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82 Chapter 2 Heat Conduction

2.3.2 Cylindrical and Spherical Shapes without Heat


Generation
In this section we will obtain solutions to some problems in cylindrical and spher-
ical systems that are often encountered in practice. Probably the most common
case is that of heat transfer through a pipe with a fluid flowing inside. This system
can be idealized, as shown in Fig. 2.8, by radial heat flow through a cylindrical
shell. Our problem is then to determine the temperature distribution and the heat
transfer rate in a long hollow cylinder of length L if the inner- and outer-surface
temperatures are Ti and To, respectively, and there is no internal heat generation.
Since the temperatures at the boundaries are constant, the temperature distribution
is not a function of time and the appropriate form of the conduction equation is

ar b = 0
d dT
(2.35)
dr dr
Integrating once with respect to radius gives
dT dT C1
r = C1 or =
dr dr r
A second integration gives T 5 C1 ln r 1 C2. The constants of integration can be
determined from the boundary conditions:
Ti 5 C1 ln ri 1 C2 at r 5 ri
Thus, C2 5 Ti 2 C1 ln ri. Similarly, for To,
To 5 C1 ln ro 1 Ti 2 C1 ln ri at r 5 ro
Thus, C1 5 (To 2 Ti)/ln(ro/ri).
The temperature distribution, written in dimensionless form, is therefore
T(r) - Ti ln (r/ri)
= (2.36)
To - Ti ln (ro /ri)
The rate of heat transfer by conduction through the cylinder of length L is, from Eq. (1.1),
dT C1 Ti - To
qk = - kA = - k(2prL) = 2pLk (2.37)
dr r ln(ro/ri)

qk
To

T = T(r)
ro k = uniform
ri
qG = 0

Ti
L
FIGURE 2.8 Radial heat conduction through
a cylindrical shell.

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2.3 Steady Heat Conduction in Simple Geometries 83

In terms of a thermal resistance we can write


Ti - To
qk = (2.38)
Rth
where the resistance to heat flow by conduction through a cylinder of length L, inner
radius ri, and outer radius ro is
ln(ro /ri)
Rth = (2.39)
2pLk
The principles developed for a plane wall with conduction and convection in series
can also be applied to a long hollow cylinder such as a pipe or a tube. For example,
as shown in Fig. 2.9, suppose that a hot fluid flows through a tube that is covered by
an insulating material. The system loses heat to the surrounding air through an aver-
-
age heat transfer coefficient hc,o.

Tc, ∞ Insulation
T3

Pipe wall

T2 B

Fluid L
T1
A
Th,∞

r1 = r1
r2
r3 = ro q
hc, o

hc, i

Th, ∞

T1
T2

T3

Tc, ∞
Th, ∞ T1 T2 T3

1 In (r3 /r2) In (r3 /r2) 1


hc, i2π riL 2π kAL 2π kBL hc, o2π roL

FIGURE 2.9 Temperature distribution for a composite cylindrical wall with


convection at the interior and exterior surfaces.

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84 Chapter 2 Heat Conduction

Using Eq. (2.38) for the thermal resistance of the two cylinders and Eq. (1.14)
for the thermal resistance at the inside of the tube and the outside of the insulation
gives the thermal network shown below the physical system in Fig. 2.9. Denoting
the hot-fluid temperature by Th,` and the environmental air temperature by Tc,`, the
rate of heat flow is
¢T Th,q - Tc,q
q = 4
=
1 ln(r2/r1) ln(r3/r2) 1 (2.40)
a Rth qc,i2pr1L
h
+
2pkAL
+
2pkBL
+
qc,o2pr3L
h
1

EXAMPLE 2.2 Compare the heat loss from an insulated and an uninsulated copper pipe under the
following conditions. The pipe (k 5 400 W/m K) has an internal diameter of 10 cm
and an external diameter of 12 cm. Saturated steam flows inside the pipe at 110°C.
The pipe is located in a space at 30°C and the heat transfer coefficient on its outer
surface is estimated to be 15 W/m2 K. The insulation available to reduce heat losses
is 5 cm thick and its conductivity is 0.20 W/m K.

SOLUTION The uninsulated pipe is depicted by the system in Fig. 2.10. The heat loss per unit
length is therefore
q Ts - Tq
=
L R1 + R2 + R3
Air
30°C
hc, o
T∞
ro Air
Steam ri
Steam
110°C hc, i
L Ts T1 T2 T∞

R1 R2 R3
FIGURE 2.10 Schematic diagram and thermal circuit for a hollow
cylinder with convection surface conditions (Example 2.2).
-
For the interior surface resistance we can use Table 1.3 to estimate hc,i. For saturated
- 2
steam condensing, hc,i 5 10,000 W/m K. Hence we get
1 1
R1 = Ri = M = 0.000318 m K/W
2prih qc,i (2p)(0.05 m)(10,000 W/m2 K)
ln(ro/ri) 0.182
R2 = = = 0.00007 m K/W
2pkpipe (2p)(400 W/m K)
1 1
R3 = Ro = = = 0.177 m K/W
2prohqc,o (2p)(0.06 m)(15 W/m2 K)

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2.3 Steady Heat Conduction in Simple Geometries 85

Since R1 and R2 are negligibly small compared to R3, q/L 5 80/0.177 5 452 W/m
for the uninsulated pipe.
For the insulated pipe the system corresponds to that shown in Fig. 2.9; hence,
we must add a fourth resistance between r1 and r3.
ln(11/6)
R4 = = 0.482 m K/W
(2p)(0.2 W/m K)
Also, the outer convection resistance changes to
1
Ro = = 0.096 m K/W
(2p)(0.11 m)(15 W/m2 K)
The total thermal resistance per meter length is therefore 0.578 m K/W and the heat
loss is 80/0.578 5 138 W/m. Adding insulation will reduce the heat loss from the
steam by 70%.

Critical Radius of Insulation In the context of Example 2.2, while heat loss from
an insulated cylindrical system to an external convective environment can generally
be minimized by increasing the thickness of insulation, the problem is somewhat dif-
ferent in small-diameter systems. A case of some practical interest is the insulation
or sheathing of electrical wires, electrical resistors, and other cylindrical electronic
devices through which current flows. Consider an electrical resistor (or wire) with
an insulating sleeve of conductivity k, which has an electrical resistivity Re and car-
ries a current i, as shown in Fig. 2.11, along with its thermal-resistance circuit, where
the heat generated in the wire is transferred to the ambient via conduction through
the insulation and convection at the outer insulation surface.

Electrical
resistor
Insulation

ri
h∞, T∞ Ti
To
r

Ti To T∞

ln(r/ri) 1
2πkL 2πrLh∞
FIGURE 2.11 Current-
carrying electrical resistor
or wire with an insulating
sheath and its thermal-
resistance circuit.

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86 Chapter 2 Heat Conduction

Here the electrical-resistance heat dissipated in the wire is transferred (or lost)
to the ambient, and the heat transfer rate is given by
Ti - Tq
q = i2Re = (2.41)
Rtotal
where the total thermal resistance Rtotal is the sum of the resistances for conduction
through the insulation and external convection, or
ln(r/ri) 1
Rtotal = Rcond + Rconv = + (2.42)
2pkL 2prLhq
From Eq. (2.42) it is evident that as the outer insulation radius r increases, Rcond also
increases whereas Rconv decreases because of the increasing outer surface area. A
relatively larger decrease in the latter would suggest that there is an optimum value
of r, or a critical radius rcr of insulation, for which Rtotal is minimum and the heat
loss q is maximum. This can be readily obtained by differentiating Rtotal in Eq. (2.42)
with respect to r and setting the derivative equal to zero as follows:
dRtotal 1 1
= - 2
= 0
dr 2pkrL 2pr Lhq
or
k
r = rcr = (2.43)
hq
That rcr yields a minimum total resistance can be confirmed by establishing a posi-
tive value for the second derivative of Eq. (2.42) with r 5 rcr, and the student can
readily show this as a home exercise.
The graph in Fig. 2.12 depicts the variations in Rtotal, given by Eq. (2.42) for a
typical electrical resistor or current-carrying wire, and that the competing changes in
Minimum Rtotal
Resistance, R[K/W]

Rtotal

Rcond

Rconv

ri rcr
Outer radius, r[m]

FIGURE 2.12 Variation of thermal resistance with radius


of insulation on a cylindrical system and existence of a
critical radius for minimum total resistance.

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2.3 Steady Heat Conduction in Simple Geometries 87

Rcond and Rconv with r result in a minimum value of Rtotal is self-evident. This fea-
ture is often employed in cooling cylindrical electrical and electronic systems (wires,
cables, resistors, etc.) where the design provides effective electrical insulation and at
the same time promotes optimum heat loss (reduces thermal insulation effect) so as
to prevent overheating.
This condition is also encountered in a spherical system (see the subsequent
treatment of the conduction equation in spherical coordinates), where, based on a
similar mathematical treatment, the corresponding critical radius can be determined
to be rcr 5 (2k/h`). The derivation of this result, following the preceding method, is
left for the student to carry out as a homework exercise.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the practicality of critical radius is
somewhat limited to small-diameter systems in very low convective coefficient
environments; in essence, the radius of the cylindrical system, which would need
insulation for a “cooling” effect or where the thermal insulation might be ineffec-
tive, should be less than (k/h`). This can be seen from the numerical extension of
Example 2.2, where for the given values of k and h` (or hc,o) the critical radius of
insulation is rcr 5 1.33 cm, which is much smaller than 10-cm inner diameter of the
steam pipe.

Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient As shown in Chapter 1, Section 1.6.4, for the
case of plane walls with convection resistances at the surfaces, it is often convenient
to define an overall heat transfer coefficient by the equation

q 5 UA DTtotal 5 UA(Thot 2 Tcold) (2.44)

Comparing Eqs. (2.40) and (2.44) we see that

1 1
UA = 4
=
1 ln(r /r
2 1 ) ln(r3/r2) 1 (2.45)
a Rth qc,i Ai
h
+
2pkAL
+
2pkBL
+
qc,o Ao
h
1

For plane walls the areas of all sections in the heat flow path are the same, but for
cylindrical and spherical systems the area varies with radial distance and the overall
heat transfer coefficient can be based on any area in the heat flow path. Thus, the
numerical value of U will depend on the area selected. Since the outermost diame-
ter is the easiest to measure in practice, Ao 5 2pr3L is usually chosen as the base
area. The rate of heat flow is then

q 5 (UA)o (Thot 2 Tcold) (2.46)

and the overall coefficient becomes

1
Uo = (2.47)
r3 r3In(r2/r1) r3In(r3/r2) 1
+ + +
qc,1
r1h kA kB qhc,o

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88 Chapter 2 Heat Conduction

EXAMPLE 2.3 A hot fluid at an average temperature of 200°C flows through a plastic pipe of 4 cm
OD and 3 cm ID. The thermal conductivity of the plastic is 0.5 W/m2 K, and the con-
vection heat transfer coefficient at the inside is 300 W/m2 K. The pipe is located in a
room at 30°C, and the heat transfer coefficient at the outer surface is 10 W/m2 K.
Calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient and the heat loss per unit length of pipe.

SOLUTION A sketch of the physical system and the corresponding thermal circuit is shown in
Fig. 2.10. The overall heat transfer coefficient from Eq. (2.47) is

1
Uo =
ro roIn(ro/r1) 1
+ +
q
rihc,1 k q
hc,o
1
= = 8.62 W/m2 K
0.02 0.02 ln(2/1.5) 1
+ +
0.015 * 300 0.5 10
where Uo is based on the outside area of the pipe. The heat loss per unit length is,
from Eq. 2.46,

= 1UA2o (Thot - Tcold) = (8.62 W/m2 K)(p)(0.04 m)(200 - 30)( K)


q
L
= 184 W/m

Spherical Coordinate System For a hollow sphere with uniform temperatures at


the inner and outer surfaces (see Fig. 2.13), the temperature distribution without heat

T = T(r)
k = uniform
qG = 0

r0 T0
hc,o, To
Ti
r3
ri r2
k2 k1
r1
qk
hc,i, Ti

(a) (b)
FIGURE 2.13 (a) Hollow sphere with uniform surface temperature and without
heat generation; (b) hollow multilayered sphere with convection on inside and
outside surfaces.

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