A 1.
5-m-diameter, 4-m-long cylindrical propane tank is initially filled with liquid propane, whose
density is 581 kg/m3. The tank is exposed to the ambient air at 25C in calm weather. The outer
surface of the tank is polished so that the radiation heat transfer is negligible. Now a crack
develops at the top of the tank, and the pressure inside drops to 1 atm while the T drops to -42-C,
which is the boiling T of propane at 1 atm. The heat of vaporization of propane at 1 atm is 425 kJ/kg.
The propane is slowly vaporized as a result of the heat transfer from the ambient air into the tank, and
the propane vapor escapes the tank at -42C through the crack. Assuming the propane tank to be at
about the same T as the propane inside at all times, determine how long it will take for the tank to
empty. (horizontal position)
Atotal Aside 2 Abase k 0.02299W / mK 1
T f 8.5C Pr 0.7383 v 1.265 10 5 m 2 / s Tif 273K
fC 02
A spherical tank (k =15 W/mK) with an inner diameter of 2m and a wall thickness of 10 mm is used
for storing hot liquid. The hot liquid inside the tank causes the inner surface T to be as high as
100°C. To prevent thermal burns on the skin of the people working near the vicinity of the tank, the
tank is covered with a 8-cm thick layer of insulation (k =0.15 W/mK) and the outer surface is
painted to give an emissivity of 0.42. The tank is located in a surrounding with air at 20°C.
Determine the outer surface T.
Assume Ts is 100C
fC 03
Consider a 2-m-high cylindrical electric hot-water heater that has a diameter of 40 cm and maintains
the hot water at 60C. The tank is located in a small room at 20C whose walls and ceiling are at
about the same T. The tank is placed in a 44-cm-diameter sheet metal shell of negligible thickness,
and the space between the tank and the shell is filled with foam insulation. The average T and
emissivity of the outer surface of the shell are 40C and 0.7, respectively. The price of electricity is
$0.08/kWh.
Hot-water tank insulation kits large enough to wrap the entire tank are available on the market for
about $60. If such an insulation is installed on this water tank by the home owner himself, how long
will it take for this additional insulation to pay for itself? Disregard any heat loss from the top and
bottom surfaces, and assume the insulation to reduce the heat losses by 80 percent.
T f 30C v 1.608 10 5 m 2 / s 1
Pr 0.7282 k 0.02588W / mK T f 273K
fC 04
Exhaust gases from a manufacturing plant are being discharged through a 10-m-tall exhaust stack
with outer diameter of 1 m. The exhaust gases are discharged at a rate of 0.125 kg/s, while T drop
between inlet and exit of the exhaust stack is 30C, and the constant pressure-specific heat of the
exhaust gases is 1600 J/kgK. On a particular calm day, the surrounding quiescent air T is 33C. Solar
radiation is incident on the exhaust stack outer surface at a rate of 500 W/m2, and both the
emissivity and solar absorptivity of the outer surface are 0.9. Determine the exhaust stack outer
surface temperature. Assume the film temperature is 60C. (free turbulent convection)
T f 60C v 1.896 10 5 m 2 / s 1
Pr 0.7202 k 0.02808W / mK T f 273K
fC 05
