Chapter 3, Problem 3.23P

During a fire, the trunks of some dry oak trees (k = 0.17 W/m·K and a = 1.28 * 10-7 m2/s) that are initially at a uniform temperature of 30°C are exposed to hot gases at 520°C for a period of 5 h, with a heat transfer coefficient of 65 W/m2·K on the surface. The ignition temperature of the trees is 410°C. Treating the trunks of the trees as long cylindrical rods of diameter 20 cm, determine if these dry trees will ignite as the fire sweeps through them. Solve this problem using analytical one-term approximation method (not the Heisler charts).

During a visit to a plastic sheeting plant, it was observed that a 60-m-long section of a 2-in nominal (6.03-cm-outer-diameter) steam pipe was extended from one end of the plant to the other with no insulation on it. The temperature measurements at several locations revealed that the average temperature of the exposed surfaces of the steam pipe was 170°C, while the temperature of the surrounding air was 20°C. The outer surface of the pipe appeared to be oxidized, and its emissivity can be taken to be 0.7. Taking the temperature of the surrounding surfaces to be 20°C also, determine the rate of heat loss from the steam pipe. Steam is generated in a gas furnace that has an efficiency of 78 percent, and the plant pays $1.10 per therm (1 therm = 105,500 kJ) of natural gas. The plant operates 24 h a day 365 days a year, and thus 8760 h a year. Determine the annual cost of the heat losses from the steam pipe for this facility.

A 10-cm diameter copper ball is to be heated from 80°C to an average temperature of 160°C in 30 minutes. Taking the average density and specific heat of copper in this temperature range to be 8950 kg/m3 and Cp = 0.395 kJ/kg · °C, respectively, determine the average heat flux.