ME 346 – Heat Transfer

PRACTICE PROBLEMS ON CONDUCTION – 2

LEARNING OUTCOMES FROM EACH PROBLEM

Problem Learning outcome

No.
1 Reduction of the heat diffusion equation in Cartesian coordinates to a
specific situation
2 Reduction of the heat diffusion equation in cylindrical coordinates to
a specific situation
3 Reduction of the heat diffusion equation in spherical coordinates to a
specific situation
4 Reduction of the heat diffusion equation in cylindrical coordinates to
a specific situation
5 Application of Fourier’s law of heat conduction for different
coordinate systems
6 Calculation of temperature distribution for different boundary
conditions and physical feel of different situations
7 Understanding of convective surface boundary condition and
calculation of temperature distribution
8 Application of radiation boundary condition and calculation of
temperature distribution
9 Application of electrical analogy – series network
10 Application of electrical analogy – parallel series network

1. Consider a steel pan placed on top of an electric range to cook spaghetti (Fig.). The
bottom section of the pan is L = 0.4 cm thick and has a diameter of D = 18 cm. The
electric heating unit on the range top consumes 800 W of power during cooking, and
80 percent of the heat generated in the heating element is transferred uniformly to the
pan. Assuming constant thermal conductivity, obtain the differential equation that
describes the variation of the temperature in the bottom section of the pan during steady
operation.

2. A 2-kW resistance heater wire with thermal conductivity k = 15 W/m · °C, diameter D
= 0.4 cm, and length L = 50 cm is used to boil water by immersing it in water (Fig. ).
Assuming the variation of the thermal conductivity of the wire with temperature to be
negligible, obtain the differential equation that describes the variation of the
temperature in the wire during steady operation

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3. A spherical metal ball of radius R is heated in an oven to a temperature of 400°C
throughout and is then taken out of the oven and allowed to cool in ambient air at 30°C
by convection and radiation. The thermal conductivity of the ball material is known to
vary linearly with temperature. Assuming the ball is cooled uniformly from the entire
outer surface, obtain the differential equation that describes the variation of the
temperature in the ball during cooling.
4. A short cylindrical metal billet of radius R and height h is heated in an oven to a
temperature of 400°C throughout and is then taken out of the oven and allowed to cool
in ambient air at 40°C by convection and radiation. Assuming the billet is cooled
uniformly from all outer surfaces and the variation of the thermal conductivity of the
material with temperature is negligible, obtain the differential equation that describes
the variation of the temperature in the billet during this cooling process.

5. Consider a plane wall 100 mm thick and of thermal conductivity 100 W/m.K. Steady
state conditions are known to exist with T1= 400 K and T2 = 600 K . Determine the heat
flux and the temperature gradient dT/dx for the co-ordinate systems shown.
T(x) T(x) T(x)

T2 T2 T1

T1 T1 T2
(a) x x (b) x (c)
6. Consider steady one-dimensional heat conduction in a large plane wall of thickness L
and constant thermal conductivity 𝑘 with no heat generation. Obtain expressions for
the variation of temperature within the wall for the following pairs of boundary
conditions:
a. Constant heat flux of 40 𝑊/𝑐𝑚2 at 𝑥 = 0 and a constant temperature of 15℃
at 𝑥 = 0
b. Constant heat flux of 40 𝑊/𝑐𝑚2 at 𝑥 = 0 and a Constant heat flux of 25 𝑊/𝑐𝑚2
at 𝑥 = 𝐿

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c. Constant heat flux of 40 𝑊/𝑐𝑚2 at 𝑥 = 0 and a Constant heat flux of 40 𝑊/𝑐𝑚2
at 𝑥 = 𝐿

7. Consider the base plate of a 1200-W household iron that has a thickness of L = 0.5 cm,
base area of A = 300 cm2, and thermal conductivity of k = 15 W/m · °C. The inner
surface of the base plate is subjected to uniform heat flux generated by the resistance
heaters inside, and the outer surface loses heat to the surroundings at 𝑻∞= 20°C by
convection. Taking the convection heat transfer coefficient to be h = 80 W/m2 · °C and
disregarding heat loss by radiation, obtain an expression for the variation of temperature
in the base plate, and evaluate the temperatures at the inner and the outer surfaces.
8. Consider a large plane wall of thickness 𝐿 = 0.06 𝑚 and thermal conductivity 𝑘 =
1.2 𝑊 ⁄𝑚℃ in space. The wall is covered with white porcelain tiles that have an
emissivity of 𝜀 = 0.85 and a solar absorptivity of 𝛼 = 0.26, as shown in Figure. The
inner surface of the wall is maintained at 𝑇1 = 300𝐾 at all times, while the outer surface
′′
is exposed to solar radiation that is incident at a rate of 𝑞𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 = 800 𝑊 ⁄𝑚2. The outer
surface is also losing heat by radiation to deep space at 0 𝐾. Determine the temperature
of the outer surface of the wall and the rate of heat transfer through the wall when steady
operating conditions are reached. What would your response be if no solar radiation
was incident on the surface?

9. Consider a 0.8-m-high and 1.5-m-wide double-pane window consisting of two 4-mm-

thick layers of glass (𝑘 = 0.78 𝑊 ⁄𝑚℃) separated by a 10-mm-wide stagnant air space
(𝑘 = 0.026 𝑊 ⁄𝑚℃). Determine the steady rate of heat transfer through this double-
pane window and the temperature of its inner surface for a day during which the room
is maintained at 20°C while the temperature of the outdoors is -10°C. Take the
convection heat transfer coefficients on the inner and outer surfaces of the window to
be ℎ1 = 10 𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 ℃ and ℎ2 = 40 𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 ℃, which includes the effects of radiation
10. A 3-m-high and 5-m-wide wall consists of long 16-cm × 22-cm cross section horizontal
bricks (𝑘 = 0.72 𝑊 ⁄𝑚℃) separated by 3-cm-thick plaster layers (𝑘 = 0.22 𝑊 ⁄𝑚℃).

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There are also 2-cm-thick plaster layers on each side of the brick and a 3-cm-thick rigid
foam (𝑘 = 0.026 𝑊 ⁄𝑚℃) on the inner side of the wall, as shown in Fig. The indoor
and the outdoor temperatures are 20°C and 10°C, and the convection heat transfer
coefficients on the inner and the outer sides are ℎ1 = 10 𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 ℃ and ℎ2 =
25 𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 ℃ respectively. Assuming one-dimensional heat transfer and disregarding
radiation, determine the rate of heat transfer through the wall.