Thermal engineering is a specialized sub-discipline of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

that deals with the movement of heat energy and transfer. The

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

can be transferred between two mediums or transformed into other forms of energy. A thermal engineer will have knowledge of

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...

and the process to convert generated energy from thermal sources into chemical, mechanical, or electrical energy. Many process plants use a wide variety of machines that utilize components that use heat transfer in some way. Many plants use heat exchangers in their operations. A thermal engineer must allow the proper amount of energy to be transferred for correct use. Too much and the components could fail, too little and the system will not function at all. Thermal engineers must have an understanding of

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

and the components that they will be servicing or interacting with. Some components that a thermal engineer could work with include heat exchangers, heat sinks, bi-metals strips, radiators and many more. Some systems that require a thermal engineer include; Boilers,

heat pump A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing ...

s, water pumps, engines, and more. Part of being a thermal engineer is to improve a current system and make it more efficient than the current system. Many industries employ thermal engineers, some main ones are the automotive manufacturing industry, commercial construction, and Heating Ventilation and Cooling industry. Job opportunities for a thermal engineer are very broad and promising. Thermal engineering may be practiced by

mechanical engineers Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture ...

and

chemical engineers A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., with ...

. One or more of the following disciplines may be involved in solving a particular thermal engineering problem:

Thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...

Fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...

Heat transfer Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy ( heat) between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as thermal conducti ...

, or

Mass transfer Mass transfer is the net movement of mass from one location (usually meaning stream, phase, fraction or component) to another. Mass transfer occurs in many processes, such as absorption, evaporation, drying, precipitation, membrane filtration ...

. One branch of knowledge used frequently in thermal engineering is that of

thermofluids Thermofluids is a branch of science and engineering encompassing four intersecting fields: *Heat transfer *Thermodynamics *Fluid mechanics *Combustion The term is a combination of "thermo", referring to heat, and "fluids", which refers to liquids ...

Applications

*Boiler design *Combustion engines *Cooling systems ** Cooling of computer chips *Heat exchangers * HVAC *Process Fired Heaters *Refrigeration Systems *Compressed Air Systems *Solar heating *

Thermal insulation Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer (i.e., the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature) between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with ...

*Thermal power plants

References

External links

NASA.gov
Thermal Engineering branch at Goddard Space Flight Center]
List of related fields in UNESCO thesaurus
Mechanical engineering Chemical engineering {{engineering-stub