Process of Heating the Water - Assignment Example

The heater design is made on certain assumptions being – (1) steady state rate of heat transfer (or that heat transfer rate is constant with time); (2) the cylindrical structure allows thermal symmetry so that the transfer of heat occurs merely on one dimension and varies not along the axial direction; (3) the metallic composition of the water tank (having thin metal sheet of stainless steel) on the inside possesses negligible thermal resistance; (4) thermal conductivities are uniform throughout the heating process; and that (5) very negligible heat losses take place on surfaces at the top and at the bottom.

Among the available insulating materials in the market, the ‘foam’ is chosen for its affordability and low cost of installation. Compared to the other prospected insulators, its thermal conductivity appears to have given the most reasonable values for the length and surface area of the heater via R-equation, while others came out with lengths that converge to the value of the corresponding outer radius which is not likely in the actual. During the process of heating the water, every 500-W increment is dissipated through the insulated tank wall so the increase of power input ought to be compensated with the addition of foam with relative thickness so as to prevent unnecessary heat loss until the water has achieved the desired temperature at 65°C.

Stainless steel is preferred to carbon steel or some other steel alloys due to the fact that it potentially resists corrosion over considerable time period.