Heat vs.

Temperature

Before we get into heat transfer let’s make sure we understand the
two terms we use in fire dynamics: temperature and heat.
Temperature is a measure of a body’s molecules’ average internal kinetic energy. Temperature is
measured by two temperature scales. In S.I units the temperature scale is degrees centigrade,
°C. In English units it is degrees Fahrenheit, °F.

The absolute temperature is either the Rankine or Kelvin temperature scale. Rankine temperature
is defined by Rankine (°R) = °Fahrenheit + 460. For example an ambient temperature of 60°F
equals 60° F + 460 = 520°R on the absolute scale. Kelvin (°K) equals °Celsius + 273°. For
example an ambient temperature of 16°C equals 16°C + 273 = 289°R. In this course we’ll usually
use Celsius (°C) and Kelvin (°K). The equation symbol for temperature is usually “T”. Heat on the
other hand is a measure of energy being transferred. Heat may move from one body to another
through space or the atmosphere by convection or radiation. It can also move through

a body or medium by conduction. In the S.I. system of units,

joules (J) is the unit for energy, including heat.

In the fire profession we usually use joules per second (J/s) for the rate of heat transfer. This is
simplified to the watt (W) which is joules per second (J/s.) Generally we use 1,000 watts
abbreviated as kW. The symbol for kW is .

Another useful unit for fire protection is the amount of heat transferred per unit area. This is
kilowatts per square meter (kW/m2). The symbol for kW/m2 is .

Let's review the three predominant methods of transferring energy between two bodies at
different temperatures: convection, conduction, and radiation. These heat transfer methods are
well known to the fire service since they form the predominant environment in fire service
operations. These methods are all-important in the fire development. At some stages of a fire's
development one mode may dominate.

When two objects of different temperatures interact, the

warmer object cools, or loses energy, and the cooler object heats up, or gains energy it may
transfer by:
 • Contact between two bodies (conduction)
• Through a gaseous or liquid medium such as air (convection)
• By electromagnetic wave (radiation)

(See Figure 1-11.) This type of electromagnetic radiation energy is heat. Heat transfer is
important in any study of fire dynamics.

In many fires, most energy transfer occurs as a combination of conduction, convection, and
radiation. For example, in the heating of a structural element by direct flame contact, the flame
both radiates and convects heat to the exposed element. One of the essential problems in
predicting fire propagation is to sum all the heat gains and losses to derive the temperatures of
various objects in the room. We will now explore each of these modes of heat transfer in greater
detail to better understand the physics of fire propagation.

Conduction Heat Transfer

Conduction is the transfer of heat through a solid medium. The energy transfer depends on:

• Temperature differences in the solid body

• The material’s thickness
• The material's thermal conductivity
• The material’s cross-sectional area

The basic heat conduction equation is also known as the Fourier law of heat conduction. Below is
the conduction equation for a one-dimensional system, i.e., considering heat conduction in only
one direction. (See Figure 1-12.) Two-and three-dimensional problems are beyond the scope of
this course.
Equation 1-1 applies only after the system has reached steady state. This means the
temperature on the cold side is not going to increase as long as the temperature on the hot side
doesn’t change. If a steady state is assumed, then the temperature gradient is constant. By
temperature gradient we mean the temperature across a body. Generally, in conduction
problems, we’ll assume steady state has been achieved. Otherwise the problems become
exceedingly complex.

Finding properties of materials is essential in solving some fire dynamic problems. Table 1-2 lists
the thermal properties of some common materials. Some properties are in the Appendix,
Handbook of Fire Protection. We’ll also show other tables in later course modules. The following
website is a database of thermal properties of many materials:
http://srdata.nist.gov/insulation/
Example 1-1 After investigating a fire and in preparation for a trial you want to determine the heat
transfer through a sheet of gypsum wallboard at a given stage of the fire. (See Figure 1-13.) You
determined that the temperature on the hot side, T2, was 900°C and the temperature on the cold
side was 100°C. The conductivity of gypsum wallboard is 4.8 x 10-4 kW/m°C (Table 1-2) and the
thickness was ½-inch (0.0127 m.) To simplify calculations, assume the area is 1 m2.
There are several classes of conduction heat transfer problems important in fire dynamics
solvable without computers. The first class of problems is an object being heated that has a high
surface area to mass ratio and a high thermal conductivity. The fusible link of a sprinkler head
has these characteristics. The rate of temperature rise of these elements is independent of the
heat conduction through the element. The heat conduction is assumed to occur infinitely fast, so
that the link or detector element is at the same temperature throughout at any given time. This
type of problem is often called a "liquid heat capacity" or "infinite thermal conductivity" problem.

The second type of problem occurs when the object is relatively thick and a good insulator, and
we are interested in the surface temperature early in the heating process. These types of
problems are called "semi-infinite" or "infinite slab" problems and often occur in ignition and flame
spread studies.

Convection Heat Transfer

Convection is the heat transfer occurring when a fluid (liquid or gas) heats a solid material. An
example is the cooling of room air at the surface of a window during winter. The basic law of
convection, otherwise known as Newton's law, states:

Where: q = heat transfer to a solid (kW, kJ/s or Btu/s)

h = convective heat transfer coefficient (kW/m2°C)
A = solid surface area (m2) or (ft2)
Tf = temperature of fluid (°C or °K) (°F or °R)
Ts = temperature of a solid (°C or °K) (°F or °R).

To solve convection problems we must know

the convective heat transfer coefficient. In general, it is a complex function of the geometry, fluid
properties, fluid velocity, and film and surface temperatures. The solution of the convective heat
transfer problem is generally beyond the scope of this course. However, we’ll cover a solution for
it in Module III. This will be for a specific application.

Typical heat transfer coefficient from flames is 0.005-0.01 kW/m2°C. However for a fire plume
impinging on a ceiling the heat transfer coefficient is 0.0005-0.05 kW/m2°C. (See Figure 1-14.)
Fluid flow (gases and liquids) may be either laminar or turbulent. Below are a couple of simple
experiments to illustrate laminar and turbulent flow.

Radiation Heat Transfer

Radiation heat transfer occurs by electromagnetic waves, such as when the sun warms the earth.
The heat energy radiated from an object is proportional to the fourth power of the absolute
temperature. Radiation is transmitted in straight lines.

The fundamental radiation relationship, known as the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, is:

Radiation impinging on a body may be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted, depending on the

nature of the material. The amount of energy absorbed is called the material’s absorptivity while
the amount reflected is called reflectivity, and the amount transmitted is called transmissivity. The
sum of the reflectivity, absorptivity, and transmissivity of a surface is equal to unity.
 An ideal radiator absorbs all energy
striking upon it. It reflects no radiation and is often called a blackbody radiator. So, a blackbody
reflects no radiation but absorbs all radiation hitting it. A blackbody emits the maximum amount of
radiant energy possible at any given temperature. For the case of most solid bodies, the
transmissivity is zero. The emissivity of a real radiator (e.g., a flame) is the ratio of radiation
emitted by the radiator to the amount of radiation emitted by a blackbody.

An object's absorptivity is equal to its emissivity. Figure 1-15 illustrates these concepts. A
blackbody would absorb all the radiant energy. But this is a real body so only part of the incident
energy is absorbed. This amount is the total incident energy less the reflected energy (assuming
the transmitted energy equals zero). A blackbody that has absorbed all the energy has emissivity
=100% = 1.0. This real body absorbs only 5% so its emissivity = 5% = 0.05.

The emissivity (E) of an object relates to a real versus an ideal radiator. The emissivity of an ideal
radiator, blackbody, is unity. Values for emissivity vary from 0 to 1. As stated above, emissivity of
an object is the ratio between the radiation of a real body and an ideal blackbody at the same
temperature. Since emissivity depends on wavelength, values for use in engineering analysis are
generally average values over a wavelength range. A graybody represents a real body with an
emissivity between 0 and 1. The emissivity will partially determine the amount of radiation
reflected or absorbed.

The emissivity of a solid object is a strong function of the object's color and physical surface
condition, i.e., rough or smooth. Rough materials radiate more heat than smooth materials. In a
like fashion, dark colored materials radiate more heat than light colored materials. Therfore dark
rough materials absorb more heat than light smooth materials.

Emissivities for solid objects vary from 0.1 for a smooth, highly polished metallic surface to 0.9 or
higher for charcoal or carbon black. The emissivity of a structural steel member, for example,
varies from 0.7 to 0.9. The emissivity of a 0.18-meter-thick flame of burning kerosene is
approximately 0.37 (Drysdale, p. 165).

The emissivity of a flame is directly related to its thickness. This also partially explains the
increase in radiation heat transfer of a very thick flame front as opposed to a line fire. In general,
the emissivity of a compartment fire is considered to be unity. The compartment fire is assumed
to be a cavity radiator. A cavity radiator when viewed from the environment approximates a
blackbody; thus its emissivity is equal to 1.

When two objects of different temperatures are in close proximity, radiation heat transfer occurs.
Radiation heat transfer between a flame and a structural is one example. The temperature
differences between the two bodies as well as their respective emissivities affect the amount of
heat transferred.
Radiation from a point source is emitted in all directions and travels in a straight line. Depending
on the configuration of the bodies, not all radiation from one body will reach the second. To
compensate for this, a configuration factor is introduced into the radiation heat transfer equation.
The mechanism of determining configuration factors is essentially a problem in solid geometry
involving the areas of the surfaces and at what angles they are to each other. These calculations
can be complex and for the most part we will not cover them in this course. Later however, we’ll
use some simple equations to determine the radiation from flames.

Ignoring the configuration factor, the equation for radiation heat transfer between two bodies
(assuming both are blackbodies, i.e., both emissivities are one, is:

Be sure to use absolute temperature °K rather than °C.

Example 1-2 You are inspecting an industrial plant so you can make firefight plans for the facility.
They have an open tank of kerosene within 5 feet (1.52 m) of a wooden wall. You want to know if
the wall would ignite from burning kerosene if the keronsene ignites. To avoid configuration
factors you assume both the wall and flames are fairly large. The kerosene flames are 990° C
(990 + 273 = 1,263°K). You assume the wall temperature is 21°C (294°K). To simplify
calculations you assume the area is 1 m2. If the minimum heat flux for the ignition of the wood is
10 kW/m2, will the wall ignite?

No question about it. The wood wall would ignite.

 Sample Radiation Levels and Their Effects

To provide some physical meaning to the concept of thermal radiation, values for the effects of
certain radiation levels are given in Table 1-3. For comparison purposes, a heat flux of 10 kW/m2
would exist at a distance of 25 feet from a 10 foot square plane blackbody radiator at 2,160°R
(1,200°K). Heat flux is the amount of energy transferred per unit area to the object in the left
column (DiNenno, p. 32).

FESHE Course: Fire Dynamics, Version 1.0, Summer 2007©

Page last updated: August, 2007