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4 Convection: ............................................................................................................................... 4
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1 Heat Transfer:
Heat transfer, also referred to simply as heat, is the movement of thermal energy from one thing to
another thing of different temperature.
Heat transfer occurs when the temperatures of objects are not equal to each other and refers to how
this difference is changed to an equilibrium state. Thermodynamics then deals with things that are in the
equilibrium state.
There can be no net heat transfer between two mediums that are at the same temperature. The tem-
perature difference is the driving force for heat transfer, just as the voltage difference is the driving force
for electric current flow and pressure difference is the driving force for fluid flow. The rate of heat transfer
in a certain direction depends on the magnitude of the temperature gradient (the temperature difference
per unit length or the rate of change of temperature) in that direction. The larger the temperature gradient,
the higher the rate of heat transfer.
Heat transfer is a process function (or path function), as opposed to functions of state; therefore,
the amount of heat transferred in a thermodynamic process that changes the state of a system depends on
how that process occurs, not only the net difference between the initial and final states of the process.
Thermodynamic and mechanical heat transfer is calculated with the heat transfer coefficient, the
proportionality between the heat flux and the thermodynamic driving force for the flow of heat. Heat flux
is a quantitative, representation of heat-flow through a surface
The microscopically colliding objects, that include molecules, atoms, and electrons, transfer dis-
organized microscopic kinetic and potential energy, jointly known as internal energy. Conduction takes
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place in all phases of matter, such as solids, liquids, gases and plasmas. The rate at which energy is con-
ducted as heat between two bodies is a function of the temperature difference (temperature gradient) be-
tween the two bodies and the properties of the conductive medium through which the heat is transferred.
Thermal conduction was originally called diffusion.
Heat spontaneously flows from a hotter to a colder body. For example, heat is conducted from the
hotplate of an electric stove to the bottom of a saucepan in contact with it. In the absence of an external
driving energy source to the contrary, within a body or between bodies, temperature differences decay
over time, and thermal equilibrium is approached, temperature becoming more uniform
Writing
Where U is the conductance, in W/(m2 K). Fourier's law can also be stated as
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Resistance is additive when several conducting layers lie between the hot and cool regions, because
A and Q are the same for all layers. In a multilayer partition, the total conductance is related to the con-
ductance of its layers by
So, when dealing with a multilayer partition, the following formula is usually used:
Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate across materials of low thermal conductivity than across ma-
terials of high thermal conductivity. Correspondingly, materials of high thermal conductivity are widely
used in heat sink applications and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation.
The thermal conductivity of a material may depend on temperature. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity
is called thermal resistivity.
4 Convection:
Convective heat transfer, often referred to simply as convection, is the transfer of heat from one
place to another by the movement of fluids. Convection is usually the dominant form of heat transfer in
liquids and gases
Convection can be "forced" by movement of a fluid by means other than buoyancy forces. Thermal
expansion of fluids may also force convection. In other cases, natural buoyancy forces alone are entirely
responsible for fluid motion when the fluid is heated, and this process is called "natural convection"
An example is the draft in a chimney or around any fire. In natural convection, an increase in
temperature produces a reduction in density, which in turn causes fluid motion due to pressures and forces
For example, when water is heated on a stove, hot water from the bottom of the pan rises, displacing the
colder denser liquid, which falls. After heating has stopped, mixing and conduction from this natural con-
vection eventually result in a nearly homogeneous density, and even temperature
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4.1 Newton's law of cooling:
The rate of heat loss of a body is directly proportional to the difference in the temperatures between
the body and its surroundings provided the temperature difference is small and the nature of radiating
surface remains same
In cases where the heat transfer coefficient is independent, or relatively independent, of the tem-
perature difference between object and environment, Newton's law is followed
T is the temperature of the object's surface and interior (since these are the same in this approximation)
The convective heat transfer coefficient is dependent upon the physical properties of the fluid and
the physical situation. Values of h have been measured and tabulated for commonly encountered fluids
and flow situations. In classical natural convective heat transfer, the heat transfer coefficient is dependent
on the temperature. However, Newton's law does approximate reality when the temperature changes are
relatively small
5 Radiation:
Thermal radiation occurs through a vacuum or any transparent medium (solid or fluid). It is the
transfer of energy by means of photons in electromagnetic waves governed by the same laws
Thermal radiation is energy emitted by matter as electromagnetic waves, due to the pool of thermal
energy in all matter with a temperature above absolute zero. Thermal radiation propagates without the
presence of matter through the vacuum of space.
Thermal radiation is a direct result of the random movements of atoms and molecules in matter.
Since these atoms and molecules are composed of charged particles (protons and electrons), their move-
ment results in the emission of electromagnetic radiation, which carries energy away from the surface.
Sunlight is part of thermal radiation generated by the hot plasma of the Sun. The Earth also emits thermal
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radiation, but at a much lower intensity and different spectral distribution (infrared rather than visible)
because it is cooler.
Where Q is the heat flux, ε is the emissivity (unity for a black body), σ is the Stefan–Boltzmann
constant, and T is the absolute temperature (in kelvins or degrees Rankine). Radiation is typically only
important for very hot objects, or for objects with a large temperature difference.
Radiation from the sun, or solar radiation, can be harvested for heat and power. Unlike conductive
and convective forms of heat transfer, thermal radiation can be concentrated in a small spot by using
reflecting mirrors, which is exploited in concentrating solar power generation
The wavelength for which the emission intensity is highest, is given by Wien's displacement law as: