Steady-State Heat Transfer through an Insulated Wall
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This Demonstration calculates and plots the steady-state heat flow per unit area through an insulated or uninsulated wall as a function of the insulation thickness and thermal conductivity, the surface heat transfer coefficients at either side of the insulated wall, and the temperature difference between the inside and outside. The top graphic depicts the heat resistances as a schematic diagram (not to scale).
Contributed by: Mark D. Normand and Micha Peleg (March 2011)
Open content licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Snapshots
Details
Snapshot 1: no insulation
Snapshot 2: thin insulation
Snapshot 3: thick insulation
This Demonstration calculates and plots the steady state heat flow per unit area, (in watts/), through an insulated or uninsulated wall. You can choose the wall's thickness, (in cm), and its thermal conductivity, (in watts/m °C); the insulation's thickness, (in cm), and its thermal conductivity, (in watts/m °C); the surface heat transfer coefficients at either side of the wall, and (in °C); and the temperature difference, (in °C), between the inside and outside. The calculations are done using the equation , whose parameters can be modified by moving the sliders. The red dot on the plot marks the flow rate per unit area for a chosen by moving the top slider. The top graphic depicts the heat resistances as a schematic diagram (not to scale).
Reference: R. L. Earle with M. D. Earle, Unit Operations in Food Processing, NZIFST, Inc., 1983.
Permanent Citation
"Steady-State Heat Transfer through an Insulated Wall"
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/SteadyStateHeatTransferThroughAnInsulatedWall/
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
Published: March 7 2011