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HW #1 Solutions

1. This document contains a 5 question homework assignment on single phase convective heat transfer. It involves calculating heat transfer rates, convection coefficients, and energy costs for various systems involving heat transfer by convection, conduction, and radiation. 2. The questions calculate values like heat loss rates from pipes, convection coefficients for plates and wires, and the electric power needed to operate a silicon sheet growth system by molten bath. 3. One question also calculates the time needed for a solar panel to generate enough energy to offset the energy used in its manufacture, given assumptions about its efficiency and the solar flux it absorbs.

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243 views10 pages

HW #1 Solutions

1. This document contains a 5 question homework assignment on single phase convective heat transfer. It involves calculating heat transfer rates, convection coefficients, and energy costs for various systems involving heat transfer by convection, conduction, and radiation. 2. The questions calculate values like heat loss rates from pipes, convection coefficients for plates and wires, and the electric power needed to operate a silicon sheet growth system by molten bath. 3. One question also calculates the time needed for a solar panel to generate enough energy to offset the energy used in its manufacture, given assumptions about its efficiency and the solar flux it absorbs.

Uploaded by

DEEPS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ME 59700 Single Phase Convective Heat Transfer

Homework #1

Assigned on January 12, Wednesday


Due on January 19, Wednesday, in the class
Late submissions will not be accepted
1. An electrical resistor is connected to a battery, as shown schematically. After a brief transient, the
resistor assumes a nearly uniform, steady-state temperature of 95°C, while the battery and lead wires
remain at the ambient temperature of 25°C. Neglect the electrical resistance of the lead wires?

(a) Consider the resistor as a system about which a control surface is placed and the following
equation is applied:

Determine the corresponding values of:

If a control surface is placed about the entire system, what are the values of:

(c) Neglecting radiation from the resistor, what is the convection coefficient?

Answer: (a) 144 W; 0 W; 0 W; 144 W, (b) 2.04x105W/m3; (c) 39 W/m2.K

2. A common procedure for measuring the velocity of an airstream involves the insertion of an
electrically heated wire (called a hot-wire anemometer) into the airflow, with the axis of the wire
oriented perpendicular to the flow direction. The electrical energy dissipated in the wire is assumed
to be transferred to the air by forced convection. Hence, for a prescribed electrical power, the
temperature of the wire depends on the convection coefficient, which, in turn, depends on the velocity
of the air. Consider a wire of length L = 20 mm and diameter D = 0.5 mm, for which a calibration of
the form V = 6.25 × 10−5 h2 has been determined. The velocity V and the convection coefficient h
have units of m/s and W/m2 · K, respectively. In an application involving air at a temperature of T∞
= 25°C, the surface temperature of the anemometer is maintained at Ts = 75°C with a voltage drop
of 5 V and an electric current of 0.1 A. What is the velocity of the air? Answer: 6.3 m/s
3. The free convection heat transfer coefficient on a thin hot vertical plate suspended in still air can be
determined from observations of the change in plate temperature with time as it cools. Assuming the
plate is isothermal and radiation exchange with its surroundings is negligible, evaluate the convection
coefficient at the instant of time when the plate temperature is 245°C and the change in plate
temperature with time (dT/dt) is −0.028 K/s. The ambient air temperature is 25°C and the plate
measures 0.4 × 0.4 m with a mass of 4.25 kg and a specific heat of 2770 J/kg · K. Answer: 4.7 W/m2.K

4. An overhead 25-m-long, uninsulated industrial steam pipe of 100-mm diameter is routed through a
building whose walls and air are at 25°C. Pressurized steam maintains a pipe surface temperature of
150°C, and the coefficient associated with natural convection is h = 10 W/m2 · K. The surface
emissivity is ε = 0.8.

(a) What is the rate of heat loss from the steam line?
(b) If the steam is generated in a gas-fired boiler operating at an efficiency of ηf = 0.90 and natural
gas is priced at Cg = $0.02 per MJ, what is the annual cost of heat loss from the line?

Answer: 18,405 W; $12,900

5. One method for growing thin silicon sheets for photovoltaic solar panels is to pass two thin strings
of high melting temperature material upward through a bath of molten silicon. The silicon solidifies
on the strings near the surface of the molten pool, and the solid silicon sheet is pulled slowly upward
out of the pool. The silicon is replenished by supplying the molten pool with solid silicon powder.
Consider a silicon sheet that is Wsi = 75 mm wide and tsi = 140 μm thick that is pulled at a velocity
of Vsi = 18 mm/min. The silicon is melted by supplying electric power to the cylindrical growth
chamber of height H = 400 mm and diameter D = 350 mm. The exposed surfaces of the growth
chamber are at Ts = 350 K, the corresponding convection coefficient at the exposed surface is h = 8
W/m2 · K, and the surface is characterized by an emissivity of εs = 0.9. The solid silicon powder is
at Tsi,i = 298 K, and the solid silicon sheet exits the chamber at Tsi,o = 420 K. Both the surroundings
and ambient temperatures are T∞ = Tsur = 298 K.
(a) Determine the electric power, Pelec, needed to operate the system at steady state.
(b) If the photovoltaic panel absorbs a time-averaged solar flux of qsol″ =180 W/m2 and the panel
has a conversion efficiency (the ratio of solar power absorbed to electric power produced) of
η = 0.20, how long must the solar panel be operated to produce enough electric energy to
offset the electric energy that was consumed in its manufacture?

Answer: 491 W; 169 hours

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