ENGD1005

Mechanical Principals

Thermal Conductivity

Student Name: Nizamuddin Patel

P Number: P15219444
Year: 1
Course of Study: Mechanical Engineering

Lab Tutor: Mr Mahmud Mustafa

Date: 2/11/2015
 Thermal Conductivity

Introduction

Diagram of apparatus inside the casing Actual apparatus used, potentiometer and
measuring cylinder

The apparatus has been designed to determine the coefficient of a good conductor. For this
experiment we are testing the thermal conductivity of copper and stainless steel. The Fourier
equation will be used and rearranged to help us find out the thermal conductivity.

Background

Thermal conductivity is the measure of the capability of a sample to transfer heat. The heat energy
transferred from one surface of the sample to the other side with a difference in temperature. When
cooling electronics thermal conductivity plays a major role, as parts dealing with high temperature
e.g. engine or processor. These parts need to have high thermal conductivity (W/mk) as excessive
heat could cause damage.

The thermal conductivity of any material is measured in units, Watts per Kelvin Metre (W/mk).
Materials with high thermal conductivity transfer heat at a faster rate than low thermal conductivity.
Thermal conductivity of material depends on temperature, as average temperature increases, the
materials become more thermal conductive.

In 1822, Fouriers law was confirmed stating that: Rate of heat conduction is directly proportional to
the area x difference in temperature. This can be rewritten as:

Where Q is the rate of heat conduction, whilst K is the coefficient of thermal conductivity. A is the
area, and (delta) T is the change in temperature. The negative sign that appears in Fouriers law is
due to the fact that heat is travelling in the opposite direction to the temperature gradient. [1]

Objectives

The main objective of this experiment is to find out the thermal conductivity for copper and stainless
steel. This allows us to see how good of a conductor they are.

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

Equipment

The apparatus used in this experiment include:

 Self-clamping specimen
 Stack assembly with electrically heated source
 Calorimeter base
 Dewar Vessel enclosure- to ensure negligible loss of heat
 Constant head cooling water supply tank

Mounted on the steel base (Fig. 1): Fig. 1

 A multipoint thermocouple switch
 2× mercury and glass thermometer(fig. 2, 3) – for water inlet and outlet temperature readings
 Connection wires leading to a potentiometer instrument to give accurate readings

4× Ni-Cr/Ni-Al Thermocouples (type K)

2× metal specimens [1× cylindrically shaped piece of Copper (radius of 12.5mm, length slightly over
sad50mm), 1× stainless steel (radius of 12.5mm, length slightly over 25mm)]
1× measuring cylinder (fig. 4) - to measure the volume of water coming out to calculate the flow rate
1×stopwatch (fig. 7) - to measure the time it takes for the water to fill the measuring cylinder. This will
aahelp calculating the flow rate
1×potentiometer (fig. 6) - used to read the temperatures at the thermocouples

Fig. 7

Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Fig. 2

Cooling water in
Self-clamping model
Outlet thermometer
Inlet thermometer Stopwatch

Thermocouple
Thermocouple
potentiometer
Potentiometer

Cooling water Thermocouple

out switch

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

Method

The equipment for the experiment was already set up. The following is the method of how the
apparatus was set up:

1. Assemble specimens with the stainless steel specimen in the lower position and the
copper specimen in the upper position. Ensuring good surface contact is made using
some heat transfer paste. Clamp in position and insert thermocouples into the
specimens
2. Turn thermostat adjustment fully clockwise
3. Place Dewar vessel in position and connect water supply to give approximately 8°C
temperature difference
4. Set input current to a maximum (0.55 amps) until 200 °C is recorded by hottest
thermocouple. Then reduce current to 0.3 amps and leave for 25 minutes, after which
temperatures should be steady

When the apparatus was ready, this is how the experiment was conducted:

 To speed the time of the experiment, we firstly started to collect water in a measuring
cylinder (fig. 4). This is because it takes quite a bit of time, so while this took place the rest of
the experiment was completed. The stopwatch was activated as soon as the water entered
the measuring cylinder.
 The temperatures across the samples were steady and therefore the readings can be
delivered. We read the inlet (fig. 2) and outlet (fig. 3) temperatures from the placed
thermometers
 We then used the thermocouple switch to switch between the different parts of the samples
surface and used a potentiometer to read the temperature at that specific thermocouple.
 We took the hose out of the measuring cylinder (fig. 5) and at the same time we switched
the stop watch off. The recorded values were 160ml of water at 416 seconds. We can use
these two values to calculate the volume flow rate

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

Results

Volume (ml) Time (s) Tin Tout T1 T2 T3 T4

160 416 22.5 35.5 57 134 166 172

Calculations
𝐾𝐴(∆𝑇)
= 𝑚̇𝐶𝑝 (𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑇𝑖𝑛 )
𝐿
where: 𝐾 = Thermal Conductivity of sample (W/mK)
𝐴 = Sample’s Cross Sectional Area (m2)
Δ𝑇 = Difference in Temperature across Sample 𝑇2-𝑇1 or 𝑇4-𝑇3
(K)
𝐿 = Distance between Temperature readings on each sample (m)
ṁ = Mass flow rate of cooling water (kg/s)
𝑇𝑜ut = Temperature of cooling water (oC)
𝑇𝑖n = Temperature of cooling water (oC)
𝐶𝑝 = specific heat capacity of water (4189 J/kgK)
and: Density of water = 100kg/m3 (or 1 g/ml)

From the experiment we have the Volume (ml) and Time (seconds), this will allow us to calculate the
volume flow rate
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒(𝑚𝑙)
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠)

160𝑚𝑙 5 𝑚𝑙
= ≈ 0.385
416𝑠𝑒𝑐 13 𝑠𝑒𝑐

𝑚𝑙 𝑚3
0.385 𝑠𝑒𝑐 × 10−6 = 3.85 × 10−7 𝑠𝑒𝑐

𝑚 3
Therefore, the volume flow rate (𝑉̇ ) is 3.85 × 10−7
𝑠𝑒𝑐

The calculation to work out the mass flow rate (𝑚̇) is Volume flow rate × density (water)
𝑚 3 kg
𝑚̇ = 𝑉̇ 𝑠 × ρ1000 𝑚3

𝑚3 kg
𝑚̇ = 𝑉̇ 𝑠
× ρ1000 𝑚3
kg
𝑚̇ = 𝑉̇ × ρ1000 s

𝑚̇ = 3.85 × 10−7 × ρ1000

𝑘𝑔
𝑚̇ = 3.85 × 10−4 𝑠
𝐽
Cp = 4189 𝑘𝑔𝐾 (given)

Tout – Tin = (35.5+273.15) – (22.5+273.15)= 13K

Above you can see that 273.15 has been added to the temperatures conducted in the experiment.
This is to convert the units from °C to K. Although in this case the values will remain the same as
35.5-22.5 also equals 13

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

The above calculations allows us to fulfill a section of the Fourier equation, 𝑚̇𝐶𝑝 (𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑇𝑖𝑛 ), we can
now rearrange this formula to make K (thermal conductivity of specimen) the subject.
𝑘𝑔 𝐽 𝐽
(3.85 × 10−4 ) × 4189 (13𝐾) = 20.965945
𝑠 𝑘𝑔 𝐾 𝑠
𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
= 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠
𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
𝐾𝐴(∆𝑇)
∴ = 20.965945𝑊
𝐿
𝐾𝐴(∆𝑇) = 𝐿 × 20.965945𝑊
𝐿 × 20.965945𝑊
𝐾=
𝐴(∆𝑇)
Steel

Height of Stainless steel (L) = 25mm/ 0.025m

Diameter of Stainless Steel (D) = 25mm/ 0.025m
To work out the area of the top of the cylindrical steel specimen, the following equation is
used:
𝜋𝐷 2 𝜋 x (0.0252 )
A= = ≈ 4.9087 x 10-4 m2
4 4
To work out the temperature difference in the steel specimen, thermocouples T1 and T2 are
used:
∆𝑇 = (𝑇2 − 𝑇1 )
= (134℃ + 273.15) − (57℃ + 273.15)
∆𝑇 = 77𝐾
We can use the equation we rearranged above for K to give us the thermal
conductivity of the Steel specimen
𝐿 × 20.965945𝑊
𝐾=
𝐴(∆𝑇)
0.025𝑚 × 20.965945𝑊
𝐾=
(4.9087 × 10−4 𝑚2 ) × 77𝐾
𝑊
𝐾 = 13.86747
𝑚𝐾
𝑊
𝐾 ≈ 14
𝑚𝐾

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

Copper

Height of Copper (L) = 50mm/0.05m

Diameter of Copper (D) = 25mm/0.025m
To work out the area of the top of the cylindrical copper specimen, the following equation is
used:
𝜋𝐷 2 𝜋 x (0.0252 )
A= 4
= 4
≈ 4.9087 x 10-4 m2
To work out the temperature difference in the copper specimen, thermocouples T3 and T4
are used:
∆𝑇 = (𝑇4 − 𝑇3 )
= (172℃ + 273.15) − (166℃ + 273.15)
∆𝑇 = 6𝐾
We can use the equation we rearranged above for K to give us the thermal
conductivity of the copper specimen
𝐿 × 20.965945𝑊
𝐾=
𝐴(∆𝑇)
0.05𝑚 × 20.965945𝑊
𝐾=
(4.9087 × 10−4 𝑚2 ) × 6𝐾
𝑊
𝐾 = 355.9317301
𝑚𝐾
𝑊
𝐾 ≈ 356
𝑚𝐾

Error for Thermal Conductivity (K)

Formula used to calculate error:
𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒− 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡
% Error= 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
× 100
The reference is given in the worksheet:
𝑊
Copper:400 𝑚𝐾
𝑊
Steel:16 𝑚𝐾

Error for copper:

400 − 356
× 100
400
= 11%
Error for Stainless Steel:
16 − 14
× 100
16
= 12.5%

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

Graph 6.843˚

200 T4
172 T3
180 166
160 T2
134
140
Tempreture (˚C)

120 72.013˚
100
80 T1
57
60
40
20
0

50mm 25mm
Distance (mm)
Column1 Column2 Column3

How I found the angle for the lines. I drew a horizontal line at the bottom of the line on the graph
(shown in dashes above). Then I used the length of the dashed horizontal line (25mm), and worked
out the height of the line (134-57). I used the lines to draw a right angled triangle:

77mm
6mm
25mm 50mm
𝑂
Using rules of trigonometry I used the formula: tanθ=𝐴
77
Tanθ= 25
77
θ=tan-1(25)
θ= 72.013(3d.p)

6
Tanθ= 50
6
θ=tan-1(50)
θ= 6.843(3d.p)

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444

 Thermal Conductivity

Conclusions

For steel we found that the coefficient of thermal conductivity (K), is 14W/mk. The reference that
was given to us was 16W/mk, this gives a percentage error of 12.5%. For copper we found that the
coefficient of thermal conductivity (K) is 356W/mk. The reference that was given to us was
400W/mk, this gives us a percentage error of 11%. This error could have been caused by
inaccuracies during the experiment, such as the manual readings of the thermometers. As the
readings were read off the thermometer, the reading could have been read wrong. Another factor
that could have affected the experiment is that the temperatures of the thermocouples were read
physically off the potentiometer, which allows margin for error. The potentiometer was not
accurate, as the dials didn’t work properly. This could have been avoided if the readings were done
digitally, as the computer can give an accurate reading. The water flow may not have been steady so
this could have had an impact on the results. The purity of the specimens plays a part in the
inaccuracy of the experiment. This experiment could be more accurate if the experiment was
completed a few times and an average was calculated, but due to time we were unable to do the
experiment more than once.

From the graph we can see that the gradient of T4/T3 is almost flat, therefore the angle between the
lines should be small. The angle is 6°C which shows that copper is a good conductor. The gradient for
T2/T1 is steeper than T4/T3 so this will have a bigger angle. The angle for steel is 72°, which shows
that steel is not as good a conductor as copper. This suggests that copper is more conductive than
steel. Copper has a higher value of thermo conductivity (K) than steel as 356K>14K. This reinforces
my previous comment that copper is a better conductor than steel

Reference

[1] http://www.me.rochester.edu/courses/ME223.jcl/modes/fouriers_law.htm4

http://www.qats.com/cms/2011/10/21/thermal-conductivity-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-care/

http://www.engineersedge.com/heat_transfer/thermal_conductivity.htm

Name: Nizamuddin Patel P Number: P15219444