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Mechanism of heat transfer

Mechanism of heat transfer

Understanding heat transfer mechanisms is essential for understanding how our bodies maintain balance in different environmental conditions. When the environment is thermoneutral, the body is in a state of balance, neither using nor releasing energy to maintain its core temperature. However, when the environment is not thermoneutral, the body employs four heat transfer mechanisms to maintain homeostasis: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. These mechanisms facilitate heat...

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Just as interesting as the effects of heat transfer on a system are the methods by which the heat transfer occur. Whenever there is a temperature difference, heat transfer occurs. It may occur rapidly, such as through a cooking pan, or slowly, such as through the walls of a picnic ice box. So many processes involve heat transfer that it is hard to imagine a situation where no heat transfer occurs. Yet, every heat transfer takes place by only three methods: conduction, convection, and radiation.

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II

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In convection, thermal energy is carried by the large-scale flow of matter. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation, which result from the buoyancy of warm air and water, transfer hot air from the tropics toward the poles and cold air from the poles toward the tropics. The Earth’s rotation interacts with those flows, causing the observed eastward flow of air in the temperate zones. Convection dominates heat transfer by air, and the amount of available space for the airflow...

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Uncoupling Coriolis Force and Rotating Buoyancy Effects on Full-Field Heat Transfer Properties of a Rotating Channel

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Published on: October 5, 2018

Heat transport with a twist.

Ethan Abraham¹, Mohammadhasan Dinpajooh², Clàudia Climent³

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|November 2, 2023

Summary

Mechanical twist significantly enhances polymer thermal conductivity. A twisted double-helical polyethylene wire showed three times higher thermal conductance, demonstrating nanoscale control over heat transport in polymers.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Polymer Physics
Nanotechnology

Background:

Polymers are typically thermal insulators, limiting their use in applications requiring heat conduction.
Recent research indicates that polymer thermal conductivity can be improved through nanoscale manipulation.
Understanding heat transport in polymers is crucial for developing advanced materials.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of mechanical twist on the thermal conductance of multi-stranded polyethylene wires.
To explore the relationship between polymer structure and heat transport properties.
To determine if chirality influences thermal conductance in twisted polymer wires.

Main Methods:

Utilizing non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.
Analyzing steady-state thermal conductance across polyethylene wires.
Applying the Continuous Chirality Measure (CCM) to assess chirality.

Main Results:

A highly twisted double-helical polyethylene wire exhibited up to three times greater thermal conductance than its untwisted counterpart.
Introducing a single twist to thicker polymer wires increased thermal conductance by over 30%.
The effect of twist on thermal conductance was non-monotonic, with some twists decreasing conductivity.

Conclusions:

Mechanical twist is an effective strategy for enhancing the thermal conductivity of polymers.
Structural transitions induced by twisting play a key role in altering heat transport.
While CCM correlates with twist, structural factors beyond chirality are primarily responsible for the observed thermal transport behaviors.