium
h - convection heat transfer coefficient
Insulated Cylindrical Pipe
Critical Radius of Insulation (continue….)
The rate of heat transfer from the insulated pipe to the surrounding air can be expressed as
qr
T1 T
l n 2
r
r1 1
2 L k h 2 r2 L
The variation of heat transfer rate with the outer radius of insulation r2 is dplotted
qr in Figure 2.16. The value of r2
at which heat transfer rate reaches maximum is determined from the requirement that (zero slope).
dr
Performing the differentiation and solving for r2 gives us the critical radius of insulation for a cylindrical body to
be
k
rcr ,cylin d er
h
NOTE: The rate of heat transfer from the cylinder increases with the addition of insulation for r2< rcr, reaches a
maximum when r2= rcr, and starts to decrease for r2> rcr. Thus, insulating the pipe may actually increase the rate
of heat transfer from the pipe instead of decreasing it when r2< rcr .
Critical Radius of Insulation (continue….)
k
r2 h
r1
.
Q
.
R tot
Q good for
m a x good for steam pipes etc.
. electrical
Q ba re cables
R c r=k/h
r0
0 r1 r2
rc r = k / h
Variation Of Heat Transfer Rate With Radius
Plane Wall Cylindrical Wall Spherical Wall
d 2T 1 d dT 1 d 2 dT
Heat Equation 0 k r 0 k r 0
dx2 r dr dr r2 dr dr
Temperature Distribution T r T 1 1
x ln T s ,2 T s ,1
T s ,1 T 1 1 r1 r
ln 1
r r2
L
r2 r2 r1
Heat Flux (q” ) k T k T
T 1 1
k
r l n 2
r r2
L
r1 r
1 r 2
2 L k T 4 k T
T 1
ln 2
Heat Rate (q) k A r 1
L r1 r1 r2
Thermal Resistance 1
ln 2
r 1
(Rt, cond) L r1
r1 r2
kA 2 L k
4 k
One-Dimensional Steady State Solutions to the Heat Equation With No Generation
