HEAT TRANSFER
In the simplest of terms, the
discipline of heat transfer is concerned with only two things: temperature,
and the flow of heat. Temperature represents the amount of thermal
energy available, whereas heat flow represents the movement of thermal energy
from place to place.
On a microscopic scale, thermal energy is related to the
kinetic energy of molecules. The greater a material's temperature, the
greater the thermal agitation of its constituent molecules (manifested both
in linear motion and vibrational modes). It is natural for regions containing
greater molecular kinetic energy to pass this energy to regions with less
kinetic energy.
Several material properties serve to modulate the heat
transferred between two regions at differing temperatures. Examples include
thermal conductivities, specific heats, material densities, fluid velocities,
fluid viscosities, surface emissivities, and more. Taken together, these
properties serve to make the solution of many heat transfer problems an
involved process.
Heat Transfer Mechanisms
Heat
transfer mechanisms can be grouped into 3 broad categories:
Conduction
Regions with
greater molecular kinetic energy will pass their thermal energy to regions
with less molecular energy through direct molecular collisions, a process
known as conduction. In metals, a significant portion of the transported
thermal energy is also carried by conduction-band electrons. Convection When heat conducts into a static fluid it leads to a local volumetric expansion. As a result of gravity-induced pressure gradients, the expanded fluid parcel becomes buoyant and displaces, thereby transporting heat by fluid motion (i.e. convection) in addition to conduction. Such heat-induced fluid motion in initially static fluids is known as free convection. Radiation All materials radiate thermal energy in amounts determined by their temperature, where the energy is carried by photons of light in the infrared and visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. When temperatures are uniform, the radiative flux between objects is in equilibrium and no net thermal energy is exchanged. The balance is upset when temperatures are not uniform, and thermal energy is transported from surfaces of higher to surfaces of lower temperature.
Thermal Conductivity
Thermal conductivity (λ) is the intrinsic property of a
material which relates its ability to conduct heat. Heat transfer by
conduction involves transfer of energy within a material without any motion
of the material as a whole. Conduction takes place when a temperature
gradient exists in a solid (or stationary fluid) medium. Conductive heat flow
occurs in the direction of decreasing temperature because higher temperature
equates to higher molecular energy or more molecular movement. Energy is
transferred from the more energetic to the less energetic molecules when
neighboring molecules collide.
Thermal conductivity is defined as the quantity of heat (Q)
transmitted through a unit thickness (L) in a direction normal to a
surface of unit area (A) due to a unit temperature gradient (ΔT)
under steady state conditions and when the heat transfer is dependent only on
the temperature gradient. In equation form this becomes the following:
Thermal Conductivity = heat × distance / (area ×
temperature gradient)
λ = Q × L / (A × ΔT) |
HEAT TRANSFER
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