Week 2_Assignment 2

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. The critical radius of insulation for the case of a sphere is given by:
a. 3k/4h
b. 2k/h
c. k/1.5h
d. k/h

Answer: b.

2. Radioactive waste (k = 20W/m K) is stored in a cylindrical stainless steel (k = 15

W/m K) container with inner and outer diameters of 1.0 and 1.2 m, respectively.
Thermal energy is generated uniformly within the waste material at a volumetric rate
of 2  105 W/m3. The outer container surface is exposed to water at 25 oC, with a
surface coefficient of 1000 W/m2 K. The ends of the cylindrical assembly are
insulated so that all heat transfer occurs in the radial direction. For this situation the
steady-state temperature at the center of the waste material is? (in K)
a. 1143
b. 738
c. 1268
d. 1909
Answer: c

Solution:
Since the ends of the cylinder are insulated, we have the heat transfer along the raial direction
alone.

 T  fn(r) only

Let:

T (ri )  Ti and T (ro )  To

Where, the subscripts i and o denote the inner and outer surfaces of the cylinder respectively;
Ti and To denote the temperatures at the inner and outer diameters of the cylinder
respectively.

Let the temperature of the external ambience (water) be T = 298 K (given)

Therefore, in the waste material:

q  q( ri2 L) (1)

Hence, the governing equation for a cylindrical system, with only radial heat transfer, at
steady state and internal heat generation reduces to:

1 d  dT  q
 0
r dr  dr  k
r

Boundary conditions:

dT
At r = 0;  0 (Center line)
dr

At r = ri; T = Ti (Temperature at the inner surface of the cylinder)

Therefore, solving the governing equation, subjected to the above boundary conditions, we
get:

q
T  Ti  (ri2  r 2 ) (2)
4k

For the outer surface, in order to compute the temperature of the outer wall, we equate the
heat lost by conduction to the heat gained by convection, at the outer surface of the cylinder.

Therefore,

2 kL
q Ti  To   2 ro Lh To  T  (3)
 ro 
ln  
 ri 

Therefore at steady state, we equate the overall heat lost and heat gained by equation
equations (1) and (3), giving rise to:

2 kL
Ti  To   2 ro Lh To  T   q( ri2 L)
 ro 
ln  
 ri 

Upon simplification and substituting the relevant values, we get:

To = 339.7 K ; and Ti = 339.7 + 303 = 642.7 K

Finally, the temperature at the center of the waste, can be calculated by substituting all the
above values in equation (2):

q 2
T = 642.7 + (ri )
4k

= 642.7 + 625 = 1268 K

 3. Lumped parameter analysis for transient heat conduction is essentially valid for
a) B I < 0.1
b) 1 < B I < 10
c) 0.1 < B I < 0.5
d) It tends to infinity
Where, B I is the non-dimensional Biot number

Answer: a.

4. A pipe of outside diameter 20 mm is to be insulated with asbestos which has a mean

thermal conductivity of 0.1 W/m degree. The local coefficient of convective heat to
the surroundings is 5 W/square meter degree. Find the critical radius of insulation for
optimum heat transfer from pipe?
a) 10 mm
b) 20 mm
c) 30 mm
d) 40 mm

Answer: b
Explanation: Critical radius of insulation = k/h0 = 0.1/5 = 0.02 m = 20 mm.

5. A 10 mm diameter electrical conductor is covered by an insulation of 2 mm thickness.

The conductivity of the insulation is 0.08 W/m-K and the convection coefficient at the
insulation surface is 10 W/m2-K. Addition of further insulation of the same material
will

a) Increase heat loss continuously

b) Decrease heat loss continuously
c) Increase heat loss to a maximum then decrease heat loss
d) Decrease heat loss to a maximum then increase heat loss

Answer: c

True or False:
1. It is well known that transient heat conduction problems are commonly encountered
in various engineering applications. Therefore, it can be safely said that the thermal
response of a thin metallic laminate, being bonded using a high power laser source, is
not a transient heat conduction problem.
a. True
b. False

Answer: b. It’s clearly a transient heat conduction problem

 2. Biot number is an essential dimensionless number to assess the applicability of the
lumped capacity model to a particular system. For the specific case of larger Biot
number, it can be said that the conductive resistance dominates, and hence there is a
higher capacity for heat to leave the surface by convection, than to reach the surface
by conduction.
a. True
b. False

Answer: a. Higher Biot number means the system offers higher resistance to conduction.

3. The time constant of any general system can be considered as a product of two
parameters, namely, the capacitance of a system and the resistance of the system.
a. True
b. False

Answer: a.

4. For all types of situations, it is always advisable to have a lower value of contact
resistance.
a. True
b. False

Answer: b

5. The concept of critical thickness of insulation is not commonly encountered in

industrial applications
a. True
b. False

Answer: a