TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION

Dr. Mohammad Ilias Inam

Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering & Technology

Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

 The temperature of a body, in general, varies with time as well
as position which is expressed as T(x, y, z, t) in rectangular
cordinate.

 In the preceding chapter, we considered heat conduction under

steady conditions.

 In this chapter, we consider the variation of temperature with

time as well as position in one- and multidimensional systems.

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 We start this chapter with the analysis of lumped systems in which the
temperature of a body varies with time but remains uniform throughout at
any time.

 Then we consider the variation of temperature with time as well as position

for one-dimensional heat conduction problems such as those associated with
a large plane wall, a long cylinder, a sphere, and a semi-infinite medium
using transient temperature charts and analytical solutions.

 Finally, we consider transient heat conduction in multidimensional systems

by utilizing the product solution.

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LUMPED SYSTEM ANALYSIS
 Interior temperature of some
bodies remains essentially
uniform at all times during a
heat transfer process.
 The temperature of such
bodies can be taken to be a
function of time only, T(t),
and independent of position.
 Heat transfer analysis that
utilizes this idealization is
known as lumped system
analysis.

A small copper ball can

be modeled as a
lumped system, but a
roast beef cannot. 4
 Formula of Lumped system
• Consider a body of arbitrary shape of mass
m, volume V, surface area , density , and
specific heat initially at a uniform
temperature .

• At time t = 0, the body is placed into a

medium at temperature , and heat transfer
takes place between the body and its
environment, with a heat transfer coefficient
h.

• Assume that , but the analysis is equally

valid for the opposite case.
The geometry and parameters
• We assume lumped system analysis to be involved in the lumped system
applicable, so that the temperature remains analysis.
uniform within the body at all times and
changes with time only, T = T(t).

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Energy balance equation for time interval dt:

Where,

Integrating with
T = Ti at t = 0
T = T(t) at t = t The geometry and parameters
involved in the lumped system
analysis.

Where, time constant

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 • This equation enables us to
determine the temperature T(t) of a
body at time t, or alternatively, the
Where, time constant
time t required for the temperature to
reach a specified value T(t).
• The temperature of a body
approaches the ambient temperature
T exponentially.
• The temperature of the body changes
rapidly at the beginning, but rather
slowly later on. A large value of b
indicates that the body approaches
the environment temperature in a
short time.

 Note that b is proportional to the

surface area, but inversely
proportional to the mass and the
specific heat of the body. This is not
The temperature of a lumped system surprising since it takes longer to heat
approaches the environment temperature or cool a larger mass, especially
as time gets larger. when it has a large specific heat.
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 The rate of convection heat transfer between the body and its environment at time t
can be determined from Newton’s law of cooling as

 The total amount of heat transfer between the body and the surrounding medium
over the time interval t = 0 to t is simply the change in the energy content of the
body:

 The maximum heat transfer between the body and its surroundings is:

Heat transfer to or from a body

reaches its maximum value
when the body reaches the
environment temperature.

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Criteria for Lumped System Analysis
Characteristic length

Biot number

• The Biot number is the ratio of the internal

resistance of a body to heat conduction to
its external resistance to heat convection.

• Therefore, a small Biot number represents

small resistance to heat conduction, and
thus small temperature gradients within the
body.

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  Lumped system analysis assumes a uniform temperature distribution
throughout the body, which is the case only when the thermal resistance of the
body to heat conduction (the conduction resistance) is zero.

 Thus, lumped system analysis is exact when Bi = 0 and approximate when Bi >
0.

 Of course, the smaller the Bi number, the more accurate the lumped system
analysis.
Then the question we must answer is, how much accuracy are
we willing to sacrifice for the convenience of the lumped
system analysis?
We should know that a 15% uncertainty in the
h in most cases is considered “normal” and
“expected.”
Lumped system analysis is applicable if

When Bi  0.1, the temperatures within the body relative to the

surroundings (i.e., T −T) remain within 5 percent of each other.
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Small bodies with high
thermal conductivities
and low convection
coefficients are most
likely to satisfy the
criterion for lumped
system analysis.

When the convection coefficient h is high

and k is low, large temperature differences
occur between the inner and outer regions
of a large solid.

Analogy between heat transfer to

a solid and passenger traffic to an
island. 11
TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION IN LARGE PLANE
WALLS, LONG CYLINDERS, AND SPHERES WITH
SPATIAL EFFECTS
 In previous section, we considered bodies in which the variation
of temperature within the body is negligible; that is, bodies that
remain nearly isothermal during a process.

 Relatively small bodies of highly conductive materials

approximate this behavior.

 In general, however, the temperature within a body changes

from point to point as well as with time.

 In this section, we consider the variation of temperature with

time and position in one-dimensional problems such as those
associated with a large plane wall, a long cylinder, and a
sphere.

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TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION IN LARGE PLANE
WALLS, LONG CYLINDERS, AND SPHERES WITH
SPATIAL EFFECTS
We will consider the variation of temperature with time and position in one-
dimensional problems such as those associated with a large plane wall, a long cylinder,
and a sphere.

• Consider a plane wall of thickness 2L,

• A long cylinder of radius ,
• A sphere of radius
• Initially at a uniform temperature

Schematic of the
simple geometries in
which heat transfer is
one-dimensional. 13
• When the wall is first exposed to the
surrounding medium at , at t = 0, the entire
wall is at its initial temperature .

• But the wall temperature at and near the

surfaces starts to drop as a result of heat
transfer from the wall to the surrounding
medium. This creates a temperature gradient in
the wall and initiates heat conduction from the
inner parts of the wall toward its outer surfaces.

• Note that the temperature at the center of the wall remains at until , and that
the temperature profile within the wall remains symmetric at all times about
the center plane.

• The temperature profile gets flatter and flatter as time passes as a result of heat
transfer, and eventually becomes uniform at `.

• That is, the wall reaches thermal equilibrium (no heat transfer) with its
surroundings.

• Similar discussions can be given for the long cylinder or sphere.

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Nondimensionalized One-Dimensional Transient Conduction Problem
• Wall thickness, 2L
• Initial temperature, (uniform)
• Surrounding temperature,
• Thermally symmetry about the midplane passing through
Where,

Nondimensionalization

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 By substituting these values:

Finally the dimensionless equations are:

Use:
Differential eqn.:

BC: & The proper form of

the dimensionless
Initial condition: time is , which is
called the Fourier
number Fo
Where:

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 Lumped system:

Nondimensionalization reduces
the number of independent
variables in one-dimensional
transient conduction problems
from 8 to 3, offering great
convenience in the presentation
of results. 17
Exact Solution of One-Dimensional Transient
Conduction Problem

These non-dimensionalized partial differential &

equation together with its boundary and initial
conditions can be solved using several
analytical and numerical techniques, such as:
The method is applicable if
• The Laplace or other transform methods,
• The method of separation of variables, • the geometry is simple and
• The finite difference method, finite (such as a rectangular
• The finite-element method block, a cylinder, or a sphere)
so that the boundary surfaces
The method of separation of variables is can be described by simple
applied by assuming the dependent variable to mathematical functions
be a product of a number of functions, each
being a function of a single independent • the differential equation and
variable. This reduces the partial differential the boundary and initial
equation to a system of ordinary differential conditions in their most
equations, each being a function of a single simplified form are linear.
independent variable.
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 The method of separation of variables
From the method definition:

Than,
It should be equal to constant since left and
right side depends on two different variables.
Depend on Further, Constant must be negative,
Depend on X
since a positive constant will cause
Now, the function to increase indefinitely
with time (to be infinite), which is
unphysical, and a value of zero for the
constant means no time dependence,
which is again inconsistent with the
Whose general solutions are
physical problem.

and

Where,

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 BC:

Applying the boundary conditions:

This has an infinite number

So that it have infinite number of solution in
of roots, it is expressed as
the form of and the solution of this linear heat
conduction problem is a linear combination of
them,

The constants are determined from the initial condition,

This is a Fourier series expansion and becomes:

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The completes solution of one-dimensional
transient heat conduction problem in a plane
wall is:

The solution for the plane wall is also applicable for a plane wall of
thickness L whose left surface is insulated and the right surface is
subjected to convection since this is precisely the mathematical problem
we solved.

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The analytical solutions of transient conduction
problems typically involve infinite series, and
thus the evaluation of an infinite number of
terms to determine the temperature at a
specified location and time.

• This may look intimidating at first, but there

is no need to worry.
• As demonstrated in left figure, the terms in
the summation decline rapidly as and thus
increases because of the exponential decay
function .
• This is especially the case when the
dimensionless time is large.
• Therefore, the evaluation of the first few
terms of the infinite series (in this case just
the first term) is usually adequate to
determine the dimensionless temperature .

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 Approximate Analytical and Graphical Solutions
The analytical solution obtained above for one- The terms in the series solutions
dimensional transient heat conduction in a converge rapidly with increasing
plane wall involves infinite series and implicit time, and for  > 0.2, keeping the
equations, which are difficult to evaluate. first term and neglecting all the
Therefore, there is clear motivation to simplify remaining terms in the series results
the analytical solutions and to present the in an error under 2 percent.
solutions in tabular or graphical form using
simple relations.
Solution with one-term approximation

where the constants and are functions of the Bi number only, and their values are
listed in Table 4–2 against the Bi number for all three geometries. The function is the
zeroth-order Bessel function of the first kind, whose value can be determined from
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Table 4–3.
24
Solution with one-term approximation

Noting that and the limit of (sin x)/x

is also 1, these relations simplify to
the next ones at the center of a plane
wall, cylinder, or sphere:

Temperature at the center of a plane wall, cylinder, or sphere:

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The dimensionless temperatures anywhere in a plane wall, cylinder,
and sphere are related to the center temperature by

This indicates that if center temperature is dropped by 20% at any time interval,
similar temperature drop will be observed at any other location at the same time
interval.

Temperature at any point can be determine by using these equations where as you
only need Bi number to determine and which is listed at Table 4-2 and 4-3.

 You may use chart instead of Table.

 These relations are plotted and the one-term approximation solutions are
presented in graphical form, known as the transient temperature charts.
 The transient temperature charts in Figs. 4–17, 4–18, and 4–19 for a large
plane wall, long cylinder, and sphere are called Heisler charts.

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The maximum amount of heat that a body can
gain is simply the change in the energy content
of the body. That is,

The amount of heat transfer Q at a finite time t is

The ratio of Q/Qmax becomes

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Using the appropriate nondimensional temperature relations based on the
one term approximation, and performing the indicated integrations, we
obtain the following relations:

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 (a) Midplane temperature

This chart is used to determine the temperature

at the center of the geometry at a given time t.

Transient temperature and heat transfer charts (Heisler and

Grober charts) for a plane wall of thickness 2L initially at a
uniform temperature Ti subjected to convection from both sides
to an environment at temperature T with a convection 29

coefficient of h.
 This chart is used to determine
the temperature at other
locations at the same time in
terms of

(b) Temperature distribution

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 This chart is used to determine the total
amount of heat transfer up to the time t.

(c) Heat transfer

The fraction of total heat transfer

Q/Qmax up to a specified time t is
determined using the Gröber charts. 31
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33
 The physical significance of the Fourier number

• The Fourier number is a

measure of heat conducted
through a body relative to
heat stored.
• A large value of the Fourier
number indicates faster
propagation of heat through
a body.

Fourier number at time t can

be viewed as the ratio of the
rate of heat conducted to the
rate of heat stored at that
time.
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TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION IN SEMI-
INFINITE SOLIDS
Semi-infinite solid: An idealized body
that has a single plane surface and
extends to infinity in all directions.
The earth can be considered to be a
semi-infinite medium in determining
the variation of temperature near its
surface.
A thick wall can be modeled as a semi-
infinite medium if all we are interested
in is the variation of temperature in the
region near one of the surfaces, and the
other surface is too far to have any
impact on the region of interest during
Schematic of a semi-infinite body.
the time of observation.
For short periods of time, most bodies can be
modeled as semi-infinite solids since heat
does not have sufficient time to penetrate
deep into the body. 35
Analytical solution for the case of constant temperature Ts on the surface

error
function Transformation of variables in
the derivatives of the heat
complementary conduction equation by the
error function use of chain rule. 36
Error function is a standard
mathematical function, just like the
sine and cosine functions, whose
value varies between 0 and 1.

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Analytical
solutions for
different
boundary
conditions on
the surface

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Dimensionless temperature
distribution for transient
conduction in a semi-
infinite solid whose surface
is maintained at a constant
temperature Ts.

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41
Variation of temperature with position and time in a semi-infinite solid
initially at temperature Ti subjected to convection to an environment at
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T∞ with a convection heat transfer coefficient of h.
Contact of Two Semi-Infinite Solids
When two large bodies A and B, initially at
uniform temperatures TA,i and TB,i are brought
into contact, they instantly achieve temperature
equality at the contact surface.
If the two bodies are of the same material, the
contact surface temperature is the arithmetic
average, Ts = (TA,i+TB,i)/2.
If the bodies are of different materials, the
surface temperature Ts will be different than the
arithmetic average.

The interface temperature of two bodies

brought into contact is dominated by the
body with the larger kcp.

EXAMPLE: When a person with a skin temperature of 35C touches an aluminum block
and then a wood block both at 15C, the contact surface temperature will be 15.9C in the
case of aluminum and 30C in the case of wood. 43
 TRANSIENT HEAT CONDUCTION IN
MULTIDIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS
• Using a superposition approach called the product solution, the transient temperature
charts and solutions can be used to construct solutions for the two-dimensional and three-
dimensional transient heat conduction problems encountered in geometries such as a
short cylinder, a long rectangular bar, a rectangular prism or a semi-infinite rectangular
bar, provided that all surfaces of the solid are subjected to convection to the same fluid at
temperature T, with the same heat transfer coefficient h, and the body involves no heat
generation.
• The solution in such multidimensional geometries can be expressed as the product of the
solutions for the one-dimensional geometries whose intersection is the multidimensional
geometry.

The temperature in a short

cylinder exposed to convection
from all surfaces varies in both
the radial and axial directions,
and thus heat is transferred in
both directions.
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The solution for a multidimensional geometry is the product of the solutions of the one-
dimensional geometries whose intersection is the multidimensional body.
The solution for the two-dimensional short cylinder of height a and radius ro is equal to the
product of the nondimensionalized solutions for the one-dimensional plane wall of
thickness a and the long cylinder of radius ro.

A short cylinder of radius ro

and height a is the
intersection of a long
cylinder of radius ro and a
plane wall of thickness a.

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A long solid bar of rectangular profile a
 b is the intersection of two plane walls
of thicknesses a and b.

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The transient heat transfer for a two-dimensional geometry
formed by the intersection of two one-dimensional
geometries 1 and 2 is

Transient heat transfer for a three-dimensional body

formed by the intersection of three one-dimensional bodies
1, 2, and 3 is

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Multidimensional solutions expressed as products of one-dimensional solutions
for bodies that are initially at a uniform temperature Ti and exposed to
convection from all surfaces to a medium at T

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Multidimensional solutions expressed as products of one-dimensional solutions for
bodies that are initially at a uniform temperature Ti and exposed to convection from
all surfaces to a medium at T

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