Introduction and Basic Concepts of

Heat Transfer

Learning Topics
Thermodynamics and Heat transfer
Modes of Heat Transfer
Conduction
Convection
Radiation

Thermodynamics and Heat transfer

Thermodynamics deals with the amount of energy in form of heat or work

during a process and only considers the end states in equilibrium. It will
not give information about how long it will take to reach to the final state
in equilibrium.

Heat Transfer deals with the rate of energy transfer thus, it gives idea of
how long a heat transfer will occur? Heat transfer deals with time and non
equilibrium phenomena. Heat can only transfer when there is a
temperature gradient exists in a body and which is indication of non
equilibrium phenomena.

Modes of Heat Transfer

Conduction - diffusion of heat due to temperature gradient,

solids
Convection - when heat is carried away by moving fluid
Radiation - emission of energy by electromagnetic waves
qconvection
qradiation

qconduction
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What is conduction?
How are the particles arranged in a solid, a liquid and a gas?

solid

liquid

gas

Particles that are very close together can transfer heat energy as they vibrate.
This type of heat transfer is called conduction.

Conduction is the method of heat transfer in solids but not liquids and
gases.

Fouriers Law for Conduction

heat flux is proportional to temperature gradient

Q
T
q kT k

A
x
k = thermal conductivity
temperature profile
dT
dx

heat conduction in a slab

1
hot wall

cold wall

x
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Thermal Conductivity
Thermal conductivity is ability of a material to transport heat

energy through it from high temperature region to low

temperature region.
It has units as W/m-K.
It is a microstructure sensitive property.

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Thermal Conductivity in Metals

Heat is transported in two ways free electrons

contribution, vibrational contribution.

In metals, electronic contribution is very high. Thus

metals have higher thermal conductivities.

With increase in temperature, both number of

carrier electrons and contribution of lattice

vibrations increase. Thus thermal conductivity of a
metal is expected to increase.
However, because of greater lattice vibrations,

electron mobility decreases.

The combined effect of these factors leads to very

different behavior for different metals.

Eg.: thermal conductivity of iron and aluminium

decreases with temperature; while it increases for

platinum and 304 stainless steel

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Thermal Conductivity in Liquids and Gases

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For gases, thermal

conductivity increases with
temperature. It increases the
speed of molecules, so a
fast molecule will either (a)
quickly reach a distant part
of the gas or (b) quickly
collide with another
molecule, transmitting its
heat.
Thermal conductivity of
liquid is proportional to the
density and at higher
temperature, density of
liquid decreases thus,
thermal conductivity also.
(molecules moves little far
and not able to transfer the
energy to nearby molecule)

What happens a fluid is heated?

Liquids and gases can both flow and behave in similar ways, so they are called
fluids.
What happens to the particles in a fluid when it is heated?

heat

less dense
fluid

The heated fluid particles gain energy, so they move about more and spread
out. The same number of particles now
take up more space, so the fluid has become less dense
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What is convection?
Warmer regions of a fluid are less dense
than cooler regions of the same fluid.
The warmer regions will rise because
they are less dense.
The cooler regions will sink as they
are more dense.
This is how heat transfer
takes place in fluids and is called
convection.
The steady flow between the warm
and cool sections of a fluid, such as air
or water, is called a convection
current.
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Newtons Law of Cooling for Convection

T

q
Tbody

q h (Tbody T ) h T

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average heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K)

Heat Transfer Coefficient

h is not a constant, but h = h(T)
Three types of convection:
Natural convection
fluid moves due to buoyancy
1
4

h T , h T

1
3

Typical values of h:
Thot

Forced convection
flow is induced by external means

h const
Boiling convection
body is hot enough to boil liquid

h T
17

Tcold

Tcold
Thot

Tcold
Thot

4 - 4,000 W/m2-K

80 - 75,000

300 - 900,000

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Why is convection important in fridges?

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How does heat energy get

from the Sun to the Earth?

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There are no particles

between the Sun and the
Earth so it CANNOT travel by
conduction or by convection.

RADIATION

Radiation travels in straight lines

True/False

Radiation can travel through a vacuum

True/False
Radiation requires particles to travel
True/False
Radiation travels at the speed of light

True/False

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Radiation Heat Transfer

Thermal radiation is emission of energy as electromagnetic

waves
Intensity depends on body temperature and surface
characteristics
Important mode of heat transfer at high temperatures
Can also be important in natural convection problems
Examples:
boiler
fireplace
sunshine

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Surface Characteristics
q W/m2
(incident energy flux)

q (reflected)

q (absorbed)

Translucent (semi-transparent slab)

q (transmitted)

1
absorptance

transmittance
reflectance

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Black Body Radiation

A black body:
is a model of a perfect radiator
absorbs all energy that reaches it; reflects nothing
therefore = 1, = = 0

The energy emitted by a black body is the theoretical

maximum:

q s T4
This is Stefan-Boltzmann law; s is the Stefan-Boltzmann

constant (5.6697e-8 W/m2-K4)

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Real Bodies
Real bodies will emit less radiation than a black body:

q s T 4
emissivity (between 0 and 1)

Example: radiation from a small body to its surroundings

both the body and its surroundings emit thermal radiation
the net heat transfer will be from

the hotter to the colder

Qnet As (Tw4 T4 )
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Qnet

T
q
qw
Tw
A

When is radiation important?

Radiation exchange is significant in high temperature

problems: e.g., combustion

Radiation properties can be strong functions of chemical
composition, especially CO2, H2O
Radiation heat exchange is difficult solve (except for simple
configurations) - we must rely on computational methods

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Combined Heat Transfer

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