Abbreviated Notes on Extended Surface Problems
Introduction to Heat Transfer
G.F. Nellis and S.A. Klein
Cambridge University Press, 2019
The extended surface approximation makes the assumption that the temperature in the
material is approximately a function only of x only, and not of y. This approximation
turns a 2-D problem into a 1-D problem, which is much easier to solve. For the situations
shown in Figure 1, the extended surface approximation would be valid in the situation
when the temperature drop due to conduction in the y-direction is much less than the
temperature drop due to convection, that is T cond,y << T conv .
z
y T , h
x
Tb L
th
T , h
L
y
x
Tb th
T , h
Figure 1: A constant cross-section fin.
The best way to compare the magnitude of these two temperature drops is to think in
terms of the heat transfer resistances that are involved in these processes. While this
problem cannot be solved exactly using resistances, it can certainly be examined and
understood using them. There are two thermal resistances that oppose heat transfer in the
y-direction, conduction (R cond,y ) and convection (R conv ). The resistance due to conduction
in the y-direction cannot be calculated exactly, but it can be estimated according to:
Rcond , y
distance to conduct (1)
k area for conduction
The distance to conduct in the y-direction must be related to the thickness. Here we will
use th/2. The area for conduction in the y-direction is W L. With these substitutions, Eq.
1 becomes:
th
Rcond , y (2)
2kW L
The validity of the extended surface approximation increases as the ratio of these two
resistances becomes much less than one. A ratio of resistances used for this purpose
results in a dimensionless number that is referred to as a Biot number (Bi). In this case:
Rcond , y
Bi (3)
Rconv
Substituting Eqs. 1 and 2 into Eq. 3 leads to:
th h W L th h
Bi (4)
2kW L 1 2k
The analytical solution for the temperature distribution in an extended surface having a
constant cross-sectional area and conductivity is
d 2T per h per h
2
T T (5)
dx k Ac k Ac
The general solution to this equation is
Th C1 exp m x C2 exp m x (6)
where, m is defined as
per h
m (7)
k Ac
Boundary conditions need to be applied to determine the two unknowns C 1 and C 2 . In
our particular example, we know the temperature at the base of the fin and also that its tip
is insulated so that the resulting temperature distribution can be expressed using
hyperbolic functions as
x
cosh mL 1
T T L (8)
Tb T cosh mL
The heat transfer rate can be obtained from Fourier’s law evaluated at the base of the fin
(x = 0).
dT
q fin k Ac (9)
dx x 0
Substitution of the temperature distribution allows the heat transfer rate to be expressed
as
q fin Tb T h per k Ac tanh m L (10)
The fin efficiency is defined as the ratio of the rate of heat transfer to the fin ( q fin ) to the
rate of heat transfer of an ideal fin. An ideal fin is defined as one made of an infinitely
conductive material, k → ∞.
heat transfer to fin q fin
fin (11)
heat transfer to fin as k q fin, k
For the constant cross-sectional area fin with an adiabatic tip, the fin efficiency is
fin
Tb Tf h per k Ac tanh m L
(12)
h As , fin Tb T f
