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Fundamentals of Heat Transfer

By Prof. Somnath Roy   |   IIT Kharagpur
Learners enrolled: 644   |  Exam registration: 50
ABOUT THE COURSE:

Heat is energy in transit. Understanding the fundamentals of heat transfer is essential for analysis and design of thermo-mechanical systems. Analytical skills in heat transfer is useful for study of several industrial, natural and biological systems. In this course, we will discuss the basics of different heat transfer modes. This course will also try to develop problem solving skills in the students. Few advanced topics including computational and experimental techniques for heat transfer problems will also be introduced.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG students of Mechanical Engineering and other branches

PREREQUISITES: Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics
Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 12 weeks
Category :
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Energy Systems
  • Computational Thermo Fluids
Credit Points : 3
Level : Undergraduate
Start Date : 21 Jul 2025
End Date : 10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends : 28 Jul 2025
Exam Registration Ends : 15 Aug 2025
Exam Date : 02 Nov 2025 IST
NCrF Level   : 4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


Page Visits



Course layout

Week 1:  Modes of heat transfer (1), Introduction to conduction heat transfer (1), Fourier’s law and thermal conductivity (1), Derivation of conduction equation and simplifications (1), Solution of one-d steady conduction equations (1)

Week 2: Resistance networks, critical radius of insulation (1), contact resistance, one-d steady conduction with heat generation (1), Extended surface heat transfer and solution to fin problems, array of fins (3)

Week 3: 2 D steady conduction equation and its solution using separation of variables (3), Graphical and numerical solutions (2)

Week 4: Unsteady heat conduction equations and lumped capacitance model (2), Solution using Heisler’s charts (2), Semi-infinite plate heat transfer, penetration depth (1)

Week 5: Basic concepts of convection heat transfer and Newton’s laws of cooling, classification of convection problems, non-dimensional numbers in convective heat transfer (1), Derivation of mass, momentum and energy equations for incompressible flow (2), Concepts of velocity boundary layer, Boundary layer equations and estimation of convective heat transfer coefficient (2)

Week 6: Laminar flow over flat plate, Blasius solution and integral method for boundary layer equation (2) Turbulent flows, Reynolds analogy (1), Forced convection over bluff body, heat transfer correlations (2)

Week 7: Forced convection through internal conduits, fully developed flow, mean temperature (3) Heat transfer correlations, solution of convective heat transfer problems (1), Experimental methods for thermal problems (1)

Week 8: Natural convection, Boussinesq approximation, vertical flat plate natural convection equation and correlations for complex geometries (2), Mixed convection and Richardson number (1), Introduction to boiling and condensation heat transfer (2)

Week 9: Introduction to heat exchangers and their classification, recuperative and regenerative heat exchangers, heat transfer augmentation (2), LMTD method for analysis of heat exchangers design vs rating problems (3)

Week 10: Epsilon-NTU method for performance and design calculations (2), Basic concepts in radiation heat transfer, relevant surface properties and role of medium (1), Directional and spectral nature of radiation (1) , Planck’s equation, Stephan Boltzmann law, Wein’s displacement law, Solar radiation (1)

Week 11: Black, grey and real bodies, Kirchhoff’s law (1), Problems involving emission from a surface (1), Radiation exchange between black bodies, view factor algebra (2), Radiation exchange between grey bodies (1)

Week 12: Radiosity, radiation shields and radiation networks (3), Mass transfer through diffusion – Fick’s law, mass transfer through flowing media, analogies with heat transfer (2)

Books and references

Text Book:
Incropera's Principles of Heat and Mass Transfer, by Frank P. Incropera, David P. Dewitt, Theodore L. Berg-man and Adrienne S. Lavine, Wiley India Edition, 2018

Reference Books:
  1. Heat Transfer: A basic approach by M. Necati Ozisik, Mc Graw Hill, 2nd Edition, 1985 
  2. Convection Heat Transfer, Adrian Bejan. John Wiley and Soms, 2013

Instructor bio

Prof. Somnath Roy

IIT Kharagpur
Dr. Somnath Roy is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He completed his B.E. from Jadavpur University, M. Tech. from IIT Kanpur and PhD from Louisiana State University. He worked as a Research Associate and Visiting Faculty at Louisiana State University and then joined IIT Patna on February, 2011. In 2016, he moved to IIT Kharagpur. His research interest involves Computational Fluid Dynamics, Mixing, Heat Transfer, Turbulence, Micro-Air Vehicles, Biofluidics and High-Performance Computing.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: November 02, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Kharagpur .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team


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