The stegosaurus had two long rows of armored plates running along its spine. Some paleontologists have suggested that this dinosaur used these plates to regulate body temperature (like present day elephants do with their ears). We can model each plate as a single fin of parabolic profile and determine the heat lost or gained (depending upon the time of day). The relevant parameters are:

\[\begin{aligned}& T_{\infty}=30^{\circ} \mathrm{C} \text { (it was hotter back then) } T_{\text {dino }}=38^{\circ} \mathrm{C} \\& k_{\text {eff }}=50 \mathrm{~W} / \mathrm{m} \mathrm{K} \text { (accounts for blood flow inside the fin) } \\& h=10 \mathrm{~W} / \mathrm{m}^{2} \mathrm{~K}\end{aligned}\]

Calculate the heat loss per stegosaurus plate given the data above and Figure P8.17.

Transcribed Image Text:

FIGURE P8.17 I ft 5 ft 3 ft