Heat Transfer
Problems
TP Classes
1. (1.1) A heat rate of 3 kW is conducted through a section of insulating material of cross-
sectional area 10 m2 and thickness 2.5 cm. If the internal (hot) temperature of the
surface is 415°C and the thermal conductivity of the material is 0.2 W/m.K, what is the
temperature of the external surface?
2. (1.4) The heat flux through a wood slab 50 mm thick, whose inner and outer surface
temperatures are 40 and 20 ºC, respectively, has been determined to be 40 W/m2. What
is the thermal conductivity of the wood?
3. (1.16) A cartridge electrical heater is shaped as a cylinder of length L=200 mm and
outer diameter D= 20 mm. Under normal operating conditions the heater dissipates 2
kW while submerged in a water flow that is at 20 ºC and provides a convection heat
transfer coefficient of h=5000 W/m2.K. Neglecting heat transfer from the ends of the
heater, determine its surface temperature Ts. If the water flow is inadvertently
terminated while the heater continues to operate, the heater surface is exposed to air
that is also at 20 ºC but for which h=50 W/m2.K. What is the corresponding surface
temperature? What are the consequences of such an event?
4. (1.27) A surface with an area of 0.5 m2, an emissivity equal to 0.8 and a temperature
of 150°C is placed inside a large vacuum chamber whose walls are maintained at 25°C.
What is the rate of radiation emission from the surface? What is the net radiant rate
exchanged between the surface and the walls of the chamber?
5. (1.28) A 25 m long uninsulated industrial steam pipe of 100 mm diameter is routed
through a building whose walls and air are at 25ºC. Pressurized steam maintains the pipe
surface temperature of 150ºC, and the coefficient associated with natural convection is
h=10 W/m2.K. The pipe surface emissivity is ε=0.8.
(a) What is the rate of heat loss from the steam line?
(b) If the steam is generated in a gas-fired boiler operating at an efficiency of η=0.90 and
natural gas is priced at 0.1 EUR/kWh, what is the annual cost of heat loss from the line?
6. (1.59) A surface whose temperature is maintained at 400°C is separated from an air
stream by a layer of thermal insulator with a thickness of 25 mm and a thermal
conductivity of 0.1 W/m.K. If the air temperature is 35°C and the convection heat
transfer coefficient between the air and the outer surface of the insulator is 500 W/m2.K,
what is the temperature of the outer surface of the insulation?
7. (1.61) An experiment to determine the convection coefficient associated with airflow
over the surface of a thick stainless steel casting involves insertion of thermocouples in
the casting at distances of 10 and 20 mm from the surface along a hypothetical line
normal to the surface. The steel has a thermal conductivity of 15 W/m.K. If the
thermocouples measure temperatures of 50 and 40ºC in the steel when the air
temperature is 100ºC, what is the convection coefficient?
8. (3.2) The rear window of an automobile is defrosted by the passage of hot air over its
inner surface. If the hot air is at T∞,i=40°C and the corresponding convection coefficient
is hi=30 W/m2.K, what are the temperatures of the inner and outer surfaces of a 4-mm-
thick window glass if the ambient air temperature is T∞,o=-10°C and the associated
convection coefficient is ho=65 W/m2.K?
9. (3.5) The walls of a refrigerator are typically constructed by sandwiching a layer of
insulation between sheet metal panels. Consider a wall made from fiberglass insulation
of thermal conductivity ki=0,046 W/m.K and thickness Li=50 mm and steel panels, each
of thermal conductivity kp= 60 W/m.K and thickness Lp=3 mm. If the wall separates
refrigerated air at T∞,i=4°C from ambient air at T∞,o=25°C, what is the heat gain per unit
surface area? Coefficients associated with natural convection at the inner and outer
surfaces may be approximated as hi=ho=5 W/m2.K.
10. (3.9) The composite wall of an oven consists of three materials, two of which are of
known thermal conductivity, kA=20 W/m.K e kC=50 W/m.K, and known thickness,
LA=0.30 m e LC=0.15 m. The third material, B, which is sandwiched between materials A
and C, is of known thickness, LB=0.15 m, but unknown thermal conductivity kB.
Under steady-state operating conditions, measurements reveal an outer surface
temperature of Ts,o=20°C, na inner surface temperature of Ts,i=600°C, and an oven air
temperature of T∞=800°C. The inside convection coefficient h is known to be 25 W/m2.K.
What is the value of kB?
11. (3.12) The external walls of a building form a composition consisting of 10 mm thick
plasterboard, 50 mm thick urethane foam and 10 mm thick softwood.
On a typical winter day, outdoor and indoor air temperatures are -15°C and 20°C,
respectively, with outdoor and indoor convection coefficients of 15 W/m2.K and 5
W/m2.K, respectively.
a) What is the heat load for a 1m2 wall section?
b) What is the thermal load if the composite wall is replaced by a 3 mm thick glass pane
window?
c) What is the thermal load if the composite wall is replaced by a double-glazed window
each 3 mm thick and separated by a layer of stagnant air 5 mm thick?
12. (3.39) A stainless steel (AISI 304) tube used to transport a chilled pharmaceutical has
an inner diameter of 36 mm and a wall thickness of 2 mm. The pharmaceutical and
ambient air are at temperatures of 6°C and 23°C, respectively, while the corresponding
inner and outer convection coefficients are 400 W/m2.K and 6 W/m2.K, respectively.
a) What is the heat gain per unit tube length?
b) What is the heat gain per unit length if a 10-mm-thick layer of calcium silicate
insulation (kins = 0.050 W/m.K) is applied to the tube?
13. (3.40) Superheated steam at 575°C is routed from a boiler to the turbine of an
electric power plant through steel tubes (k = 35 W/m.K) of 300 mm inner diameter and
30 mm wall thickness. To reduce heat loss to the surroundings and to maintain a safe-
to-touch outer surface temperature, a layer of calcium silicate insulation (k = 0.10
W/m.K) is applied to the tubes, while degradation of the insulation is reduced by
wrapping it in a thin sheet of aluminum having an emissivity of ε = 0.20. The air and wall
temperatures of the power plant are equal to 27°C.
Assuming that the inner surface temperature of a steel tube corresponds to that of the
steam and the convection coefficient outside the aluminum sheet is 6 W/m2.K, what is
the minimum insulation thickness needed to insure that the temperature of the
aluminum does not exceed 50°C? What is the corresponding heat loss per meter of tube
length?
14. (3.49) Steam at a temperature of 250°C flows through a steel pipe (AISI 1010) of 60-
mm inside diameter and 75-mm outside diameter. The convection coefficient between
the steam and the inner surface of the pipe is 500 W/m2.K, and the convection
coefficient between the outer surface of the pipe and the surroundings is 25 W/m2.K.
The pipe emissivity is 0.8, and the temperature of the air and the surroundings is 20°C.
What is the heat loss per unit length of pipe?
15. (3.53) A bakelite coating is to be used with a 10-mm-diameter conducting rod, whose
surface is maintained at 200°C by passage of an electrical current. The rod is in a fluid at
25°C, and the convection coefficient is 140 W/m2.K. What is the critical radius associated
with the coating? What is the heat transfer rate per unit length for the bare rod and for
the rod with a coating of bakelite that corresponds to the critical radius? How much
bakelite should be added to reduce the heat transfer associated with the bare rod by
25%?
16. (exam) Consider a warehouse with the following dimensions: length 14 m, width 8 m and
height 4 m. The warehouse walls are built in common brick (=1920 kg/m3), 30-cm thick and
covered inside and outside with a 2.5 cm thick layer of cement mortar. Also consider that the
temperature inside the warehouse is 24°C, outside it is 8°C and that heat losses occur only
through the side walls. The convection heat transmission coefficients on the interior and exterior
surfaces are, respectively, 5 and 15 W/m2.°C.
a) What is the thermal power that must be supplied so that the interior of the warehouse is kept
at 24°C.
b) If you want to reduce the thermal power by 50% by coating the inner face of the walls with
cork boards, how thick should they be?
17. (exam) An plain carbon steel tube, with an internal diameter of 70 mm and a
thickness of 10 mm, is used to transport saturated steam at a pressure of 26.40 bar. The
convection heat transmission coefficient between the steam and the inner surface of
the tube is 525 W/m2.°C. The emissivity of the outer surface is 0.45 and the ambient air
and surrounding surface temperatures are 20°C. Knowing that the convection heat
transmission coefficient between the outer surface of the tube and the ambient air is 28
W/m2.°C, calculate the linear heat loss of the tube.
18. (exam) A wall composed of a building has the following layers: 100 mm of common
brick, 100 mm of glass fiber (with paper coating, 28 kg/m3), plaster of white plaster and
vermiculite with 10 mm of thickness and a panel of pine with 6 mm of thickness. If the
heat transfer coefficients by internal and external convection, 10 W/m2.°C and 70
W/m2.°C, respectively, determine the total thermal resistance and the overall coefficient
of heat transmission.
19. (5.5) 12 mm diameter steel balls are annealed by heating to 1150 K and then slowly
cooling to 400 K in an air environment for which T∞ = 325 K and h = 20 W/m2.K. Assuming
the steel properties k = 40 W/m.K, ρ = 7800 kg/m3 and cp = 600 J/kg.K, estimate the time
required for the cooling process.
20. (5.6) The heat transfer coefficient for air flowing over a sphere is to be determined
by observing the temperature–time history of a sphere fabricated from pure copper.
The sphere, which is 12.7 mm in diameter, is at 66°C before it is inserted into an
airstream having a temperature of 27°C. A thermocouple on the outer surface of the
sphere indicates 55°C 69 s after the sphere is inserted in the airstream. Assume, and
then justify, that the sphere behaves as a spacewise isothermal object and calculate the
heat transfer coefficient.
21. (5.9) Carbon steel (AISI 1010) shafts of 0.1-m diameter are heat treated in a gas-fired
furnace whose gases are at 1200 K and provide a convection coefficient of 100 W/m2.K.
If the shafts enter the furnace at 300 K, how long must they remain in the furnace to
achieve a centerline temperature of 800 K?
22. (5.10) A thermal energy storage unit consists of a large rectangular channel, which
is well insulated on its outer surface and encloses alternating layers of the storage
material and the flow passage.
Each layer of the storage material is an aluminum slab of width W = 0.05 m, which is at
an initial temperature of 25°C. Consider conditions for which the storage unit is charged
by passing a hot gas through the passages, with the gas temperature and the convection
coefficient assumed to have constant values of T∞ = 600°C and h = 100 W/m2.K
throughout the channel. How long will it take to achieve 75% of the maximum possible
energy storage? What is the temperature of the aluminum at this time?
23. (5.33) Consider the thermal energy storage unit of Problem 5.10, but built in
masonry material with ρ = 1900 kg/m3, c = 800 J/kg.K and k = 0.70 W/m.K instead of
aluminum. How long will it take to reach 75% of the maximum possible energy storage?
What are the maximum and minimum temperatures of the masonry material at this
instant?
24. (5.36) The 150-mm-thick wall of a gas-fired furnace is constructed of fire-clay brick
(k = 1,5 W/m.K, ρ = 2600 kg/m3, cp= 1000 J/kg.K) and is well insulated at its outer surface.
The wall is at a uniform initial temperature of 20°C, when the burners are fired and the
inner surface is exposed to products of combustion for which T∞ = 950°C e h = 100
W/m2.K. How long does it take for the outer surface of the wall to reach a temperature
of 750°C ?
25. (5.48) A long rod of 60-mm diameter and thermophysical properties ρ = 8000 kg/m3,
cp = 500 J/kg.K e k = 50 W/m.K is initially at a uniform temperature and is heated in a
forced convection furnace maintained at 750 K. The convection coefficient is estimated
to be 1000 W/m2.K.
a) What is the centerline temperature of the rod when the surface temperature is 550K?
Determine also the temperature at a depth of 20 mm from the surface at the same
instant of time.
26. (exam) Some apples are placed in a refrigerator at -15°C. Initially, the apples are at
a uniform temperature of 20°C, and the heat transfer coefficient on the surfaces is 8
W/m2.°C. Treating the apples as 9 cm diameter spheres and taking their properties to
be ρ=840 kg/m3, cp=3,81 kJ/kg.°C, k=0,418 W/m.°C and α=1,3x10-7 m2/s, determine the
center and surface temperatures of the apples in 1 h. Also, determine the amount of
heat removed from each apple in this time interval.
27. (exam) A piece of carbon-silicon steel has a parallelepiped shape measuring
20×15×30 (cm3), initially at a uniform temperature of 180°C, is exposed to ambient air
at 16°C. Considering the average value of the convection heat transmission coefficient
of 22 W/m2.°C, for all surfaces of the part, calculate:
a) the time necessary for the piece to reach a temperature of 74°C;
b) the amount of heat lost to the ambient air, during the cooling period referred to in
the previous paragraph.
28. (7.14) The surface of a 1.5 m long flat plate is maintained at 40°C and water at a
temperature of 4°C and a velocity of 0.6 m/s flows over the surface.
a) Using the film temperature Tf to evaluate the properties, calculate the heat transfer
rate per unit width of the plate, q (W/m).
b) Calculate the error in q that could occur in part a) if the thermophysical properties of
water were evaluated for the free stream temperature and the same empirical
correlation was used.
c) In part a), if a wire were placed near the leading edge of the plate to induce turbulence
over the entire length, what would be the rate of heat transfer?
29. (7.65) Water at 20°C flows over a 20 mm diameter sphere with a velocity of 5 m/s.
The surface of the sphere is at 60°C. What is the sphere's heat transfer rate?
30. (exam) The top surface of the passenger car of a train moving at a velocity of 70
km/h is 2.8 m wide and 8 m long. The top surface is absorbing solar radiation at a rate
of 200 W/m2, and the temperature of the ambient air is 30°C. Assuming the roof of the
car to be perfectly insulated and the radiation heat exchange with the surroundings to
be small relative to convection, determine the equilibrium temperature of the top
surface of the car.
31. (8.22) Engine oil flows at a rate of 0.02 kg/s through a pipe 3-mm-diameter and 30-
m-length. The oil inlet temperature is 60°C, while the wall temperature is maintained at
100°C by condensation of steam on its outer surface. Determine:
a) The average heat transfer coefficient for the internal flow of oil;
b) The oil outlet temperature.
32. (8.26) Ethylene glycol flows at 0.01 kg/s through a 3-mm-diameter, thin-walled tube.
The tube is coiled and submerged in a well-stirred water bath maintained at 25°C. If the
fluid enters the tube at 85°C, what heat rate and tube length are required for the fluid
to leave at 35°C? Neglect heat transfer enhancement associated with the coiling.
33. (exam) Hot air at atmospheric pressure and 80°C enters an 8-m-long uninsulated
square duct of cross section 20 cm x 20 cm that passes through the attic of a house at a
rate of 0.15 m3/s. The duct is observed to be nearly isothermal at 60°C. Determine the
exit temperature of the air and the rate of heat loss from the duct to the attic space.
34. (9.23) A isothermal heating flat panel, 0.5 m wide by 1 m high, is installed on a wall
in a large room. The surface of the panel has an emissivity of 0.90 and is maintained at
400 K. If the walls and ambient air are at 300 K, what is the net rate of heat transfer from
the panel to the environment?
35. (9.54) A horizontal uninsulated steam pipe passes through a large room whose walls
and ambient air are at 300 K. The pipe of 150-mm diameter has an emissivity of 0.85
and an outer surface temperature of 400 K. Calculate the heat loss per unit length from
the pipe.
36. (exam) An insulated pipe with 60 m long and 6.03 cm outside diameter is used to
transport steam in a thermal power plant. The temperature measurements at several
locations revealed that the average temperature of the exposed surfaces of the steam
pipe was 170°C, while the temperature of the surrounding air was 20°C. The outer
surface of the pipe appeared to be oxidized, and its emissivity can be taken to be 0.7.
In order to reduce heat losses, it is proposed to insulate the steam pipe with 5-cm-thick
fiberglass insulation (k = 0.038 W/m·°C) and to wrap it with aluminum foil (ɛ = 0.1) in
order to minimize the radiation losses. Assume the temperature of the steam pipe to
remain constant at 170°C. Taking the temperature of the surrounding surfaces to be
20°C also, determine the rate of heat loss from the steam pipe and calculate the
temperature of the outer surface of the insulation.
