EM/JAN 2012/MEC551

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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FINAL EXAMINATION

COURSE

THERMAL ENGINEERING

COURSE CODE

MEC551

EXAMINATION

JANUARY 2012

TIME

3 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1.

This question paper consists of two (2) parts :

2.

Answer ALL questions from PART A and two (2) questions from PART B in the Answer
Booklet. Start each answer on a new page.

3.

Do not bring any material into the examination room unless permission is given by the
invigilator.

4.

Please check to make sure that this examination pack consists of:
i)
)
i)

PART A (5 Questions)
PART B (3 Questions)

the Question Paper

an Answer Booklet - provided by the Faculty
a Property Tables Booklet - provided by the Faculty

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

This examination paper consists of 7 printed pages
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EM/JAN 2012/MEC551

PART A

QUESTION 1
w
A flat plate of thickness 0.8 cm, area o f A - ISO cm 2 a n c j thermal conductivity
m% is
subjected to constant heating at a rate of Q = 8 0 0 W a t its bottom surface. When steady
state operation is reached the upper surface temperatures of the plate is measured to be
80 C.
x

A =150 cm2
T = 80 C

0.8 cm

A"' A

For steady one dimensional conduction heat transferthrough the plate,

a)

calculate the heat flux qQ (W/m2) at the lower surface,

b)

express the differential equation and the boundary conditions for steady one
dimensional heat conduction through the plate, and

c)

obtain the variation of temperature on the plate and calculate the temperature at the
bottom of the surface.
(10 marks)

QUESTION 2
a)

What is the physical significance of the Nusselt Number? How it is defined?

(3 marks)

b)

An engine oil at 80 C flows over a 10-m long flat plate whose temperature is 30 C
with a velocity of 2.5m/s. Determine the rate of heat transfer over the entire plate per
unit width. (kW/m)

Given : Properties of the engine oil at Tf = 55C :

density., p = 867kg/m 3
kinematic viscosity, V = 7.045X1Q-5 m 2/s
conductivity,k = 0.1414W/mC
Prandlt number, Pr= 1SS1
(7 marks)
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EM/JAN 2012/MEC551

QUESTION 3
a)

Sketch and define the temperature profiles for parallel flow and counter flow in a
double-pipe heat exchanger.
(4 marks)

b)

0.8 kg/s of water is heated from 35 to 90 C with oil flow of 0.9 kg/s in a counter-flow
heat exchanger. The specific heat of oil is 2.0 kJ/kg.K. The oil enters the heat
exchanger at a temperature of 180 C and leaves at 110C. The Overall heat transfer
coefficient is 450 W/m2.K. Calculate the area of heat exchanger using LMTD method.
Given: Specific heat of water, Cw = 4180 J/kg.K.
(6 marks)

QUESTION 4
An ideal vapor compression cycle uses R134a as a refrigerant and has a flow rate of
120 kg/min. The pressure in the evaporator of the refrigerator is 0.14 Mpa and the pressure
in the condenser is 0.8 Mpa. Draw a T-s diagram and if the isentropic efficiency of the
compressor is 100 percent, find:
a)

the refrigerating effect (kW),

b)

the work input (kW), and

c)

the COPret of the system.

(10 marks)

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EM/JAN 2012/MEC551

QUESTION 5
Liquid propane (C3H8) at 25 C is burned in a space heater at a rate of 0.05 kg /min with the
stoichiometric amount of air. The air enters this space heater steadily at 1 atm from the
compressor at 227 C. The combustion products leave at 1 atm and 727 C but only 98
percent of the carbon burns to C02 and the remaining 2 % burns to form CO but all the
hydrogen in the fuels bum to H 2 0.
a)

Write a balanced combustion equation.

b)

Determine:
i)

the air fuel ratio (kg air/kg fuel), and

ii)

the mass flow rate of air (kg/min).

What are the main factors contribute to the incomplete combustion process? Which
substance is the main product of incomplete combustion, CO or OH? , and explain.
(10 marks)

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EM/JAN 2012/MEC551

PARTB

QUESTION 1
Figure Q1 illustrates a combustion system using propane as fuel and supplied with 40 % of
excess air to generate energy for a feed water heating. Both reactants are assumed to be at
the standard reference state. Due to non-uniform mixing, 7 % of the carbon content of the
fuel reacts poorly with oxygen and forms carbon monoxide.
The Feed water heating is achieved by using a single tube, 2-shell and 4-pass heat
exchanger. The feed water supply is at 50 C and 28 kg/min feed rate, and exits in a heated
state of 250C. The hot gas from the combustion chamber reaches the heat exchanger at
700 C, slightly less than the combustion product temperature due to internal cooling
mechanisms, and exits at 300 C. The tube is thin-walled, 12 cm in diameter, with a heat
transfer coefficient of 300 W/m2.K. At the shell side, the heat transfer coefficient is 60
W/m2.K.
For this particular system:
a)

Calculate the fuel feed rate in (L/min) if the fuel density is 0.5 kg/liter,

b)

Determine the thermal power of the combustion process (MW), and

c)

If the specific heat at constant pressure of the feed water is 4900 J/kg.K, determine the
minimum length of the heat exchanger based on the length of the tube (m).

Air
25C & 1 atm
5 kg/min

Flue Gas
300C

Combustion system
Burner

Combustion
products
827C

Heat
Exchanger
700C

6
Propane
25C & 1 atm
FW exit 250C

FW inlet 50C

Figure Q1
(25 marks)

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QUESTION 2
In a manufacturing process, a transparent tinted is being bonded to a composite substrate
as shown in Figure Q2. To cure the bond at temperature Tu the respective substrate has
been heated, which give the uniform temperature of T0 = 79 C while the free surface of the
tinted (T s = 40 C) is exposed to air at 7, and a convection heat transfer coefficient /?. For the
calculated Tfl|m, the properties of the air at 1 atm are as follows;
DENSITY
p[kg/m3]

THERMAL
CONDUCTIVITY
K[W/(m.C)]

DYNAMIC
VICOSITY
u[kg/(m.s)]

KINEMATIC
VISCOSITY u
[m2/s]

PRANDTL
NUMBER
Pr

1.092

0.02735

1.963X10"5

1.798X10"5

0.7228

Under condition of steady state and one dimensional heat transfer, calculate:
a)

the rate of heat transfer, Q (W),

b)

the interface temperature, T^ (C),

c)

the air temperature, T . (C),

d)

if the flow is assumed to be completely turbulent over the entire plate, calculate the
approximate total heat transfer (W), and

e)

give your prediction for the rate of heat transfer if the velocity of the air is increased
about 45 %.
V. = 5 m/s
p
0.5m

* * ^ :
___

r-t

KA = 27.1 W/m.c
KB = 11.5 W/m.c
Ktinted = 0.4 W/m.c

jr.

jc%TOtfreVrr

1.2m

>

2.1m

/> <
7
1.1m
To
Figure Q2

Given:
Nu = 0.664Re 5Pr1/3 (for laminar flow)
Nu = 0.037Re08Pr1/3 (for turbulent flow)
Nu = [0.037Re08-871] Pr1/3 (for mixed flow)
(25 marks)
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QUESTION 3
An automotive air-conditioner is used to treat air cabin at 1 atm, 30 C, and 80 percent
relative humidity at a rate of 10 m3/min, by passing the air through the cooling system which
consist of cooling coils. The cooling process produces water in the condensate at 14 "C. The
air leaves the cooling coils and re-enters the cabin as saturated condition. The cooling
system uses R-134a as the working fluid and applies an ideal vapour-compression
refrigeration cycle, operates between saturated pressure of 1.4 bar and 8 bar. The
refrigerant enters the compressor in saturated phase at a rate of 16.9 kg/s and it is
isentropically compressed.
For the automotive air-conditioner system described above, sketch the schematic of the
complete system and calculate:
a)

the cooling load of the cooling coil (kW),

b)

the exit temperature of the air cabin (C),

c)

the rate of condensate removal (kg/s), and

d)

the required work input to the system (kW).

(25 marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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