UNIT 3 Heat Flow Through Materials

Basic Principles of Heat Transfer

Performance of different materials U value
Time lag and decrement of building elements

Heat Transfer Fundamentals

The principles of heat transfer:
Heat flows from higher temperature to lower temperature.
Heat energy is transferred by three basic modes. All heating
applications involve each mode to a greater or lesser degree.
Conduction
Convection
Radiation
All objects above absolute zero temperature radiate infrared
energy with warmer objects in the material by conduction or
convection.
The greater the temperature difference the faster is the rate of
heat flow.

Conduction
Conduction is heat transfer by means of molecular
agitation within a material without any motion of the
material as a whole.
If one end of a metal rod is at a higher temperature,
then energy will be transferred down the rod toward
the colder end because the higher speed particles
will collide with the slower ones with a net transfer
of energy to the slower ones.

 The transfer of heat

is normally from a
high temperature
object to a lower
temperature object.
Heat transfer
changes the internal
energy of both
systems involved
according to the First
Law of
Thermodynamics.

Heat loss rate

Heat transfer by conduction can be used to model heat loss
through a wall. For a barrier of constant thickness, the rate of
heat loss is given by
formula
Heat conduction Q/ Time = (Thermal conductivity) x (Area) x
(T hot T cold)/Thickness

Heat loss rate

Radiation
It is the transfer of heat energy by
electromagnetic (infrared) waves and is very
different from conduction and convection.
Conduction and convection take place when the
material being heated is in direct contact with
the heat source.
In infrared heating, there is no direct contact
with the heat source. Infrared energy travels in
straight lines through space or vacuum (similar
to light) and does not produce heat energy until
absorbed.

Convection
Convection is heat transfer by mass motion of a fluid such as
air or water when the heated fluid is caused to move away
from the source of heat, carrying energy with it.

Definitions
Specific Heat (Quantity of Heat Energy) All materials
contain or absorb heat energy in differing amounts. The
quantity of heat energy or thermal capacity of a
particular material is called its specific heat.
The specific heat of a substance is defined as the amount
of heat energy required to cause unit temperature
increase of a unit mass of a substance.
Unit of Measurement: J/kg degC
The higher the specific heat of a substance, the more
heat it will absorb for a given temperature raise.

 Latent Heat:
Amount of heat energy absorbed by unit mass of the substance
at change of state (from solid to liquid or liquid to gas)
Latent Heat for water :
Of Fusion(0 degC ice to 0 degC water) - 335kJ/kg
Of evaporation at 100 degC
- 2261 kJ/kg
Of evaporation at 20 degC
- 2400 kJ/kg
Thermal capacity :
It is the product of mass and specific heat of a material.
It is measured as the amount of heat required to cause unit
temperature increase of the body
Unit : J/degC

Conductivity
Thermal Conductivity (or k-value) is the property of a material to
transmit heat energy by conduction. Thermal conductivity is
identified as k
k factors are used extensively in comfort heating applications to
rate the effectiveness of building construction and other materials
Conductivity is defined as the rate of heat flow through unit area of
unit thickness of the material when there is unit temperature
difference between the two sides.
The unit of measurement is W/m deg C
Its value varies between 0.03 W/m deg C for insulating materials
and up to 400 W/m deg C for metals
The lower the conductivity the better the insulator a material is.

Conductance
Conductance is the heat flow rate through a unit area of
the body when the temperature difference between the
two surfaces is 1 deg C.
The unit measurement is W/m degC
Thermal conduction is the process of heat transfer from
one part of a body at a higher temperature to
another (or between bodies in direct contact) at a lower
temperature.

Resistivity
Thermal Resistivity or R-value is the inverse of thermal
conductivity. Insulating materials are rated by R factors.
The higher the R factor, the more effective the
insulation.
Resistivity is the reciprocal of this quantity (1/k)
measured in units of m degC/W.
Better insulators will have higher resistivity values.

Resistance
Resistance of a body is the product of its thickness and the
resistivity of its material and its unit
Measurement is m deg C/W
R=bx1/k= b/k
where b is the thickness in meters.

Conductance Vs Conductivity
Conductivity (k) is a material property and means its
ability to conduct heat through its internal structure.
Conductance on the other hand is an object property
and depends on both its material and thickness.
Conductance equals conductivity multiplied by thickness,
in units of W/m degC.
As conductivity is the reciprocal of resistivity, the total
resistance of a material can therefore be given as its total
thickness divided by total conductivity.

Surface conductance
In addition to the resistance of a body to the flow of heat,
a resistance will be offered by its surfaces ,where a thin
layer of film separates the body from the surrounding air.
A measure of this is the surface or film resistance,
Denoted by 1/f (m degC/W) f being the surface or film
conductance (W/ m deg C)
Surface conductance includes the convective and the
radiant components of the heat exchange at surfaces.

Air-to-Air resistance
If the heat flow from air on one side ,through the body,
to air or the other side is considered, both surface
resistances must be taken in to account.
The overall air-to-air resistance ( Ra)is the sum of the
body's resistance and the surface resistances.

Ra =1/fi +Rb+1/f0
where
1/fi = internal surface resistance
Rb = Resistance of the body
1/f0 =External surface resistance

Transmittance or U-Value
The reciprocal of this air-to -air resistance is the air-to-air
transmittance or U-value

U=1/Ra
Its unit of measurement is the same as for conductanceW/m2 degC.
This is the quantity most often used in building heat loss and
heat gain problems, as its use greatly simplifies the
calculations.

Transmittance or U-Value
In real life situations in almost all the building components, heat
transfer takes place through all the three modes.
The wall receives heat through convection from the ambient air,
through conduction the heat gets transmitted upto the inner surface
where again through convective heat transfer due to inside room air,
and heat goes into the building.

For European Nations when outdoor temperatures are low

Transmittance or U-Value
The term U represents overall thermal conductance from the outside to
inside covering all modes of heat transfer.,
U- value can be defined as the rate of heat flow over unit area of any
building component through unit overall temperature difference between
both sides of the component.
The U-Value is an important concept in building design. It represents the
air-to-air transmittance of an element. This refers to how well an element
conducts heat from one side to the other, which makes it the reciprocal of
its thermal resistance. Thus, if we calculate the thermal resistance of an
element, we can simply invert it to obtain the U-Value
U-Value is a property of a material. Thus, its units are Watts per meter
squared Kelvin (W/m K). This means that, if a wall material had a U-Value
of 1 W/m degC, for every degree of temperature difference between the
inside and outside surface, 1 Watt of heat energy would flow through each
meter squared of its surface

Calculation of U value
Calculate the U- value for the 220 m brick wll with 16
mm plaster on the inside face. Assume normal
exposure.
For brick,k=0.84W m-1K-1; for plaster k= 0.5 W m-1K-1
Internal resistance, Rsi = 0.123 m2 K W -1
Plaster resistance = l/k = 0.016/0.5 = 0.032 m2 K W -1
Brick resistance, Rso=0.055m2K W-1
Hence,
Total resistance = 0.123 + 0.032 + 0.262.+ 0.055 = 0.472
m2K W-1
Therefore,
U = 1/R = 2.12 W m -2K-

Sol-Air temperature
In the design of buildings,for surfaces exposed to solar radiation,to
calculate heat gain, it is useful to combine the heating effect of
radiation incident on the building with the effect of warm air. This
can be done using the sol-air temperature concept.
A temperature value is found out which would create the same
thermal effect as the incident radiation in question and this value is
added to the air temperature.

Ts=To + lXa/fo
Where Ts= Sol-air temperature in degC
To= Outside temperature in degC
l=Radiation intensity in W/ m
a=absorbance of the surface
fo=Surface conductance (outside) in W/ m deg C

Periodic heat flow

The diurnal variations produce an approximately repetitive 24 hour cycle of increasing and
decreasing temperature.
The effect of this on a building is that in hot period(Day time) the heat flows from the
environment in to the building, where some of it is stored and at night during cool period the
heat flow is reversed from the building to the environment.
In the morning the outdoor temperature increases ,heat starts entering the outer surface of
the wall. Each particle in the wall will absorb a certain amount of heat for every degree of
rise in temperature depending on the specific heat of the wall material. Heat to the next
particle will only be transmitted after the temperature of the first particle has increases. Thus
the corresponding increase of the internal temperature will be delayed.
The out door temperature will have reached its peak and started decreasing before the inner
surface temperature has reached the same level. From this moment the heat stored in the
wall will be partly dissipated to the outside and partly to the inside. As the out door air cools
,an increasing proportion of this stored heat flows outwards and when the temperature falls
below the indoor temperature the direction of heat flow is completely reversed.

Decrement factor
= Ti max/To max

The two quantities characterizing this periodic change are time lag and decrement factor

Time lag
The time delay due to the thermal mass is
known as a time lag.
The thicker and more resistive the material, the
longer it will take for heat waves to pass through.
The reduction in cyclical temperature on the
inside surface compared to the outside surface is
knows and the decrement.
Thus, a material with a decrement value of 0.5
which experiences a 20 degree diurnal variation
in external surface temperature would
experience only a 10 degree variation in internal
surface temperature.

A rule of thumb for massive masonry ,earth and concrete walls is

Time lag =10 hours for each 0.3 m thickness.

Impact of time lag in design

This effect is particularly important in the design of buildings in environments
with a high diurnal range.
In some deserts, for example, the daytime temperature can reach well over 40
degrees.
The following night, however, temperatures can fall to below freezing.
If materials with a thermal lag of 10-12 hours are carefully used, then the low
night-time temperatures will reach the internal surfaces around the middle of
the day, cooling the inside air down.
Similarly, the high daytime temperatures will reach the internal surfaces late in
the evening, heating the inside up.

In warm tropical and equatorial climates, buildings tend to be very open and
lightweight.
In very cold and sub-polar regions, buildings are usually highly insulated with
very little exposed thermal mass, even if it is used for structural reasons

 Precisely controlled indoor climate can only be

achieved by active or mechanical systems (the
straight lines in the diagram above). However,
this may not be the aim of the building designer.
Passive design can well attenuate the extremities
of the climate and sometimes cause desired
comfort indoors, with little seasonal or diurnal
variations.
The passive systems may not provide 100%
climatic control, but they substantially reduce
the task of the active systems and hence make
them more economical.

Insulation
Insulation can help increase time lag and decrement factor
and hence help in the heat balance of a building.
The position of insulation relative to the high thermal mass
has a very significant effect on the timelag and decrement
factor.
With a 100 mm concrete slab, the placing of 40 mm glass wool
insulation gives the following variation:
Time-lag (in hours)

Decrement factor

Under the slab

0.45

On the top of slab

11.5

0.05

The reason for this is because

1.insulation on the outside reduces the heat flow rate in
to the mass-it will take much longer to fill up the storage
capacity of the mass.
2. Insulation inside will not affect the filling up process
and although it will reduce the heat emmission to the inside
space it will not change the periodicity.
In hot climates the aim is not only to reduce the heat entering
the space but also to dissipate much of the stored heat to the
outside.
An insulation on the outside or top of a slab will reduce the
time taken for the heat to pass through but does the same to
dissipation of heat to the outside,so there is a possibility that
by the morning when heat gain states again,all heat gained
the previous day might have not been dissipated ,that will lead
to discomfort, this can be avoided by good ventilation of the
inner surface.

Heat transfer
fundamentals for a
built fabric

Building Fabric
The building fabric is a critical component of any building,
since it both protects the building occupants and plays a major
role in regulating the indoor environment.
Consisting of the building's roof, floor slabs, walls, windows,
and doors, the fabric controls the flow of energy between the
interior and exterior of the building.

Elements of the Fabric

The building fabric consists of elements such as
structural materials and finishes that enclose space,
separating inside from outside. This includes walls,
windows, doors, roofs, and floor surfaces, etc.
Openings are located in the fabric to provide physical
access to a building, create views to the outside, admit
daylight and/or solar energy for heating, and supply
natural ventilation.
The form, size, and location of the openings vary
depending upon the role they play in the building fabric.
Window glazing can be used to affect heating and cooling
requirements and occupant comfort by controlling the
type and amount of light that passes through windows.

HEAT EXCHANGE PROCESSES

Heat transfer through the building fabric

Heat transfer through the building fabric

The heat exchange processes with the outdoor environment happens in the
following ways :
Conduction -(denoted as Qc)
- Through the walls either inwards or outwards
Radiation - (denoted Qs)
- The effects of solar radiation on opaque surface can be included in
the above by using sol-air temperature concept, but
- Through transparent surface the solar heat gain must be considered
seperately.
Convection (denoted as Qv)
- Heat exchange in either direction may take place with the movement
of air .i.e ventilation
An internal heat gain may result from the heat output of human bodies,
lamps motors and appliances.This may be denoted as Qi
There may be a deliberate introduction or removal of heat using some form
of outside energy supply. The heat flow rate of such mechanical controls may
be denoted as Qm
Evaporation takes place on the surface of the building or within the builidng
and the vapours are removed. This will produce a cooling effect, the rate of
which will be denoted as Qe

Heat transfer through the building fabric

The thermal balance equation is

Qi + Qs( + or ) Qc (+ or ) Qv (+ or ) Qm- Qe = 0

If the sum of above this equation is less than zero

,the building will be cooling and if it is more than
zero the temperature in the Building will increase.

Heat transfer through the building fabric

Conduction heat flow rate
Conduction heat flow rate through a wall or mass of a given area can be
described by the equation

Qc= A x U x T
where

Qc =Conduction heat flow rate

A= Surface area in sq.m
U= Transmittance value,in W/sq.m deg C
T= Temperature difference

If heat loss from a building is considered T = Ti-To

If heat gain is considered T = To-Ti
(ex:Heat transfer in a bedroom from the common wall between a kitchen
and a bed room)
If a surface is exposed to solar radiation T = Ts-Ti
where Ts is sol-air temperature .

Heat transfer through the building fabric

Convection
Convection heat flow rate between the interior of a building and the open
air, depends on the rate of ventilation, i.e. air exchange.
This may be an unintentional air infiltration or deliberate ventilation.
The rate of ventialtion may be given in cu.m/s and the rate of ventialtion
heat flow is given by the following equation
Qv = 1300 x V x T

Where

Qv = Ventilation heat flow rate, in W

1300 = Volumetric specific heat of air,J/ m3 deg C
V= Ventilation rate in m3/s
T= temperature difference, deg C

If the number of air changes per hour (N) is given the ventilation rate can be
found as:
V= N x room volume / 3600
(3600 is the number of seconds in an hour)

Heat transfer through the building fabric

Radiation through windows:
To get heat flow rate through a window, the intensity of solar radiation (l)
incident on the plane of window is multiplied by the area of aperture (m2)
.This will be the heat flow rate through an unglazed aperture.
For glazed windows this value will be reduced by solar gain factor () which
depends on the quality of glass and on the angle of incidence.
The solar heat flow equation is
Qs= A x l x

where

A= area of window in m2
l=radiation heat flow density ,in W/m2
= Solar gain factor of window glass.

Heat transfer through the building fabric

Internal Heat gain
The heat out put rate of human body inside a building is the heat gain for a
room.
Thus the heat output rate appropriate to the activity to be selected and
multiplied by the number of occupants
The total rate of energy emission of electric lamps can be taken as internal
heat gain. (internal heat gain will be 100 W for a 100 W bulb)
Evaporation
The rate of cooling by evaporation can only be calculated if rate of
evaporation is known.
The estimation of evaporation rate is a difficult task and can be rarely done
with any degree of accuracy, unless the environment is mechanically
controlled.
Usually evaporation heat loss is ignored for the purpose of calculations
except for mechanical installations

Thermal mass and Thermal capacity

The thermal mass of the house is a measure of its capacity to store and
regulate heat.
Buildings with a high thermal mass take a long time to heat up but also take
a long time to cool down. As a result they have a very steady internal
temperature.
Buildings with a low thermal mass are very responsive to changes in internal
temperature- they heat up very quickly and they also cool down quickly.
Materials for storing heat are those that are very dense, heat up slowly, and
then give out that heat gradually.
Brick, concrete and stone have a high thermal capacity and are the main
contributors to the thermal mass of a house.
Water has a very high thermal capacity, so it is well suited for climates that
have high diurnal variations.
Air has a very low thermal capacity- it warms up fast but cannot stay warm
for long. Only when the walls and floors in a building have warmed up will
the air stay warm.
Low thermal capacity structures warm up quickly but also cool rapidly.
Large thermal capacity structures will have a longer 'heat-up time' and also
take a longer time to dissipate heat.