ME 4069 – 01

Thermal Systems Laboratory

Lab 5: Transient Heat Transfer of Lumped
Heat Capacity Systems

Submitted by:

Dorian Grey-Angeles

Date Submitted:

November 5, 2019

Prepared for:

Christopher Herwerth, P.E. 

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Contents
Objective..........................................................................................................................................2
Theory..............................................................................................................................................2
Method.............................................................................................................................................4
Apparatus.....................................................................................................................................4
Procedure.....................................................................................................................................4
Results..............................................................................................................................................5
Material Properties & Dimensions...............................................................................................5
Temperature Change....................................................................................................................5
Time Constant..............................................................................................................................6
Calculated Data............................................................................................................................7
Sample Calculations.....................................................................................................................7
Time constant...........................................................................................................................7
Heat Transfer Coefficient.........................................................................................................7
Biot Number.............................................................................................................................7
Discussion........................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Objective
To determine the heat transfer coefficients between objects of different materials
(aluminum and brass) and shapes (sphere, cylinder, and prism) by employing the lumped heat
capacitance assumption.

Theory
Consider transient heating or cooling of a
solid object with constant conductivity and no heat
k
generation, where α = .
ρc

∂2 T ∂2 T ∂2 T 1 ∂ T
+ + = [1]
∂ x 2 ∂ y 2 ∂ z 2 α ∂t

The solution to this partial differential equation

(PDE) is particularly complicated because
temperature is dependent on at least two
independent variables. However, if the temperature
with the object can be considered uniform at any Figure : Heat conduction diagram for
instant in time during the transient process, the rectangular coordinates.
solution can be simplified. In turn the temperature
gradients within the object become negligible. This is what is known as the lumped capacitance
method.

Since temperature gradients are neglected,

we can no longer analyze the system using the
heat conduction equations. In this method, since
the rate of heat convection to the surrounding fluid
must be the same as the rate of change of the
internal energy of the object, we must focus on the
overall energy balance of the solid using the first
law of thermodynamics. Again, considering no Figure : Object with initially uniform
heat generation and using the object as the control temperature being cooled in a liquid of lower
volume eq. 2 simplifies to eq. 3. Substituting temperature.
Q́ with Newton’s Law of Cooling using the
dT
relationship of ∆ Ú c . v .=mc v , the result is eq. 4. Where mass is equal to density times
dt
volume (m = ρV), c is specific heat (cv=cp for solids), h is the convective heat transfer
coefficient, AS is the surface area of the object, T is temperature of the solid at time t, and T ∞ is
the temperature of the surrounding fluid.

∆ Ú c . v .=Q́+ É gen + ∑ ḿi hi−∑ ḿ o ho [2]

∆ Ú c . v .=Q́ [3]
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dT
ρVc =−h A s ( T −T ∞ ) [4]
dt
By using a temperature difference term, θ(t) = T(t) - T ∞, and understanding that T∞ is constant (
dT dθ
= ) the equation becomes,
dt dt

dθ
ρVc =−h A s θ [5]
dt

After separating the variables, integrating eq. 6 from the initial conditions (t = 0 and T(0) = T i),
where θi = Ti - T∞, and simplifying eq. 8 is produced.

1 −h A s
dθ= dt [6]
θ ρVc
θ
−h A s t
∫ 1θ dθ= ρVc 0
∫ dt [7]
θi

θ −h A s
ln = t [8]
θ i ρVc

Finally, by taking the exponential of both sides and substituting the result is eq. 9. Where T i is the
initial temperature of the object.

T (t)−T ∞ − ρcV
=e
[ ] h As
t
[9]
T i−T ∞

The reciprocal of the value in the exponent is called the time constant.

ρVc
τ= [10]
h As

Ultimately, if the size, dimensions, and physical properties of an object are known, along with a
measured temperature history, the convective heat transfer coefficient can be calculated.

The validity of the lumped capacitance method is contingent on the Biot number, a
dimensionless parameter that relates the conductive resistance within the object to the convective
resistance at the surface of the object. In order to use the lumped capacitance assumption, the
heat conduction in the object must be faster than the heat convection with the surrounding fluid,
i.e. a small Biot number. Acceptable values are Bi ≤ 0.1.

h LC
Bi= [11]
k
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V
Lc = [12]
A

Where h is the convective heat transfer coefficient, L c is the characteristic length of the object, k
is the thermal conductivity of the object, V is the volume of the object, and A is the surface area
of the object.

Method
Apparatus
The temperature history of the objects is obtained by submerging each object into a warm
water bath and recording the internal temperature over a range of time with the embedded
thermocouples.

Specimen
Warm water bath

Insulated box

Figure 3: Diagram of
apparatus.

Figure 4: Specimen with embedded

thermocouples.
Procedure
1. Turn on water heater and set temperature to 50˚C. Wait until equilibrium.
2. To maintain the water temperature constant, activate thermostat control system by turning
down the knob on the heating unit until the light is off.
3. Confirm that the LABVIEW program and thermocouples are operational.
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4. Take room temperature readings for initial temperature of the specimen.

5. Measure the dimensions of each specimen.
6. Connect the thermocouple in specimen #1 to the quick connector from the National
Instruments module.
7. Start recording temperature readings using the LABVIEW software and submerge the
specimen into the bath. Carry the specimen from the screw not thermocouple wire.
8. After specimen has been tested place in a bucket of water to cool down to room temp.
9. Repeat for remaining specimen.

Results
Material Properties & Dimensions
Table 1: Material properties of Aluminum and Brass

Thermal
Density Specific Heat
Material Conductivity
(kg/m3) (J/kg*K)
(W/m*K)
Aluminum 2702 903 237
Brass 8530 380 110

Table 2: Geometric properties of different shapes.

Volume Surface Area Characteristi

Shape
(m3) (m2) c Length (m)
Sphere 6.921E-05 8.152E-03 8.490E-03
Cylinder 3.099E-04 2.849E-02 1.088E-02
Prism 1.975E-04 2.547E-02 7.754E-03

Temperature Change

∆T for Aluminum
55
50
45
Temperature (˚C)

40
35
30 Sph
ere
25 Cyl
20 ind
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 er 120
110
Time (s)

Figure 5: Temperature change for Aluminum specimen.

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Table 3: Temperature at equally spaced time periods for Aluminum specimen.

Time (s) 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120

Sphere
Temp.(˚C) 37.717 46.199 49.453 50.649 51.104 51.269 51.361 51.414 51.415 51.440
Cylinde Time (s) 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 116
r Temp. (˚C) 28.723 38.241 44.402 47.667 49.314 50.134 50.560 50.784 50.908 50.959
Time (s) 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 102 N/A
Prism
Temp. (˚C) 32.135 41.249 46.031 48.350 49.573 50.195 50.546 50.741 50.814 N/A

∆T for Brass
55
50
45
Temperature (˚C)

40
35
Sph
30
ere
25 Cyl
20 ind
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 er 120
110
Time (s)

Figure 6: Temperature change for Brass specimen.

Table 4: Temperature at equally spaced time periods for Brass specimen.

Time (s) 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120

Sphere 32.09 41.70 46.90 49.49 50.66 51.18 51.41 51.505 51.56 51.56
Temp.(˚C)
9 5 9 9 5 2 2 0 6
Time (s) 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120
Cylinde
r 28.96 36.90 42.56 46.00 48.14 49.43 50.15 50.573 50.81 50.94
Temp. (˚C)
2 8 8 8 4 9 9 3 5
Time (s) 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120
Prism 32.32 41.30 46.04 48.49 49.70 50.31 50.63 50.754 50.80 50.85
Temp. (˚C)
3 9 3 4 8 2 4 7 3
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Time Constant

(θ/θi) v. Time for Aluminum

1 Sph
f(x)
f(x)===--0.04x
f(x) -0.03x
0.02x+++11.03
1.05 ere
0.9
0.8 Cyl
ind
0.7
er
0.6
0.5
(θ/θi)

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (s)

Figure 7: y =0.368 was used as the cut-off for trendlines. Slope is equal to time constant.

(θ/θi) v. Time for Brass

1
0.9 f(x)
f(x) == -- 0.03x
0.03x
0.02x ++ 1.02
1.04
1.03 Sp
her
0.8
e
0.7
0.6
0.5
(θ/θi)

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (s)

Figure 8: y =0.368 was used as the cut-off for trendlines. Slope is equal to time constant.

Calculated Data
Table 5: Time constants, Heat transfer coefficients, and Biot numbers for all tested specimen.

Material Aluminum Brass

Shape Sphere Cylinder Prism Sphere Cylinder Prism
Time constant (s) 23.364 41.841 34.247 33.223 46.948 34.483
Heat Transfer Coefficient (W/m2*K) 886.59 634.29 552.40 828.34 750.98 728.84
Biot Number 0.032 0.029 0.018 0.064 0.074 0.051
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Sample Calculations
All sample calculations are for aluminum sphere,
Time constant
1 1
τ= = =23.364 s
|slope| |−0.0428|
Heat Transfer Coefficient
kg J
2702 3 ∗6.921 ×10−5 m3∗903
ρVc m kg∗K W
h= = −3 2
=886.59 2
τA s 23.364 s∗8.152×10 m m ∗K
Biot Number
V 6.921 ×10−5 m3
Lc = = =8.490 ×10−3 m
A 8.152×10−3 m2

W
886.59 ∗8.490 ×10−3 m
h LC 2
m ∗K
Bi= = =0.032
k W
237
m∗K

0.032≤ 0.1

Therefore, the lumped capacitance assumption is valid.

Discussion
1. According to the data, all the specimen satisfied the lumped capacitance assumption with
Biot numbers ranging from 0.018 to 0.074. The aluminum specimen proved to overall have
small values ranging from 0.018 to 0.032 compared to the brass specimen that ranges from
0.051 to 0.074. This is expected because aluminum, k = 237 W/m*K, is a better than
conductor than brass, k = 110 W/m*K.

2. In theory, the heat transfer coefficient is dependent on the shape and conditions of the
surrounding fluid rather than the material itself. The experimental data suggests this is true.
Heat transfer coefficients ranged from 552.40 to 886.59 with significant overlap between the
two materials tested. In addition, both materials follow a similar trend in terms of the
magnitude of the h for each shape. For both materials, the shape with the largest heat transfer
coefficient was the sphere, followed by the cylinder, and lastly the prism. This is consistent
with expectations considering the conditions of the surrounding fluid were constant across all
tests, making the shape of the specimen the only variable.

3. Regarding the rate of heating for each object, both materials showed identical trends. The
spheres heated the fastest, followed by the prisms, and lastly the cylinders. The rate of
heating for the spheres and prisms began much higher but leveled off sooner than the
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cylinders. Ultimately, if our goal is to dissipate heat through convection spheres are ideal
regardless of the material.

Conclusion
In summation, the lumped capacitance assumption proved to be valid for all the specimen
tested. The heat transfer coefficient also demonstrated to be more heavily dependent on the
geometry of the specimen and conditions of the surrounding fluid rather than the material itself.
Finally, to dissipate heat through convection the most effective shape was the sphere, followed
by the cylinder, and lastly the prism.

References
Yunus A. Cengel, A. J. (2015). Heat and Mass Transfer Fundamentals & Applications (5th ed.).
New York: McGraw Hill.