The literature of heat transfer generally recognizes three distinct modes of heat transfer: conduction, radiation, and convection. Strictly speaking, only conduction and radiation should be classified as heat-transfer processes, because only these two mechanisms depend for their operation on the mere existence of a temperature difference. The last of thre three, convection, does not strictly comply with the definition of heat transfer because it depends for its operation on mechanical mass transport also. But since convection also accomplishes transmission of energy from regions of high temperature to regions of lower temperature, the term “heat transfer by convection” has become generally accepted
In most situations heat flows not by one, but by several of these mechanisms simultaneously.
Conduction is the transfer of heat from one part of a body to another part of the same body, or from one body to another in physical contact with it, without appreciable displacement of the particles of the body. Conduction can occur in solids, liquids, or gases.
Radiation is the transfer of heat from one body to another, not in contact with it, by means of electromagnetic wave motion through space, even when a vacuum exists between them.
Convection is the transfer of heat from one point to another within a fluid, gas or liquid, by the mixing of one portion of the fluid with another. In natural convection, the motion of the fluid is entirely the result of differences in density resulting from temperature differences; in forced convection, the motion is produced by mechanical means. When the forced velocity is relatively low, it should be realized that “freeconvection” factors, such as density and temperature difference, may have an important influence.
In the solution of heat-transfer problems, it is necessary not only to recognize the modes of heat transfer which play a role, but also to determine whether a process is Steady or Unsteady. When the rate of heat flow in a system does not vary with time-when it is constant-the temperature at any point does not change and steady-state conditions prevail. Under steady-state conditions, the rate of heat input at any point of the system must be exactly equal to the rate of heat output, and no change in internal energy can take place. The majority of engineering heat-transfer problems are concerned with steady-state systems.
The heat flow in a system is transient, or unsteady, when the temperatures at various points in the system change with time. Since a change in temperature indicates a change in internal energy, we conclude that energy storage is associated with unsteady heat flow. Unsteady-heat-flow problems are more complex than are those of steady state and can often only be solved by approximate methods.
