Bahir Dar University

Bahir Dar Institute of Technology

Faculty of Chemical and Food Engineering
Heat and Mass Transfer: Worksheet One
1. The thermal conductivity of a sheet of rigid, extruded insulation is reported to be k =0.029
W/m.K. The measured temperature difference across a 20-mm-thick sheet of the material
is T1- T2 =100C.
(a) What is the heat flux through a 2 m * 2 m sheet of the insulation?
(b) What is the rate of heat transfer through the sheet of insulation?
2. The 5-mm-thick bottom of a 200-mm-diameter pan may be made from aluminum (k = 240
W/m.K) or copper (k = 390 W/m.K). When used to boil water, the surface of the bottom
exposed to the water is nominally at 1100C. If heat is transferred from the stove to the pan
at a rate of 600 W, what is the temperature of the surface in contact with the stove for each
of the two materials?
3. A freezer compartment consists of a cubical cavity that is 2 m on a side. Assume the bottom
to be perfectly insulated. What is the minimum thickness of Styrofoam insulation (k =
0.030 W/m.K) that must be applied to the top and side walls to ensure a heat load of less
than 500 W, when the inner and outer surfaces are -10 and 350C?
4. A wall has inner and outer surface temperatures of 16 and 60C, respectively. The interior
and exterior air temperatures are 20 and 5 C, respectively. The inner and outer convection
heat transfer coefficients are 5 and 20 W/m2.K, respectively. Calculate the heat flux from
the interior air to the wall, from the wall to the exterior air, and from the wall to the interior
air. Is the wall under steady-state conditions?
5. You’ve experienced convection cooling if you’ve ever extended your hand out the window
of a moving vehicle or into a flowing water stream. With the surface of your hand at a
temperature of 300C, determine the convection heat flux for (a) a vehicle speed of 35 km/h
in air at -50C with a convection coefficient of 40 W/m2.K and (b) a velocity of 0.2 m/s in a
water stream at 100C with a convection coefficient of 900 W/m2.K. Which condition would
feel colder? Contrast these results with a heat loss of approximately 30 W/m2 under normal
room conditions.
6. The temperature controller for a clothes dryer consists of a bimetallic switch mounted on
an electrical heater attached to a wall-mounted insulation pad.
 The switch is set to open at 700C, the maximum dryer air temperature. To operate the dryer
at a lower air temperature, sufficient power is supplied to the heater such that the switch
reaches 700C (Tset) when the air temperature T is less than Tset. If the convection heat
transfer coefficient between the air and the exposed switch surface of 30 mm2 is 25
W/m2.K, how much heater power Pe is required when the desired dryer air temperature is
T∞=500C?
7. An overhead 25-m-long, uninsulated industrial steam pipe of 100-mm diameter is routed
through a building whose walls and air are at 250C. Pressurized steam maintains a pipe
surface temperature of 1500C, and the coefficient associated with natural convection is h
=10 W/m2.K. The surface emissivity is 0.8. What is the rate of heat loss from the steam
line?
8. A new building to be located in a cold climate is being designed with a basement that has
an L = 200-mm-thick wall. Inner and outer basement wall temperatures are Ti = 200C and
To= 00C, respectively. The architect can specify the wall material to be either aerated
concrete block with kac = 0.15 W/m. K, or stone mix concrete. To reduce the conduction
heat flux through the stone mix wall to a level equivalent to that of the aerated concrete
wall, what thickness of extruded polystyrene sheet must be applied onto the inner surface
of the stone mix concrete wall? Floor dimensions of the basement are 20 m*30 m, and the
expected rental rate is $50/m2/month. What is the yearly cost, in terms of lost rental
income, if the stone mix concrete wall with polystyrene insulation is specified?
9. The wind chill, which is experienced on a cold, windy day, is related to increased heat
transfer from exposed human skin to the surrounding atmosphere. Consider a layer of fatty
tissue that is 3 mm thick and whose interior surface is maintained at a temperature of 360C.
On a calm day the convection heat transfer coefficient at the outer surface is 25 W/m2. K,
but with 30 km/h winds it reaches 65 W/m2. K. In both cases the ambient air temperature
is 150C.
(a) What is the ratio of the heat loss per unit area from the skin for the calm day to that for
the windy day?
(b) What will be the skin outer surface temperature for the calm day? For the windy day?
(c) What temperature would the air have to assume on the calm day to produce the same
heat loss occurring with the air temperature at 15 C on the windy day?
10. A house has a composite wall of wood, fiberglass insulation, and plaster board, as indicated
in the sketch. On a cold winter day, the convection heat transfer coefficients are ho 60
W/m2 K and hi 30 W/m2 K. The total wall surface area is 350 m2.
 (a) Determine a symbolic expression for the total thermal resistance of the wall, including
inside and outside convection effects for the prescribed conditions.
(b) Determine the total heat loss through the wall.
(c) If the wind were blowing violently, raising ho to 300 W/m2. K, determine the percentage
increase in the heat loss.
(d) What is the controlling resistance that determines the amount of heat flow through the
wall?
11. Consider a composite wall that includes an 8-mm-thick hardwood siding, 40-mm by 130-
mm hardwood studs on 0.65-m centers with glass fiber insulation (paper faced, 28 kg/m3),
and a 12-mm layer of gypsum (vermiculite) wall board.

What is the thermal resistance associated with a wall that is 2.5 m high by 6.5 m wide
(having 10 studs, each 2.5 m high)? Assume surfaces normal to the x-direction are
isothermal
12. The wall of a drying oven is constructed by sandwiching an insulation material of thermal
conductivity k = 0.05 W/m .K between thin metal sheets. The oven air is at T∞i = 3000C,
and the corresponding convection coefficient is hi = 30 W/m2. K. The inner wall surface
absorbs a radiant flux of q”rad = 100 W/m2 from hotter objects within the oven. The room
air is at T∞o = 250C, and the overall coefficient for convection and radiation from the outer
surface is ho = 10 W/m2. K..

(a) Draw the thermal circuit for the wall and label all temperatures, heat rates, and thermal
resistances.
(b) What insulation thickness L is required to maintain the outer wall surface at a safe-to-
touch temperature of To = 400C?
13. A composite wall separates combustion gases at 26000C from a liquid coolant at 100 0C,
with gas- and liquid-side convection coefficients of 50 and 1000 W/m2. K. The wall is
composed of a 10-mm-thick layer of beryllium oxide on the gas side and a 20-mm-thick
slab of stainless steel (AISI 304) on the liquid side. The contact resistance between the
oxide and the steel is 0.05 m2.K/W. What is the heat loss per unit surface
area of the composite? Sketch the temperature distribution from the gas to the liquid.
14. The diagram shows a conical section fabricated from pure aluminum. It is of circular cross
section having diameter D = ax1/2, where a = 0.5 m1/2. The small end is located at x1 = 25
mm and the large end at x2 = 125 mm. The end temperatures are T1 = 600 K and T2 = 400
K, while the lateral surface is well insulated.

(a) Derive an expression for the temperature distribution T(x) in symbolic form, assuming
one-dimensional conditions. Sketch the temperature distribution.
(b) Calculate the heat rate qx.
15. A thin electrical heater is wrapped around the outer surface of a long cylindrical tube whose
inner surface is maintained at a temperature of 50C. The tube wall has inner and outer radii
of 25 and 75 mm, respectively, and a thermal conductivity of 10 W/m. K. The thermal
contact resistance between the heater and the outer surface of the tube (per unit length of
the tube) is Rt,c = 0.01 m. K/W. The outer surface of the heater is exposed to a fluid with
T∞ = -100C and a convection coefficient of h = 100 W/m2. K. Determine the heater power
per unit length of tube required to maintain the heater at To = 250C.
16. A thin electrical heater is inserted between a long circular rod and a concentric tube with
inner and outer radii of 20 and 40 mm. The rod (A) has a thermal conductivity
of kA = 0.15 W/m. K, while the tube (B) has a thermal conductivity of kB = 1.5 W/m. K and
its outer surface is subjected to convection with a fluid of temperature T∞ =-150C and heat
transfer coefficient 50 W/m2. K. The thermal contact resistance between the cylinder
surfaces and the heater is negligible.
(a) Determine the electrical power per unit length of the cylinders (W/m) that is required
to maintain the outer surface of cylinder B at 50C.
(b) What is the temperature at the center of cylinder A?
17. Steam flowing through a long, thin-walled pipe maintains the pipe wall at a uniform
temperature of 500 K. The pipe is covered with an insulation blanket comprised of two
different materials, A and B. The interface between the two materials may be assumed to
have an infinite contact resistance, and the entire outer surface is exposed to air for which
T∞ = 300 K and h = 25 W/m2. K.
 (a) Sketch the thermal circuit of the system. Label (using the preceding symbols) all
pertinent nodes and resistances.
(b) For the prescribed conditions, what is the total heat loss from the pipe? What are the
outer surface temperatures Ts,2(A) and Ts,2(B)?
18. A spherical tank of 3-m diameter contains a liquified-petroleum gas at -600C. Insulation
with a thermal conductivity of 0.06 W/m. K and thickness 250 mm is applied to the tank
to reduce the heat gain.
(a) Determine the radial position in the insulation layer at which the temperature is 00C
when the ambient air temperature is 200C and the convection coefficient on the outer
surface is 6 W/m2. K.
(b) If the insulation is pervious to moisture from the atmospheric air, what conclusions can
you reach about the formation of ice in the insulation? What effect will ice formation have
on heat gain to the LP gas? How could this situation be avoided?
19. A spherical vessel used as a reactor for producing pharmaceuticals has a 10-mm-thick
stainless-steel wall (k = 17 W/m. K) and an inner diameter of l m. The exterior surface of
the vessel is exposed to ambient air (T∞ = 250C) for which a convection coefficient of
6 W/m2. K may be assumed.
(a) During steady-state operation, an inner surface temperature of 500C is maintained by
energy generated within the reactor. What is the heat loss from the vessel?
(b) If a 20-mm-thick layer of fiberglass insulation (k = 0.040 W/m. K) is applied to the
exterior of the vessel and the rate of thermal energy generation is unchanged, what is the
inner surface temperature of the vessel?
20. The air inside a chamber at T∞,i = 500C is heated convectively with hi = 20 W/m2 . K by a
200-mm-thick wall having a thermal conductivity of 4 W/m. K and a uniform heat
generation of 1000 W/m3. To prevent any heat generated within the wall from being lost
to the outside of the chamber at T∞,o = 250C with ho = 5 W/m2. K, a very thin electrical
strip heater is placed on the outer wall to provide a uniform heat flux, qo”.

(a) Sketch the temperature distribution in the wall on T - x coordinates for the condition
where no heat generated within the wall is lost to the outside of the chamber.
(b) What are the temperatures at the wall boundaries, T(0) and T(L), for the conditions of
part (a)?
(c) Determine the value of qo” that must be supplied by the strip heater so that all heat
generated within the wall is transferred to the inside of the chamber.
(d) If the heat generation in the wall were switched off while the heat flux to the strip heater
remained constant, what would be the steady-state temperature, T(0), of the outer wall
surface?
21. Large, cylindrical bales of hay used to feed livestock in the winter months are D = 2 m in
diameter and are stored end-to-end in long rows. Microbial energy generation occurs in the
hay and can be excessive if the farmer bales the hay in a too-wet condition. Assuming
the thermal conductivity of baled hay to be k = 0.04 W/m. K, determine the maximum
steady-state hay temperature for dry hay (q’ = 1W/m3), moist hay (q’ = 10 W/m3), and wet
hay (q’ = 100 W/m3). Ambient conditions are T∞ = 00C and h = 25 W/m2. K
22. A long cylindrical rod of diameter 200 mm with thermal conductivity of 0.5 W/m. K
experiences uniform volumetric heat generation of 24,000 W/m3. The rod is
encapsulated by a circular sleeve having an outer diameter of 400 mm and a thermal
conductivity of 4 W/m. K. The outer surface of the sleeve is exposed to cross flow of air at
270C with a convection coefficient of 25 W/m2. K.
(a) Find the temperature at the interface between the rod and sleeve and on the outer
surface.
(b) What is the temperature at the center of the rod?
23. Consider the plane wall, long cylinder, and sphere shown schematically, each with the
same characteristic length a, thermal conductivity k, and uniform volumetric energy
generation rate q’.

(a) On the same graph, plot the steady-state dimensionless temperature, [T(x or r)
T(a)]/[(q’a2)/2k], versus the dimensionless characteristic length, x/a or r/a, for each
shape.
(b) Which shape has the smallest temperature difference between the center and the
surface? Explain this behavior by comparing the ratio of the volume to-surface area.
(c) Which shape would be preferred for use as a nuclear fuel element? Explain why.
24. Radioactive wastes (krw = 20 W/m. K) are stored in a spherical, stainless steel (kss = 15
W/m. K) container of inner and outer radii equal to ri = 0.5 m and ro = 0.6 m. Heat is
generated volumetrically within the wastes at a uniform rate of q’ = 105 W/m3, and the
outer surface of the container is exposed to a water flow for which h = 1000 W/m2. K and
T∞ = 250C.
 (a) Evaluate the steady-state outer surface temperature, Ts,o.
(b) Evaluate the steady-state inner surface temperature, Ts,i.
(c) Obtain an expression for the temperature distribution, T(r), in the radioactive wastes.
Express your result in terms of ri, Ts,i, krw, and q’. Evaluate the temperature at r = 0.
25. Turbine blades mounted to a rotating disc in a gas turbine engine are exposed to a gas
stream that is at T∞ = 12000C and maintains a convection coefficient of h = 250 W/m2. K
over the blade.

The blades, which are fabricated from Inconel, k = 20 W/m. K, have a length of L = 50
mm. The blade profile has a uniform cross-sectional area of Ac = 6 *104 m2 and a perimeter
of P = 110 mm. A proposed blade-cooling scheme, which involves routing air through the
supporting disc, is able to maintain the base of each blade at a temperature of Tb = 3000C.
(a) If the maximum allowable blade temperature is 10500C and the blade tip may be
assumed to be adiabatic, is the proposed cooling scheme satisfactory?
(b) For the proposed cooling scheme, what is the rate at which heat is transferred from each
blade to the coolant?
26. Heat is uniformly generated at the rate of 2 *105 W/m3 in a wall of thermal conductivity
25 W/m. K and thickness 60 mm. The wall is exposed to convection on both sides, with
different heat transfer coefficients and temperatures as shown. There are straight
rectangular fins on the right-hand side of the wall, with dimensions as shown and thermal
conductivity of 250 W/m. K. What is the maximum temperature that will occur in the wall?