OPTIMUM THICKNESS OF INSULATION

• Total cost is sum of insulation cost and energy cost.

• The insulation thickness which the total cost is the minimum is
taken as the optimum insulation thickness.
• Lowest value of total cost is known as optimum insulation
thickness.
Economic Thickness of Insulation

Required thickness of insulation

for any specific application
depends upon:

• the characteristics of
insulating material;
• the amount of heat saved.
• The point where the sole
objective is achieved i.e.
minimum total cost & maximum
heat saved;
• the appropriate thickness is
known as the economic
thickness.
Unsteady State Heat Conduction
T = f ( x, t )
 Unsteady State Heat Conduction
or Transient conditions

Heat Transfer process

always initiate essentially
under unsteady
conditions

Temperature = f(position , time)

T = f( x, y, z , t)
T = f( r, θ , z , t)
T = f( r, θ , Φ, t)
 : Scope of unsteady state conduction :
• One dimensional, time
& location based heat flow
• Transient condition (Unsteady state)
– Temperature as a function of time and position;
– Partial differential equations are formulated with
& without constant surface temperatures;
– Integral Solution depends on surface geometry &
shape factor.
• Factors Affecting the Analysis
-- Average temperature variation
– Characteristics of heating media,
– Convective boundary conditions
 Applications of Unsteady Heat Transfer
1 - Characteristics of the molten materials are controlled directly by
the rate of Heat transfer e.g.

i. Annealing (slow cool) - improve ductility & softness

ii.Quenching (rapid cool) - increase strength and hardness.
2 - Time of death analysis,
3 - Curing time or setting time can be estimated
4 - In food processing, usually unsteady state heat transfer
occurs, & temperature changes gradually during heating
or cooling process .
 Food processing or pasteurization
 Food sterilization or storage
 Food refrigeration/chilling/cooling
One dimensional transient heat conduction

T 1 T
 c  k  T , or
2
 T
2

t  t
k
where  = is the thermal diffusivity
c
Solution of Partial Differential Equations (PDE) i.e. T(x, t)

I. Analytical solutions
II. Integral solution of PDE
III.Lumped analysis of PDE
IV. Approximate solution of PDE

(By Charts and Nomo-Graphs. )

Software based solution are becoming more popular
Average Temperature Analysis
slab

Infinite long cylinder

Sphere

(McCabe and Smith, 7th ed)

 Biot number and
Characteristic length
Characteristic Length
Compute the Biot Number
(McCabe and Smith, 7th ed.)
 Problems on Unsteady state conduction
(Unit Operations McCabe & Smith) Chapter 10
 Open ended Problems on H.T. by Conduction
(Ref. Heat and Mass Transfer by Incorpera)

Problem 3.2
A new building to be located in a cold climate is being designed with a basement that has an
L 200-mm-thick wall. Inner and outer basement wall temperatures are Ti 20C and To
0C, respectively. The architect can specify the wall material to be either aerated concrete
block with kac. 0.15 W/m K, or stone mix concrete. To reduce the conduction heat flux
through the stone mix wall to a level equivalent to that of the aerated concrete wall, what
thickness of extruded polystyrene sheet must be applied onto the inner surface of the
stone mix concrete wall? Floor dimensions of the basement are 20 m 30 m, and the
expected rental rate is $50/m2/ month. What is the yearly cost, in terms of lost rental
income, if the stone mix concrete wall with polystyrene insulation is specified?
Problem 3.3
The rear window of an automobile is defogged by passing
warm air over its inner surface.
(a) If the warm air is at T,i 40°C and the corresponding
convection coefficient is hi 30 W/m2 K, what are the
inner and outer surface temperatures of 4-mm-thick
window glass, if the outside ambient air temperature is
T,o10°C and the associated convection coefficient is ho
65 W/m2 K?
(b) In practice T,o and ho vary according to weather
conditions and car speed. For values of ho 2, 65, and
100 W/m2 K, compute and plot the inner and outer
surface temperatures as a function of T,o for 30 T,o
0°C.
 Problem 3.7
The walls of a refrigerator are typically constructed
by sandwiching a layer of insulation between
sheet metal panels. Consider a wall made from
fiberglass insulation of thermal conductivity ki
0.046 W/m K and thickness Li 50 mm and steel
panels, each of thermal conductivity kp. 60 W/m K
and thickness Lp 3 mm. If the wall separates
refrigerated air at Ti 4C from ambient air at To
25C.
what is the heat gain per unit surface area?
Coefficients associated with natural convection at
the inner and outer surfaces may be approximated
as hi ho 5 W/m2 K.
Problem 3.10
The wind chill, which is experienced on a cold, windy day, is related to
increased heat transfer from exposed human skin to the surrounding
atmosphere. Consider a layer of fatty tissue that is 3 mm thick and
whose interior surface is maintained at a temperature of 36C. On a
calm day the convection heat transfer coefficient at the outer surface
is 25 W/m2 K, but with 30 km/h winds it reaches 65 W/m2 K. In
both cases the ambient
air temperature is 15C.
a) What is the ratio of the heat loss per unit area from the skin for the
calm day to that for the windy day?
b) What will be the skin outer surface temperature for the calm day?
For the windy day?
c) What temperature would the air have to assume on the calm day
to produce the same heat loss occurring with the air temperature at
15C on the windy day?
 Problem 3.12
A thermo-pane window consists of two pieces of glass 7 mm thick that
enclose an air space 7 mm thick. The window separates room air at
20C from outside ambient air at 10C. The convection coefficient
associated with the inner (room-side) surface is 10 W/m2 K.

a) If the convection coefficient associated with the outer (ambient) air is

ho 80 W/m2 K, what is the heat loss through a window that is 0.8 m
long by 0.5 m wide? Neglect radiation, and assume the air enclosed
between the panes to be stagnant.

• Compute and plot the effect of ho on the heat loss for 10 ho 100
W/m2 K. Repeat this calculation for a triple-pane construction in
which a third pane and a second air space of equivalent thickness are
added.
Problem 3.13
A house has a composite wall made of wood, fiberglass
insulation, and plaster board, as indicated in the sketch. On a
cold winter day, the convection heat transfer coefficients are
ho 60 W/m2 K and hi 30 W/m2 K. The total wall surface
area is 350 m2.
a) Determine a symbolic expression for the
total thermal resistance of the wall,
including inside and outside convection
effects for the prescribed conditions.
b) Determine the total heat loss through the
wall.
c) If the wind were blowing violently, raising ho
to 300 W/m2 K, determine the percentage
increase in the heat loss.
d) What is the controlling resistance that
determines the amount of heat flow
through the wall?
 Problem 3.73
The energy transferred from the anterior chamber of the eye
through the cornea varies considerably depending on whether
a contact lens is worn. Treat the eye as a spherical system
and assume the system to be at steady state. The convection
coefficient ho is unchanged with and without the contact lens
in place. The cornea and the lens cover one-third of the
spherical surface area.
Values of the parameters representing this situation
are as follows:
r1 = 10.2 mm r2 = 12.7 mm
r3 = 16.5 mm T,o = 21C
T,i = 37C k2= 0.80 W/m K
k1 = 0.35 W/m .K ho = 6 W/m2 K
hi 12 W/m2 K
a) Construct the thermal circuits, labeling all potentials
and flows for the systems excluding the contact lens
and including the contact lens. Write resistance
elements in terms of appropriate parameters.
b) Determine the heat loss from the anterior chamber
with and without the contact lens in place.
c) Discuss the implication of your results.
 Problem 8.5: (Ref: Momentum heat and mass transfer by Bennet and Mayers)

A brewery fermentation tank 12 m in diameter is

situated in a room which has a temperature of 15 C.
The tank is constructed of 0.010-m welded plate with a
0.012-m glass lining. The temperature at the interface
between the glass and the contents of the tank is
known to be 50 C. Assuming that the resistance offered
by the air film on outside of the tank equals the
combined resistances of the glass and steel interface.
The thermal conductivity of the glass is 0.80 W/m.K