Theories related to heat transfer The natural laws of physics always allow the driving energy in a system to flow

until equilibrium is reached. Heat leaves the warmer body or the hottest fluid, as long as there is a temperature difference, and will be transferred to the cold medium. A heat exchanger follows this principle in its endeavor to reach equalization. With a plate type heat exchanger, the heat penetrates the surface, which separates the hot medium from the cold one very easily. It is therefore possible to heat or cool fluids or gases which have minimal energy levels. The theory of heat transfer from one media to another, or from one fluid to another, is determined by several basic rules. Heat will always be transferred from a hot medium to a cold medium. There must always be a temperature difference between the media. The heat lost by the hot medium is equal to the amount of heat gained by the cold medium, except for losses to the surroundings

Heat exchangers A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment that continually transfers heat from one medium to another in order to carry process energy. There are two main types of heat exchangers. Direct heat exchanger, where both media between which heat is exchanged are in direct contact with each other. It is taken for granted that the media are not mixed together. An example of this type of heat exchanger is a cooling tower, where water is cooled through direct contact with air. Indirect heat exchanger, where both media are separated by a wall through which heat is transferred .

Concepts of heat transfer from one body to another body

Under the kinetic theory, the internal energy of a substance is generated from the motion of individual atoms or molecules. Heat energy is the form of energy which transfers this energy from one body or system to another. This heat transfer can take place in a number of ways:

Conduction is when heat flows through a heated solid. Convection is when heated particles transfer heat to another substance, such as cooking something in boiling water.

Radiation is when heat is transferred through electromagnetic waves, such as from the sun. Radiation can transfer heat through empty space, while the other two methods require some form of matter-on-matter contact for the transfer.

In order for two substances to affect each other they must be in thermal contact with each other. If you leave your oven open while turned on and stand several feet in front of it, you are in thermal contact with the oven and can feel the heat it transfers to you (by convection through the air). Normally, of course, you do not feel the heat from the oven when you're several feet away and that is because the oven has thermal insulation to keep the heat inside of it, thus preventing thermal contact with the outside of the oven. This is of course not perfect, so if you stand nearby you do feel some heat from the oven. Thermal equilibrium is when two items that are in thermal contact no longer transfer heat between them. Effects of Heat Transfer The basic effect of heat transfer is that the particles of one substance collide with the particles of another substance. The more energetic substance will typically lose internal energy (cool down) while the less energetic substance will gain internal energy (heat up). The most blatant effect of this in our day-to-day life is a phase transition, where a substance changes from one state of matter to another, such as ice melting from a solid to a liquid as it

absorbs heat. The water contains more internal energy (the water molecules are moving around faster) than in the ice. In addition, many substances go through either thermal expansion or thermal contraction as they gain and lose internal energy. Water (and other liquids) often expands as it freezes, which anyone who has put a drink with a cap in the freezer for too long has discovered.