2.

An annular chemical reactor consists of a packed bed of catalyst between two coaxial
cylinders. The inner and outer cylinders have radii of r
0
and r
1
, respectively. It is
reasonable to assume that there is no heat transfer through the surface of the inner
cylinder, which is at a constant temperature T
0
. The catalytic reaction releases heat at a
uniform volumetric rate S throughout the reactor, whose effective thermal
conductivity k may be considered constant. eglect the temperature gradients in the
axial direction.
a! "erive a second#order differential e$uation to describe the radial temperature
distribution in the annular reactor starting with a shell thermal energy balance.
b! %stablish the radial temperature distribution by solving the differential e$uation.
c! &hat viscous flow problem is analogous to this heat conduction problem'
d! "erive an expression for the volumetric average temperature in the reactor.
e! "evelop an expression for the temperature at the outer cylindrical wall of the reactor.
&hat will be the outer wall temperature if both the inner and outer radii are tripled'
a! (tep. "ifferential e$uation from thermal energy balance
)rom a thermal energy balance over a thin cylindrical shell of thickness r in the annular
reactor, we get
*ate of +eat In # ,ut - .eneration / Accumulation
At steady#state, the accumulation term will be 0ero. (o,
(1)
where S is the rate of generation of heat by chemical reaction per unit volume and q
r
is
the heat flux in the radial direction.
"ividing by 1 r L and taking the limit as r tends to 0ero,
(2)
(3)
(ince the effective thermal conductivity k of the reactor bed may be considered
constant, on substituting )ourier2s law 3 ! we get
(4)
b!
(tep. *adial temperature profile by solving differential e$uation
,n integrating,
(5)
The integration constants are determined using the boundary conditions4
(6)
(7)
The first boundary condition suggests no heat transfer through the inner cylindrical wall
of the annulus.
,n substituting the integration constants, the temperature profile is
(8)
c!
(tep. Analogous problem in fluid mechanics

Figure. 5elocity profile in falling film on circular tube is analogous to temperature profile
in annular chemical reactor.
The velocity profile for the falling film on the outside of a circular tube 3see )igure! is
given by4
(9)
(ubstituting aR / r
0
and R / r
1
,
(10)
The maximum velocity 3which occurs at r / r
0
! is
(11)
The difference between the above two e$uations yields
(12)
%$uations 36! and 311! are identical in form. Thus, the analogous viscous flow problem
is the laminar flow of a falling film on theinside of a circular tube. The e$uivalent
$uantities are
(13)
d!
(tep. %xpression for volumetric average temperature
The volumetric average temperature in the reactor may be defined as
(14)
,n substituting the temperature profile in the above expression and integrating
7using 8, we get
(15)
e!
(tep. %xpression for outer wall temperature
The temperature at the outer cylindrical wall 3r / r
1
! of the reactor is given by
(16)
&hen both the inner and outer radii are n times their original values, the term in s$uare
brackets gets multiplied by n
1
and the outer wall temperature is thus given by
(17)
)or the case when both the radii are tripled, n / 9 in the above expression.
1. An electric wire with radius r
0
of 0.:0 mm is made of copper 7electrical
conductivity / :.1 x 10
;
ohm
#1
m
#1
and thermal conductivity / 960 &<3m =!8. It is
insulated 3see figure! to an outer radius r
1
of 1.:0 mm with plastic 7thermal
conductivity / 0.9:0 &<3m =!8.

Figure. +eating of an insulated electric wire.
The ambient air is at 96.0
o
> and the heat transfer coefficient from the outer insulated
surface to the surrounding air is 6.:00 &<3m
1
=!. "etermine the maximum current in
amperes that can flow at steady#state in the wire without any portion of the insulation
getting heated above its maximum allowable temperature of ?9.0
o
>.
(tep. Thermal resistance representation for insulation and air
In general, the heat flow is given by Q / T<R
th
, where T is the temperature driving
force 3thermal potential difference!. The thermal resistance for a cylindrical annulus
is R
th
/ ln 3r
1
<r
0
!<31 kL! and the thermal resistance for a fluid film at a solid#fluid
interface is R
th
/ 1<3hA!. +ere, k is the thermal conductivity, h is the heat transfer
coefficient and A is the surface area for convection.
The thermal resistances for the insulation and air film are in series as shown in the
figure below.

Figure. Thermal resistance representation of insulation and air film.
@ased on the above thermal resistance representation, the heat flow is
(1)
where k is the thermal conductivity of the plastic insulation.
(tep. +eat flow due to current in wire
The flow of an electric current results in some electrical energy getting converted to
thermal energy irreversibly. The heat generation by electrical dissipation per unit volume
is given by S / I
1
<k
e
where I is the current density 3in amp<m
1
! and k
e
is the electrical
conductivity 3in ohm
#1
m
#1
!.
The total heat generated within the wire is simply the product of S and the volume of the
wire. At steady#state, all this heat generated within the wire by electrical dissipation
must leave through the wire surface and therefore the heat flow is given by
(2)
(tep. %xpression for current
,n eliminating Q from the above two e$uations, the current density is
(3)
,n multiplying the current density by the cross#sectional area of the wire, the current is
obtained from
(4)
)or the maximum current, the temperature T
0
must be maximi0ed.
(tep. (ubstitution of numerical values
,n setting the temperature T
0
to ?9.0
o
> 3i.e., the maximum allowable temperature for
the insulation!, the maximum current that can flow through the wire may be calculated
as 19.01; amp.
The numerical values substituted in the e$uation are given below.
The values below may be changed and the problem solution recalculated with the new
values provided in consistent units.
Variable name Symbol Value Unit
electrical conductivity ke
:100000
ohm
-1
m
-1
maximum temerature T0
?9.0000
o
!
am"ient temerature T2
96.0000
o
!
outer radiu# r1
0.001:00
m
$ire radiu# r0
0.000:00
m
la#tic thermal conductivity k
0.9:000
%&(m ')
heat tran#(er coe((icient h
6.:0000
%&(m
2
')
Calculated Variable Symbol Value Unit
)aximum current 13.027 am