Heat Transfer as a Design-Oriented Course: Mechanical Supports as Thermal Insulators

Four problems are used to show how the following objectives can be pursued in a heat transfer course: the introduction of design principles along with heat transfer science, the interdisciplinary character of heat transfer engineering, and the relationship between heat transfer and other engineering disciplines. The problems address the design question of how to select the shape and material of a mechanical support that must be a good thermal insulator at the same time. They show that the mechanical and thermal functions of the system compete against one another, and that it is possible to balance these competing objectives into an optimal design.