344

Chapter 15. Getting Started in Heat Transfer: Modes, Rate Equations and Energy Balances

Solution
Known: Steady-state conditions with prescribed wall thickness, area, thermal conductivity, and surface temperatures.
Find: Heat transfer rate through the wall.
Schematic and Given Data:
k = 1.7 W/mK
T2 = 1150 K

T1 = 1400 K

W = 1.2 m
H = 0.5 m

qx''

qx

Wall area, A

L = 0.15 m

Assumptions:
1. Steady-state conditions.
2. One-dimensional conduction through the
wall.
3. Constant thermal conductivity.

Figure E15.1

Analysis: Since heat transfer through the wall is by conduction, the heat flux may be determined from Fouriers law. Using
Eq. 15.2, we have
250 K
T
qx  k
 1.7 W/m # K 
 2833 W/m2
L
0.15 m
The heat flux represents the rate of heat transfer through a section of unit area, and it is uniform across the surface of the wall.
The heat rate through the wall of area A  H  W is then
qx  1HW2 qx  10.5 m  1.2 m2 2833 W/m2  1700 W 

Comments: Note the direction of heat flow and the distinction between heat flux and heat rate.

15.1.2 Convection
convection

Moving fluid, T

Ts > T
q"
Ts

Convection from a surface

to a moving fluid

The term convection refers to heat transfer that will occur between a surface and a moving
or stationary fluid when they are at different temperatures.
The convection heat transfer mode is comprised of two mechanisms. In addition to energy transfer due to random molecular motion (conduction), energy is also transferred by
the bulk, or macroscopic, motion of the fluid. This fluid motion is associated with the fact
that, at any instant, large numbers of molecules are moving collectively or as aggregates.
Such motion, in the presence of a temperature gradient, contributes to heat transfer. Because the molecules in the aggregate retain their random motion, the total heat transfer is
then due to a superposition of energy transport by the random motion of the molecules
and by the bulk motion of the fluid. It is customary to use the term convection when referring to this cumulative transport, and the term advection when referring to transport
due to bulk fluid motion.
You learned in Sec. 14.8 that, with fluid flow over a surface, viscous effects are important in the hydrodynamic (velocity) boundary layer and, for a Newtonian fluid, the
frictional shear stresses are proportional to the velocity gradient. In the treatment of
convection in Chap. 17, we will study the thermal boundary layer, the region that experiences a temperature distribution from that of the freestream T to the surface Ts
(Fig. 15.2). Appreciation of boundary layer phenomena is essential to understanding convection heat transfer. It is for this reason that the discipline of fluid mechanics will play
a vital role in our later analysis of convection.

15.1 Heat Transfer Modes: Physical Origins and Rate Equations

Fluid

Temperature
distribution

Velocity
distribution

u(y)

q"

T(y)
Ts

u(y)

345

Heated
surface

T(y)

Figure 15.2 Hydrodynamic and thermal

boundary layer development in convection
heat transfer.

Convection heat transfer may be classified according to the nature of the flow. We
speak of forced convection when the flow is caused by external means, such as a fan, a
pump, or atmospheric winds. In contrast, for free (or natural) convection, the flow is
induced by buoyancy forces, which arise from density differences caused by temperature
variations in the fluid. We speak also of external and internal flow. As you learned in
Chap. 14, external flow is associated with immersed bodies for situations such as flow
over plates, cylinders and foils. In internal flow, the flow is constrained by the tube or
duct surface. You saw that the corresponding hydrodynamic boundary layer phenomena
are quite different, so it is reasonable to expect that the convection processes for the two
types of flow are distinctive.
Regardless of the particular nature of the convection heat transfer process, the appropriate rate equation, known as Newtons law of cooling, is of the form
q  h1Ts  T 2

forced convection
free convection
external flow
internal flow

(15.3a)

Newtons law of cooling

where q, the convective heat flux (W/m2 ), is proportional to the difference between the
surface and fluid temperatures, Ts and T, respectively, and the proportionality constant
h (W/m2 # K) is termed the convection heat transfer coefficient. When using Eq. 15.3a, the
convection heat flux is presumed to be positive if the heat transfer is from the surface (Ts  T)
and negative if the heat transfer is to the surface (T  Ts). However, if T  Ts, there is
nothing to preclude us from expressing Newtons law of cooling as

convection heat transfer

coefficient

q  h1T  Ts 2

(15.3b)

in which case heat transfer is positive to the surface. The choice of Eq. 15.3a or 15.3b is
made in the context of a particular problem as appropriate.
The convection coefficient depends on conditions in the boundary layer, which is influenced by surface geometry, the nature of fluid motion, and an assortment of fluid thermodynamic and transport properties. Any study of convection ultimately reduces to a study of
the means by which h may be determined. Although consideration of these means is deferred
to Chap. 17, convection heat transfer will frequently appear as a boundary condition in the
solution of conduction problems (Chap. 16). In the solution of such problems, we presume
h to be known, using typical values given in Table 15.1.

15.1.3 Radiation
The third mode of heat transfer is termed thermal radiation. All surfaces of finite temperature emit energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. Hence, in the absence of an
intervening medium, there is net heat transfer by radiation between two surfaces at different
temperatures.

Table 15.1 Typical

values of the convection
heat transfer coefficient
Process

h
(W/m2 # K)

Free convection
Gases
2 25
Liquids
50 1000
Forced convection
Gases
25250
Liquids
10020,000

346

Chapter 15. Getting Started in Heat Transfer: Modes, Rate Equations and Energy Balances

Radiant
panel

Heat lamp

Gas

T, h
Surroundings

E
Ts

Surface of emissivity
, absorptivity , and
temperature Ts

Surroundings
at Tsur

q"rad

q"conv
Ts

Surface of emissivity
= , area A, and
temperature Ts

(a)

(b)

Figure 15.3 Radiation exchange: (a) at a surface in terms of the irradiation G provided by
different radiation sources and the surface emissive power E; and (b) between a small, gray
surface and its large, isothermal surroundings.
thermal radiation

StefanBoltzmann law

Thermal radiation is energy emitted by matter that is at a finite temperature. Although

we will focus on radiation from solid surfaces, emission may also occur from liquids and
gases. Regardless of the form of matter, the emission may be attributed to changes in the
electron configurations of the constituent atoms or molecules. The energy of the radiation
field is transported by electromagnetic waves (or alternatively, photons). While the transfer
of energy by conduction or convection requires the presence of a material medium, radiation
does not. In fact, radiation transfer occurs most efficiently in a vacuum.
Consider radiation transfer processes for the surface of Fig. 15.3a. Radiation that is
emitted by the surface originates from the internal energy of matter bounded by the surface, and the rate at which energy is released per unit area (W/m2) is termed the surface
emissive power E. There is an upper limit to the emissive power, which is prescribed by
the StefanBoltzmann law
Eb  Ts4

blackbody

where Ts is the absolute temperature (K) of the surface and is the StefanBoltzmann constant (  5.67  108 W/m2 # K4). Such a surface is called an ideal radiator or blackbody.
The radiant heat flux emitted by a real surface is less than that of a blackbody at the same
temperature and is given by
E  Ts4

emissivity

irradiation

absorptivity

(15.4)

(15.5)

where is a radiative property of the surface termed the emissivity. With values in the range
0

1, this property provides a measure of how efficiently a surface emits energy relative
to a blackbody. It depends strongly on the surface material and finish, and representative
values are provided in Chap. 18.
Radiation can also be incident on a surface. The radiation can originate from a special
source, such as the sun, or from other surfaces to which the surface of interest is exposed.
Irrespective of the source(s), we designate the rate at which all such radiation is incident on
a unit area (W/m2) of the surface as the irradiation G (Fig. 15.3a).
A portion, or all, of the irradiation may be absorbed by the surface, thereby increasing
the internal energy of the material. The rate at which radiant energy is absorbed per unit surface area may be evaluated from knowledge of a surface radiative property termed the
absorptivity . That is
Gabs  G

(15.6)

15.1 Heat Transfer Modes: Physical Origins and Rate Equations

where 0

1. If   1, a portion of the irradiation is not absorbed and may be reflected
or transmitted.
Note that the value of  depends on the nature of the irradiation, as well as on the surface itself. For example, the absorptivity of a surface to solar radiation may differ from its
absorptivity to radiation emitted by the walls of a furnace or a heat lamp.
A special case that occurs frequently involves radiation exchange between a small surface at Ts and a much larger, isothermal surface that completely surrounds the smaller one
(Fig. 15.3b). The surroundings could, for example, be the walls of a room or a furnace whose
temperature Tsur differs from that of an enclosed surface (Tsur Ts). We will show in Chap. 18
that, for such a condition, the irradiation may be approximated by emission from a blackbody at Tsur, in which case G  T 4sur. If the surface is assumed to be one for which  
(called a diffuse-gray surface), the net rate of radiation exchange leaving the surface,
expressed per unit area of the surface, is

qrad 

q
4
 Eb 1Ts 2  G  1T s4  T sur
2
A

(15.7)

347

surroundings

radiation exchange:
diffuse-gray surface
large surroundings

This expression provides the difference between internal energy that is released due to radiation emission and that which is gained due to radiation absorption.
There are many applications for which it is convenient to express the net radiation exchange
in the form
qrad  hrad A1Ts  Tsur 2

(15.8)

where, with Eq. 15.7, the radiation heat transfer coefficient hrad is
2
2
hrad  1Ts  Tsur 21T s2  T sur

(15.9)

radiation heat transfer

coefficient

Here we have modeled the radiation mode in a manner similar to convection. In this sense
we have linearized the radiation rate equation, making the heat transfer rate proportional to
a temperature difference rather than to the difference between two temperatures to the fourth
power. Note, however, that hrad depends strongly on temperature, while the temperature
dependence of the convection heat transfer coefficient h is generally weak.
The surfaces of Fig. 15.3 may also simultaneously experience convection heat transfer to
an adjoining gas. For the conditions of Fig. 15.3b, the total rate of heat transfer leaving the
surface is then
q  qconv  qrad  hA1Ts  T 2  A 1T 4s  T 4sur 2

Example 15.2

(15.10)

Rate Equations for Convection and Radiation Exchange

An uninsulated steam pipe passes through a large room in which the air and walls are at 25C. The outside diameter of the
pipe is 70 mm, and its surface temperature and emissivity are 200C and 0.8, respectively. What are the surface emissive power
and irradiation? If the coefficient associated with free convection heat transfer from the surface to the air is 15 W/m2 # K and
the surface is gray, what is the rate of heat transfer from the surface per unit length of pipe?

Solution
Known: Uninsulated pipe of prescribed diameter, emissivity, and surface temperature in a large room with fixed wall and
air temperatures.
Find: Surface emissive power, E, and irradiation, G. Pipe heat transfer per unit length, q.