Question: In a plant that manufactures canned aerosol paints, the cans are temperature-tested in water baths at 55°C before they are shipped to ensure that they withstand temperatures up to 55°C during transportation and shelving (as shown in Fig.). The cans, moving on a conveyor, enter the open hot water bath, which is 0.5 m deep, 1 m wide, and 3.5 m long, and move slowly in the hot water toward the other end. Some of the cans fail the test and explode in the water bath. The water container is made of sheet metal, and the entire container is at about the same temperature as the hot water. The emissivity of the outer surface of the container is 0.7. If the temperature of the surrounding air and surfaces is 20°C, determine the rate of heat loss from the four side surfaces of the container (disregard the top surface, which is open). The water is heated electrically by resistance heaters, and the cost of electricity is $0.085/kWh. If the plant operates 24 h a day 365 days a year and thus 8760 h a year, determine the annual cost of the heat losses from the container for this facility.
