Sultan Qaboos University

College of Engineering
Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department
Chemical Engineering Lab.1 ( CHPE4312 ) - Section # ( 20 )
Exp. 4
( Thermal Conductivity )

By :
Hilal Mohammed Ali Al Ghefeili 88549
Maher Mohammed Hamed Al Busaid 88654
Ahmed Hamed Mohamed Al Qasmi 88805
Mahamood Nasser Hamed Al Rawahi 88812
To :
Dr. Mohammed Al abri
Due Date :
24
th
October 2012
I

Abstract:

Thermal conductivity coefficient was calculated for different specimens;
Aluminium and Stainless Steel separately. By applying different voltages hence, different
power, and noting the temperatures at different points of the specimens. It was found that
there is a linear relationship between the length and the measured temperature at different
voltages.
The thermal conductivity coefficient values were calculated at every voltage
applied and found to be different from each other due to heat losses at each trial.


















II

Nomenclature:

Symbols description unit
V Voltage V
I Current A
P Power W
T
cold
Temperature of the cold face C
T
hot
Temperature of the hot face C
X
int
Thickness of the specimen m
A
int
Surface area of the specimen m
2

K Thermal Conductivity coefficient W/m.C













III

Table of Contents:

Abstract: I
Nomenclature: II
Table of Contents: III
List of Figures: IV
List of Tables: V
Introduction: 1
Experimental Setup: 2
Equipment: 2
Apparatus consist: 2
Procedure: 3
Results: 4
Discussion of Results: 6
Conclusion: 7
References: 8
Appendices: 9
Appendix (A) : Raw Data 9
Appendix (B) : Calculations 9
Appendix (C) : Matlab Code to Extrapolate Data and Calculate (k) 12








IV

List of Figures:

Figure 2 : Linear Heat Transfer Unit H111A 2
Figure 1: Apparatus Used In This Experiment 2
Figure 3 : Thermal Conductivity Taster 3
Figure 4 : Thermal Conductivity Tester Transparent views: Exploded View (a) and Side
View (b) 3
Figure 5: Experimental Data and Extrapolation for Aluminum Rod 5
Figure 6 : Experimental Data and Extrapolation for Stainless Steel Rod 6

















V

List of Tables:

Table 1 : Experimental Data and Calculated Thermal Conductivity For Aluminium Rod 4
Table 2 : Experimental Data and Calculated Thermal Conductivity for Stainless Steel
Rod 5
Table 3 : Actual Thermal Conductivity for Aluminium and Stainless Steel 6
Table 4 : Experimental Data for Aluminium Rod 9
Table 5 : Experimental Data for Stainless Steel Rod 9
Table 6 : Calculation of Hot tempreture by Extrapolation 10
Table 7 : Calculation of Cold Temperature by Extrapolation 10
1

Introduction:
Heat transfer is one of the most complex topics in engineering and when the heat
transfer throughout a material is studied a term called "Thermal Conductivity coefficient"
arises. This term is a measure of how well the material is as a heat conductor. This term is
being studied and calculated throughout this experiment.
This term is of great importance if the engineer is designing a heat exchanger for
example or in a simple way if he/she is designing an air conditioning system for a
building, because knowing the thermal conductivity coefficient values of several material
at different temperatures will help him/her so much in the process of choosing which
material he/she will be using as an insulator for the building walls his/her air conditioning
design will be used.
This study and experiment can be very helpful for students with small knowledge
in the field of heat transfer in which they can know a great amount of information from
this report especially if they are interested how to measure the thermal conductivity
coefficient for any material, and later on uses that data on designing some cooling or
heating systems.
To measure the thermal conductivity coefficient for a material we need two
important equations. One, is the power equation from which we can make an assumption
and equal it to rate of heat conducted. Second, is the Fouriers law of heat conduction
which relates the rate of heat conducted to the thermal conductivity coefficient and the
surface area of the conduction and the temperature difference throughout the thickness of
the material that the conduction is occurring.


P(W) = I(Amp) F ( F) (1)

Q(W) = K(Wm. C) A(m2)
T(C)
x(m)
(2)

where (P) is the power which in the experiment equals to (Q) the rate of heat conducted.
In this experiment, thermal conductivity coefficient of Aluminium and Stainless
Steel will be calculated at different voltages which means different power using the two
equations stated above.
2

Experimental Setup:

Equipment:
In this experiment we use a certain apparatus in order to measure the
thermal conductivity (k) of material which relates its ability to conduct heat. The
apparatus used in this experiment is shown in figure 1.









Apparatus consist:
1. Linear heat transfer unit H111A as shown in figure 2.
Figure 2 : Linear Heat Transfer Unit H111A

Figure 1: Apparatus Used In This Experiment
3

2. Thermal conductivity taster as shown in figure 3.

3. Water source.
4. Pipes.
5. Thermocouples.
6. Dewar vessel.
7. Sample of Aluminium and sample of Stainless Steel were used in this
experiment.

Procedure:


Figure 3 : Thermal Conductivity Taster
Figure 4 : Thermal Conductivity Tester Transparent views: Exploded View (a) and Side View (b)
4

First of all, we connect the water pipe to the thermal conductivity taster. In this
experiment it already done by the technician. Next, the thermocouples were
connected from the thermal conductivity taster to the H111A device. Next, the
tightening knob shown in figure (2.b) was sealed off and clamp was opened and a
small quantity of grease as shown in figure (2.a) was spread all over a sample of
Aluminium and it was inserted in.
After that, the clamp was closed and the tightening knob was sealed on. next, the
water was opened and insured to be flowing in with a rate of 1.5Litres/minute and the
H111A device was turned on. then, the voltage was set to 50 V. Moreover, the
temperature was left until it stabilized for approximately 40 minutes. After that, the
reading values of T1, T2, T3, T6, T7, T8 and I were recorded. Next, the voltage value
was increased to 100 V and the temperature was left until it stabilized again for
another 40 minutes. Then, the reading values of T1, T2, T3, T6, T7, T8 and I were
recorded again.
Finally, the previous steps were repeated again for a sample of Stainless Steel
starting with volt values of 31, 60 and 80 V.

Results:

Table 1 : Experimental Data and Calculated Thermal Conductivity For Aluminium Rod
K(W/m.C) A
int
(m
2
) X
int
(m) T
hot
(C) T
cold
(C)
Power
(W)
Current
(A)
Voltage
(V)
26.68897 0.00049 0.03 40.95714 33.17143 3.4 0.068 50
45.5654 0.00049 0.03 63.14286 46.24286 12.6 0.126 100

The table above shows the variables of Fourier Equation that was either measured
or calculated for Aluminium rod. According to the figure below, there is a linear
relationship between the distance from/to the rod and the measured temperature . The two
temperatures for the two sides of the rod were calculated by extrapolating the three
measured temperatures of each phase. The standard deviation for the linear relationship
between the temperature and length is greater than 0.73 for the hot phase and not less
than 0.98 for the cold phase. The two sides Aluminium rod temperatures were generated
from those linear relationships.
5






By repeating the same procedure for a Stainless Steel at three different voltages,
the results are shown in the following table:

K(W/m.C) A
int
(m
2
) X
int
(m) T
hot
(C) T
cold
(C)
Power
(W)
Current
(A)
Voltage
(V)
3.385432 0.00049 0.03 56.77143 31.02857 1.426 0.046 31
8.115337 0.00049 0.03 69.02857 32.42857 4.86 0.081 60
9.310402 0.00049 0.03 90.94286 36.32857 8.32 0.104 80

50 V
100 V
Figure 5: Experimental Data and Extrapolation for Aluminum Rod
Table 2 : Experimental Data and Calculated Thermal Conductivity for Stainless Steel
Rod
6

As in the Aluminium rod, there is a linear relationship in the Stainless Steel rod
between length and the measured temperature at different voltages. This relationship will
applied again to extrapolate the two phase temperatures as show in the figure below:



Discussion of Results:

Table 3 : Actual Thermal Conductivity for Aluminium and Stainless Steel
Specimen Thermal Conductivity Range (W/m.C)
Aluminium 204.3 - 250
Stainless Steel 16.3 - 24

It is clear from the previous tables, that there is a huge difference between the
exact value and the experimental conductivity of Aluminium and Stainless Steel. In this
experiment the minimum errors percentage of the two materials are 72.5% and 10.3% in
80 V
60 V
31 V
Figure 6 : Experimental Data and Extrapolation for Stainless Steel
Rod
7

order. This big difference is due to, firstly the heat loss that was ignored in the thermal
conductivity calculations. The strength of this effect decrease as the voltage increase,
because there is a proportional electrical relationship between the power loss and the
voltage. Secondly, the recorded temperatures were not taken at the stability moment.
Finally, the effect of the extrapolation method helps to decrease the accuracy of the
experimental results.

Conclusion:

The thermal conductivity of the Aluminium and Stainless Steel rods was
measured. The measured thermal conductivity of the Aluminium rod at 50 V and 100 V
were 26.68897 and 45.5654 W/m.C respectively. The measured value of the thermal
conductivity at 31 V of Stainless Steel was 3.385432 W/m.C. And values of 8.115337
W/m.C and 9.310402 W/m.C at 60 V and 80 V in order. The actual thermal
conductivity of the Aluminium is 204.3-250 W/m. C which shows a minimum error of
72.5%. For the Stainless Steel the exact thermal conductivity is 16.3-24 W/m.C with a
minimum error of 10.3%.
There is a big difference between the actual and measured values of the thermal
conductivity. A minimum error was found to be 72.5% and 10.3% for Aluminium and
Stainless Steel respectively. That appears due to the heat loss, the resistivity of the
device. Also errors may happen because the temperature probably was recorded before
the stability moment. On the other hand, extrapolation method is not an accurate method.








8

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thermal_conductivities , 30-10-2012
2. engel, Yunus A., Heat Transfer, A Practical Approach, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill,
(2003)
3. Lab Manual (Experiment 4)
4. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/thrcn.html , 31-10-2012

9

Appendices:
Appendix (A) : Raw Data

Aluminium specimen
Table 4 : Experimental Data for Aluminium Rod
I(A) V(V) T1(C) T2(C) T3(C) T6(C) T7(C) T8(C)
Trial 1 0.068 50 46.8 43.7 42.6 31.7 29.1 27.4
Trial 2 0.126 100 77.8 70.6 67.2 42.6 36.3 32

Stainless Steel specimen
Table 5 : Experimental Data for Stainless Steel Rod
I(A) V(V) T1(C) T2(C) T3(C) T6(C) T7(C) T8(C)
Trial 3 0.046 31 61.1 58.7 58 30 27.9 26.9
Trial 4 0.081 60 75.2 71.6 70.8 31.1 28.7 27.2
Trial 5 0.104 80 100.3 95.1 93.6 34.4 31.4 28.9





Appendix (B) : Calculations

The Cross sectional Area
A
Int
=
B
2
4
=
(2.S 1u
-2
)
4
= u.uuu49u874 m
2


10

Temperature Extrapolation
Table 6 : Calculation of Hot tempreture by Extrapolation
T
hot
(x) i
2
T
hot
(u.uS)
Trial 1 46.07143-170.476x 0.804161 40.95714
Trial 2 76.22857-436.19x 0.852477 63.14286
Trial 3 60.51429-124.762x 0.772879 56.77143
Trial 4 74.28571-175.238x 0.733703 69.02857
Trial 5 99.02857-269.524x 0.771184 90.94286

Table 7 : Calculation of Cold Temperature by Extrapolation
T
coId
(x) i
2
T
coId
(u.u6)
Trial 1 44.48571-188.571x 0.995126 33.17143
Trial 2 74.07143-463.81x 0.993353 46.24286
Trial 3 39.31429-138.095x 0.999857 31.02857
Trial 4 42.71429-171.429x 0.996678 32.42857
Trial 5 50.61429-238.095x 0.981162 36.32857




Appendix (C) : Matlab Code to Extrapolate Data and Calculate (k)

clc
clear all
a=[46.8 43.7 42.6
77.8 70.6 67.2
61.1 58.7 58
75.2 71.6 70.8
100.3 95.1 93.6];
b=[31.7 29.1 27.4
42.6 36.3 32
30 27.9 26.9
11

31.1 28.7 27.2
34.4 31.4 28.9];
g=0.0075;
o=[];
for i=1:5
x=[0 g 3*g]';
y=[a(i,:)]';
n=length(x);
z=[ones(n,1) x ];
h=(z'*z)\(z'*y);
m=length(h);
sr=sum((y-z*h).^2);
st=sum((y-mean(y)).^2);
r2=1-sr/st;
T=h(1)+0.03*h(2);
o=[o;[r2 h' T]];
end
for i=1:5
x=[9*g 11*g 12*g]';
y=[b(i,:)]';
n=length(x);
z=[ones(n,1) x ];
h=(z'*z)\(z'*y);
m=length(h);
sr=sum((y-z*h).^2);
st=sum((y-mean(y)).^2);
r2=1-sr/st;
T=h(1)+0.06*h(2);
o=[o;[r2 h' T]];
end
P=[3.4
12.6
1.426
4.86
8.32];
A=pi*(2.5e-2)^2/4;
dx=0.03;
k=[];
for i=1:5
k=[k;P(i)*dx/A/(o(i,4)-o(i+5,4))];
end
k