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Consider two containers connected by a pipe that has a valve, as shown in Figure 1. Both
tanks have the same volume, V, and they are at the same temperature and pressure
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(T, P). Tank A contains 1 mole of gaseous oxygen whereas tank B contains 1 mole of
gaseous nitrogen.
Figure 1. Two tanks of equal volume at the same pressure and temperature contain initially
different ideal gases. The tanks are connected by a pipe that has an initially closed valve. Note
that, since P, V and T are the same, the number of moles in both tanks must be the same
according to the ideal gas equation of state, PV=nRT.
We now open the valve connecting the tanks. What happens? Fluid Mechanics tells us
that, since the pressures at both ends of the pipe are the same, there will be no net flow
through the pipe. However, if we let time pass, we observe that N2 starts to appear in
tank A, and O2 in tank B. After a long time an equilibrium state will be reached, in
which there will be 0.5 moles of each gas in each tank (Figure 2).
P,V,T P,V,T
tank A tank B
Figure 2. After a long time has passed, the system in Figure 1 reaches equilibrium. The
two gases are uniformly distributed between the two tanks.
times. This molecular motion implies that the gas will tend to distribute itself uniformly
(from a statistical point of view) over all the space available to it. At the final equilibrium
stage, both O2 and N2 are uniformly distributed throughout the two tanks. Notice that,
if we perform the experiment with two liquids, the final outcome would be the same
since the liquid will also try to occupy all the space available, but, since the molecular
motion in the liquid phase is much slower than in the gas phase, it would take longer to
reach the final equilibrium state.
In experiments like this, the use of the principle of conservation of mass allows us to
predict the final outcome of the experiment. However, if we are interested in determining
how fast the material exchange between the two tank is, we would need to use other
physical principles, which relate to what we call mass transfer.
If we put a certain amount of sugar crystals in water at ambient conditions, we will observe
that it will slowly dissolve until all the crystals disappear (provided that we do not saturate
the solution). After a long time there will be no solid left and, furthermore, the
concentration of sugar in the solution will be uniform, i.e., if we take a sample of the
solution from any point within the reservoir, we would observe the same sugar
concentration (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Solid sugar eventually dissolves in water to form a solution with uniform
concentration.
In this experiment, there is a phase change: the sugar goes from the solid phase into the
liquid phase, and then the continuous motion of the dissolved sugar molecules eventually
leads to their uniform distribution in the liquid. Once again, if we know the amount of
sugar that we added, we can calculate the concentration of sugar in water at the end of the
experiment. But if we want to know how fast the system reaches the final equilibrium
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state, we need to use other physical principles, which fall under what we will call mass
transfer.
It is interesting to mention that we know how to make the process faster: everyday
experience tells us that if we stir the solution, we will achieve the final state faster.
Therefore, we already know some mass transfer!
Since convection is a macroscopic phenomena it occur only when forces act on fluid
and maintain its motion. Forces used to create convection currents are two types.
Natural convection :
If the currents are the result of buoyancy forces generated by difference
In density caused by temperature gradient the this type of heat flow called ‘natural
Convection’.
Example: The flow of air across a heated radiator.
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Forced convection:
If the currents are set in motion by the action of a mechanical device such as a pump
Or agitator ,the flow is independent of of density gradients and is called
‘forced convection’ .
Example: Heat flow to a fluid pumped through a heated pipe.
. Radiation:
Radiation is a term given to the transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic
Waves.
If radiation is passing through an empty space, it is not transformed into heat or any
form of energy nor is it diverted from its path. If however, if matter appears in its path,
the radiation will be transmitted ,reflected or absorbed. It is only the absorbed energy
that appears as heat.
Examples: Fused quartz transmits practically all radiation that strikes it.
A polished opaque surface or Mirror will reflect will reflect most
of the radiation.
A Black surface will absorb most of the radiation and transforms it into heat.
Radiation becomes important at high temperature
. But when the fluid is moving ,the currents of fluid absorb heat fast by convective
mechanism.
. Heat flow in fluids by convection is much faster than that by conduction.
Consider the following example:
Hot plate at T2 C
_______________________________________ _____
--------------------------------------------Q---------------- l
------------‘Fluid’-----------------Heat flow through- L
------------------------------------------fluid----------
------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________ l___
Cold plate at T1 C
Fig: Heat flow through a fluid sandwiched between two parallel plates.
When fluid is stagnant heat flow ‘Q’ is slow.
When fluid is agitated heat flow ‘Q’ is fast.
More the agitation more faster is ‘Q’( more convective heat transfer)
. Boundary layers:
Momentum transfer –Hydrodynamic boundary layer
Consider a fluid is flowing over a flat plate with velocity uα as shown below.
Fig: External flow over a flat surface & development of hydrodynamic boundary
layer.
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. Two situations: 1. A steady state heat conduction, where the temperature distribution
within solid does not change with time.
2. Unsteady state heat conduction, where the temperature distribution
does change with time.
. General law: ‘Fourier’s Law’ definition
“ Heat flow across an isothermal surface is proportional to the temperature
gradient at the surface.”
Where,
q = Rate of heat flow across surface in the direction normal to surface.
A = area of the isothermal surface
n = distance measured normally to surface.
T = temperature
k = proportionality constant.
. The partial derivative calls attention to the fact that the temperature may vary with both
location and time.
. The negative sign reflects the physical fact that heat flow occur from hot to cold.
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. Temperature at point ‘c’ is gradually increasing ,here ‘T’ depends on both time and
Location ( unsteady state )
. After sufficient long time ,temperature distribution-III is constant with respect to time.
( steady state conduction ) and varies only with location. Fourier’s equation can be written as
q/A = -k dT/dn .
Heat flux α Temperature gradient
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