MENG466

ASSIGNMENT I
1- A wall 2 cm thick is to be constructed from material which has an average thermal
conductivity of 1.3 W/m K. The wall is to be insulated with material having an average
thermal conductivity of 0.35 W/m K, so that the heat loss per square meter will not
exceed 1830 W. Assuming that the inner and outer surface temperatures of the insulated
wall are 1300 and 30oC, calculate the thickness of insulation required.
2- Find the rate of heat transfer through the composite wall sketched. Assume 1-D heat
flow .
kA = 150 W/m K
kB = 30 , kC = 50,
kD = 70 , AB = AD

3- A certain material has a thickness of 30 cm and a thermal conductivity of 0.04 W/m K.

At a particular instant in time the temperature distribution with x, the distance from the
left face, is T = 150 x2 30 x, where x is in meters. Calculate the heat flow rates at x=0
and x=30 cm. Is the solid heating up or cooling down?
4- A certain building wall consists of 150 m.m. of concrete[k=1.2 W/m K], 50 m.m. of
fiber-glass insulation, and 10 m.m. of gypsum board[k=0.05 W/m K]. The inside and
outside convection coefficients are 12 and 40 W/m2 K, respectively. The outside air
temperature is 7oC, and the inside temperature is 22oC. Calculate the overall heattransfer coefficient, the R value for the wall, and the heat loss per unit area.
5- A steel pipe with a 5 cm O.D. is covered with a 6.4 mm asbestos insulation [k=0.166
W/m K] followed by a 2.5 cm layer of fiber-glass insulation[k=0.048 W/m K]. The pipewall temperature is 315oC , and the outside insulation temperature is 38oC. Calculate the
interface temperature between the asbestos and fiber glass.
6. A 1.0 mm diameter wire is maintained at a temperature of 400oC and exposed to a
convection environment at 40oC with h=120 W/m2 K. Calculate the thermal conductivity
which will just cause an insulation thickness of 0.2 mm to produce a critical radius.
How much of this insulation must be added to reduce the heat transfer by 75% from that
which would be experienced by the bare wire?

7. Derive a relation for the critical radius of insulation of a sphere.

8. A house wall may be approximated as two 1.2 cm layers of fiber insulating board, a
8.0 cm layer of loosely packed asbestos, and a 10 cm layer of common brick. Assuming
convection heat-transfer coefficients of 15 W/m2 K on both sides of the wall, calculate
the overall heat transfer coefficient for this arrangement.
9. An insulation system is to be selected for a furnace wall at 1000oC using first a layer of
mineral wool blocks[k=0.100 W/m K ], followed by fiber glass boards[k=.045 W/m K].
The outside of the insulation is exposed to an environment with h=15 W/m2 K and
T=40oC. Calculate the thickness of each insulating material such that the interface
temperature is not greater than 400oC and the outside temperature is not greater than
55oC. What is the heat loss in this wall in watts per square meter?
10. A certain semiconductor material has a conductivity of 0.0124 W/cm K. A
rectangular bar of the material has a cross-sectional area of 1cm2 and a length of 3 cm.
One end is maintained at 300oC and the other end at 100oC, and the bar carries a current
of 50 A. Assuming the longitudinal surface is insulated, calculate the mid-point
temperature in the bar. Take the resistivity as 1.5x10-3 Ohms/cm.
11. A plate having a thickness of 4.0 m.m. has an internal heat generation of 200 MW/m3
and a thermal conductivity of 25 W/m K. One side of the plate is insulated and the other
side is maintained at 100oC. Calculate the maximum temperature in the plate.
12. A straight rectangular fin 2.0 cm thick and 14 cm long is constructed of steel and
placed on the outside of a wall maintained at 200oC. The environment temperature is
15oC, and the heat-transfer coefficient for convection is 20 W/m2 K. Calculate the heat
lost from the fin per unit depth.
13. An Aluminum fin 1.6 mm thick surrounds a tube 2.5 cm in diameter. The length of
the fin is 12.5 mm. The tube wall temperature is 200oC, and the environment temperature
is 20oC. The heat transfer coefficient is 60 W/m2 K. What is the heat lost by the fin?
14. A long stainless-steel rod [k=16 W/m K] has a square section 12.5 by 12.5 mm and
has one end maintained at 250oC. The heat transfer coefficient is 40 W/m2 K, and the
environment temperature is 90oC. Calculate the heat lost by the rod.
15. One hundred circumferential Aluminum fins of rectangular profile are mounted on a
1.0 m tube having a diameter of 2.5 cm. The fins are 1 cm long and 2.00 mm thick. The
base temperature is 180 oC, and the convection environment is at 20oC with h=50 W/m2K
. Calculate the total heat lost from the finned-tube arrangement over the 1 m length.

16. Two 25 mm diameter bars of stainless steel [k= 17 W/m K] are brought into end-toend contact so that only 0.1 percent of the cross-sectional area is in contact at the joint.
The bars are 7.5 cm long and subjected to an axial temperature difference of 300oC. The
roughness depth in each bar(Lg/2) is estimated to be 1.3 m. The surrounding fluid is air,
whose thermal conductivity may be taken as 0.035 W/m K for this problem. Estimate the
value of the contact resistance and the axial heat flow. What would the heat flow be for a
continuous 15 cm stainless-steel bar?
17. Two Aluminum plates 5 mm thick with a ground roughness of 2.54 m are bolted
together with a contact pressure of 20 bar. The overall temperature difference across the
plates is 80oC. Calculate the temperature drop across the contact joint.