A Comparison Between 2-D and 3-D Conduction Shape Factors

Conduction shape factors are frequently used in a variety of heat transfer applications to evaluate heat transfer from one three-dimensional body to another three-dimensional body. Previous investigators have used conduction shape factors derived using the 2-D cross-section of the 3-D geometries for non-heating conditions as approximations to 3-D conduction shape factors with heating and no-heating present. This paper investigates the suitability of neglecting the axial conduction and power deposition in deriving expressions for conduction shape factors for the case of a single, cylindrical vessel imbedded concentrically in a cylindrical, uniformly heated tissue matrix. It is shown that 1) conduction shape factors are functions of the deposited power and the temperature distribution and 2) the magnitudes of conduction shape factors are affected significantly by axial conduction.