Course Contents In this course the concepts & mathematics of heat transfer in the engineering context are treated.
Elementary understanding of the three modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation, will be briefly reviewed
during the first two lectures.
During the remainder of the course, the underlying physics will be emphasized and advanced mathematical formulations will be
explained. A large focus in the course will be on the analysis of heat transfer in real-life integrated systems.
Subjects in order of appearance:
- A refresher on the underlying thermodynamics; energy, enthalpy, specific heats and phase change enthalpy.
- A refresher on Conduction, Convection and Radiation.
- Integral and differential energy balances in a 1-D and multiple-D continuum; absorption, reaction and dissipation as source
terms.
- Stationary conduction: cooling fins, multi-dimensional conduction and Laplaces equation; boundary conditions; analytical
techniques & numerical techniques; relaxation.
- Phase change as a boundary phenomenon; melting and solidification fronts; Jakob number & Stefan condition.
- Instationary conduction: Fourier and Biot number; boundary conditions; analytical techniques & numerical techniques; stability
criteria.
- Forced & Free convection: Nusselt, Stanton, Prandlt & Peclet numbers; Analysis & the physics behind empirical correlations.
The role of boundary conditions.
- Radiation: radiative exchange between grey bodies, solar radiation, spectral characteristics, surface characteristics.
Study Goals More specifically: The student is able to
1. Distinguish between the different modes of heat transfer, and divide real-life systems into subsystems of elementary heat
transfer modes in a qualitative and quantitative manner.
2. For all of the below; give the physical interpretation of contributors and terms in balances in words and in sketches.
3. Set up appropriate integral and differential energy balances for one- and multidimensional instationary conduction.
4. Justify and apply simplifications and define the appropriate boundary conditions, including problems containing phase
changes, i.e. Stefan conditions.
5. Indicate mathematical solution strategies - both analytical and numerical, and apply those for standard geometries.
6. Distinguish between different modes of convective heat transfer, and distinguish between the different physical mechanisms
underlying empirical correlations.
Indicate implications when more detailed distributions of convective heat transfer are involved.
7. Estimate the magnitude of radiative heat transfer, distinguish between thermal and short-wave properties and spectral
distributions, qualify and quantify the role of surface properties in real-life applications.
