Analysis of Two Dimensional Heat Transfer Problem Using Spreadsheet Approach
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Date
2012
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Publisher
Energy Technology and Management conference
Abstract
The storage of thermal energy in the form of sensible and latent heat has become an important aspect of
energy management with the emphasis on efficient use and conservation of the waste heat and solar
energy in industry and buildings. Heat storage materials absorb heat through standard heat transfer
mechanisms, e.g., radiation, conduction, and convection. The need for developing software for solving
these problems become imperative because it has necessary functions for solving a large class of
engineering problems. The aim of this project is to demonstrate how Spreadsheet can be used for solving
heat transfer problems in an arbitrary geometry. Survey was carried out on various geometries. An
example considered was a chimney. The symmetry of the geometry was considered. Energy balances were
obtained and finite difference formulations were made. Finite difference equations for various nodes were
determined. Spreadsheet was set up for the problem. Various temperature distributions were obtained.
Temperatures are highest at the inner wall (but less than 300oC) and the lowest at the outer wall (but more
than 260 k), as expected. The average temperature at the outer surface of the chimney was 352.65k. The
rate of heat loss through the 1m long section of the chimney was determined both manually and
numerically.