You are on page 1of 6

MEC 551 - THERMAL ENGINEERING MARCH2012 JUNE 2012

TEST 1
ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS

DURATION: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

PART A
QUESTION 1(CO1)
a) i) Briefly describe how the science of heat transfer is different from thermodynamics?
ii) Briefly explain the mechanisms of heat transfer and how are they distinguished from each other?
(5 marks)
b)

Explain the difference in convective heat transfer between laminar and turbulent conditions.
(5 marks)

PART B
QUESTION 1(CO4)
Consider steady two dimensional heat transfers in a L-shaped solid bar whose cross section is given in the
Figure Q1(b) below. The thermal conductivity of the bar is k = 20W/m.0C. The right surface of the bar is
subjected to heat flux at a uniform rate of qR = 4000 W/m2, and the left surface is subjected to convection
to ambient air at T = 250C with a convection coefficient of h = 60 W/m2.0C. The entire top surface of
the body is insulated, and the bottom surface is maintained at a uniform temperature of 1000C. Heat is
generated in the entire body at a uniform rate e = 1 MW/m3. Using the finite difference method with a
mesh size of x = y =1cm, substitute all the given quantities into the equations and obtain the simplest
form of finite difference equations for Node 2, Node 4, Node 5, Node 6 and Node 7.

qR
y

1000C

x
Figure Q1(b)

(15 marks)

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UiTM, SHAH ALAM

Page 1/2

MEC 551 - THERMAL ENGINEERING MARCH2012 JUNE 2012

QUESTION 2 (CO3)
A composite flat pan has constructed by three different materials, A, B and C as shown in Figure Q2. An
experiment has been conducted and the respective pan has been heated at the bottom, which give an
uniform temperature of T,fire = 2000C while the free surface of the layer C (Ts,c = 700C) is exposed to air
at T= 200C and a convection heat transfer coefficient h,o . The heated process consists of convection
and radiation, with the hcombined =17 W/m.0C. The properties of the air at 1atm are as follows;
TEMPERATURE
[0C]

THERMAL
CONDUCTIVITY, k
[W/(m.0C)]

45

0.02662

55

DENSITY,
[kg/(m3)]

KINEMATIC
VISCOSITY,
[m2/s]

PRANDTL
NUMBER
Pr

1.127 x 10-5

1.702 x 10-5

0.7255

0.02808

1.059 x 10-5

1.896 x 10-5

0.7202

65

0.02881

1.028 x 10-5

1.995 x 10-5

0.7177

75

0.02953

0.9994 x 10-5

2.096 x 10-5

0.7154

The width of pan is 2.5m. Under condition of steady state and one dimensional heat transfer, calculate;
i) the rate of heat transfer, Q (W),
ii) the thermal conductivity for kA and kB (W/m.0C)

V,o = 5 m/s

Ts,c=700C

T,o = 200C

0.5m
1.2m
2.1m

kc = 20.18 W/m.0c
kB = 2kA
Given:
NuL = 0.664ReL0.5Pr1/3 (for laminar flow)
NuL = 0.037ReL0.8Pr1/3 (for turbulent flow)
NuL = [0.037ReL0.8-871] Pr1/3 (for mixed flow)

1.8m

1.1m

hcombined = 17W/m. 0C
T,fire =2000C

Radiation + Convection

FIRE
Figure Q2

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UiTM, SHAH ALAM

(15 marks)

Page 2/2

MEC 551 - THERMAL ENGINEERING MARCH2012 JUNE 2012

PART A - QUESTION 1(a)

i) Thermodynamics refer to the amount of energy transferred from a system to another system
in equilibrium condition.
Heat transfer is a study of the rate of energy transfer in a system.
ii) The mechanisms of heat transfer are: conduction, convection and radiation.
Conduction is the transfer of energy from the more energetic particles of a substance to
the adjacent less energetic ones as a result of interactions between the particles.
Convection is the mode of energy transfer between a solid surface and the adjacent liquid
or gas which is in motion, and it involves combined effects of conduction and fluid motion.
Radiation is energy emitted by matter in the form of electromagnetic waves (or photons)
as a result of the changes in the electronic configurations of the atoms or molecules.
PART A - QUESTION 1(b)
In convection heat transfer, the fluid flow can be either laminar or turbulent. A fluid flow is
laminar in relatively low velocities when it involves smooth streamlines and highly ordered
motion of molecules, and turbulent flow forms when the boundary layer is shedding or breaking
due to higher velocities and highly disordered motion.

Reynolds number is the ratio of the inertial forces to viscous forces, and it serves as a criterion
for determining the flow regime either laminar or turbulent. For flow over a flat plate, the
Reynolds number is

Transition from laminar to turbulent occurs at the critical Reynolds number of

Laminar flow generally yields poorer heat transfer compared to turbulent flow. The turbulence
causes a mixing of the fluid close to the plate. This mixing gives rise to better heat transfer due
to thinner boundary layers close to the plate.

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UiTM, SHAH ALAM

Page 3/2

MEC 551 - THERMAL ENGINEERING MARCH2012 JUNE 2012

PART B - QUESTION 1
Node 2

Node 4

Node 5

Node 6

Node 7

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UiTM, SHAH ALAM

Page 4/2

MEC 551 - THERMAL ENGINEERING MARCH2012 JUNE 2012

PART B - QUESTION 2

i )the rate of heat transfer


T film

Ts T 70 20

4 50 C
2
2

properties at T film 45 K

1.127 x10 5 kg

Re

m3

k 0.02662 W

moc

, 1.702 x10 5 kg

ms

Pr 0.7255

VD VL (5)(2.9)
5

8 .5 1 9 x1 0
mixed
5

(1.702 x10 )

refer to the data


Nu mixed (0.037 Re 0.8 871) Pr
h

(0.037(8.519 x105 ) 0.8 871)0.7255

1 0 6 2 .6 2

Nu mixed (k ) (1062.62)(0.02662)

9 .7 5 4 7W 0
m C
L
(2.9)

Q hAs (Ts T ) (9.7547)(2.9 x 2.5)(70 20) 3 .5 3 6 kW


ii )the value of k a and k b
Qconv Qconv, fire conduction 3 .5 3 6 kW

Qconv, fire conduction

Rcomb

Rc

1
hcombine AA

T , fire Ts ,c
T

RT Rcomb R A RB RC

1
-3 0 C
8 .1 1 4 x1 0
W
(17)(2.9 x 2.5)

Lc
0.5
-3 0 C

3 .4 1 8 x1 0
W
K c Ac (20.18)(2.9 x 2.5)

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UiTM, SHAH ALAM

Page 5/2

MEC 551 - THERMAL ENGINEERING MARCH2012 JUNE 2012

Qconv, fire conduction 3.536kW

R A RB 0 .0 2 5 2 3 C
K A 1 4 .7 6W

m0 C

200 70
(8.114 x10 ) R A RB (3.418 x10 3 )
3

LA
LB
2.1
1.2

K A AA K B AB K A (2.9 x 2.5) 2 K A (2.9 x 2.5)

K B 2 9 .5 2 5W

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UiTM, SHAH ALAM

m0 C

Page 6/2

You might also like