Experiment 3 – Thermal Conductivity

Objective
To find the thermal conductivity of a selection of metals.

Introduction

Conduction, convection and radiation are the three main methods of heat transfer. Of these three,
conduction is the easiest to explain and demonstrate. In conduction, heat moves in three ways:
1. Impact of vibrations between bordering molecules.
2. Internal radiation.
3. By ‘mobile electrons’. Most metals have large numbers of mobile electrons, so most heat
conduction is by this method. It also explains why thermal conduction in metals is often
similar to electrical conduction.

For accurate results, you must reduce heat loss due to convection and radiation, so that heat
transfers by conduction only. In a normal environment, much of the heat from the heater would
be lost by convection (Figure 1), so the heat flow would be difficult to control and measure. If
the average specimen temperature is within a few degrees of the surrounding surfaces the heat
loss by radiation is very small and can be ignored.

Figure 1 - Difference in environment on heat energy transferred by conduction

The definition of thermal conductivity is ‘Heat flow per second per unit area per unit temperature
gradient’. To measure the thermal conductivity of a material, a controlled flow of heat energy
must move along the specimen.

There are many ways of measuring thermal conductivity in materials. This is because the value
of thermal conductivity varies greatly between materials and with temperature, so actual tests in
laboratories and industry are done under many different conditions.

Theory

Heat energy transfers from the hot end of a heat conductor to the cold end. Consider a cylindrical
conductor or rod as shown in Figure 2, where the temperature at T1 is greater than at T2. The heat
energy flows from the hotter end at temperature T1 to the cooler end at temperature T2.

Figure 2 - Heat energy flow in conduction

The temperature gradient along a material is the temperature change per unit length. Thus the
temperature gradient is given by:

The heat energy (Q) flowing along the cylinder each second of time is Q/t.

Some materials are better conductors than others; this effect can be seen through its thermal
conductivity (k). From the definition of thermal conductivity, it is ‘heat flow per second per unit
area per unit temperature gradient’, so the full equation includes the area (A) of the cylinder:
The standard form of this equation is:

Therefore, to calculate the thermal conductivity of a material, the equation must rearranged to
give:

J W
The units of thermal conductivity is s∗m∗K or m∗K

From Table 1, it is seen that metals (electrical conductors) have a higher conductivity than most
other materials (electrical insulators). This suggests a link between electrical and thermal
conductivity.

Table 1: Thermal conductivity of common materials

In the Thermal Conductivity apparatus, the power applied to the heater (Wh) and cooler (Wc)
equals the product of the voltage and current that flows through them.

To achieve steady state conditions, you set the cooler power to the same value as the heater. This
helps the thermal equilibrium to stabilize as quickly as possible. The calculations could use
either the heater or the cooler power, as they are kept equal, but this guide uses the heater power
(Wh).

The heat energy transfer rate (Q/t) is replaced by the power (Wh) for this apparatus and
experiment. This changes the general equation to:

Equipment Set-Up

The main parts of the apparatus are:

 Base Unit which includes:
o Peltier cooler and specimen clamp.
o Heat sink and fan.
o Vacuum gauge.
o Moulded Glass Vessel (vacuum vessel), often called a ‘bell jar’.
o Safety Guard with transparent sides.
 Separate Control Module
 Vacuum Pump.

The Glass Vessel and a safety guard cover the specimen and the connection stand. The Control
Module controls and displays the power supplied to the specimen’s heater and the Peltier cooler.
It also displays the temperature measured by the specimen’s thermocouples.

To minimize heat loss from convection, students use the vacuum pump to remove most of the air
in the Glass Vessel. The vacuum gauge displays the vessel pressure. A pressure release valve
with a sintered port (underneath the gauge), allows air back into the vessel. There is also a valve
on the inlet from the vacuum pump.
 Figure 3 - Experimental set-up

Figure 4 - Detailed view of the base unit

Supplied with the apparatus are three specimens, each of a different metal. Each specimen has
two thermocouples, and a small resistive heater fitted at one end. The two thermocouples are
bonded to each specimen at a fixed distance apart. This distance is the test length (L).
The specimen fits into a holder in the top of the Peltier cooler and connects to plugs and sockets
fitted to a small connection stand. Cables link these plugs and sockets to the Control Module.
 Figure 5 - Metal specimen with thermocouples and heater

Procedure

1. Make sure that the apparatus is in a place where the temperature is stable and has been in
position for at least three hours, so that it is at the same temperature as the room it is in.
2. Accurately measure and record the diameter of the specimen and the ambient temperature.
The effective length (L) of the specimen is the distance between each thermocouple tip.
3. Place the specimen on the specimen mount and use the hexagon key (supplied) to tighten
the specimen clamp screw (see Figure 9).
4. Connect the DIN type plug from the specimen heater into its socket on the connection stand.
5. Connect the two specimen thermocouples to the two sockets on the connection stand. The
upper thermocouple is number 1, the lower thermocouple is number 2.
6. Smear a small amount of vacuum grease (supplied) around the ‘O’ ring seal on the base unit
(see Figure 11) and carefully lower the glass vessel into place around the specimen.
7. Fit the safety guard in place over the vessel. Make sure the controls for the Heater and
Cooler are switched off and turned fully anticlockwise (minimum power). Switch on the
Control Module.
8. Shut the pressure release valve, open the vacuum line valve (control valve) and start the
vacuum pump.
9. The apparatus is ready for test when the pressure gauge indicates approximately -0.8 to -0.9
bar. This will take approximately two minutes (-1.0 bar is almost impossible to achieve with
normal equipment).
10. Switch on the cooler and the heater and slowly increase their power to around 0.1 W. Wait
for at least twenty minutes to allow the system to stabilize. Then record all the data.

NOTE: To give accurate results, the thermocouples readings must be stable and have a
difference of at least 0.5°C. You may not always get accurate and stable results from the
copper specimen until the power is increased to 0.2 W. The peltier cooler is a semiconductor,
so its power readings may slowly change and you may need to slightly re-adjust its power
control to keep its power correct.

11. Increase the heater and cooler power to 0.2 W. Wait until conditions stabilize (this can take
up to thirty minutes) and record all the data. Repeat for heater and cooler powers of 0.3 W,
0.4 W and 0.5 W.
12. Reduce the heater power to minimum; then reduce the cooler power to minimum. Turn off
the Control Module.
13. Shut the vacuum line valve (control valve) and switch off the pump. Open the release valve
to allow air back into the test area. Open the vacuum line valve.

CAUTION: Always shut the control valve before you switch off the pump. If you switch off
the pump when it is connected to a vacuum, the vacuum will suck oil from the pump and will
damage its seals.

14. Change the specimen for one of the other two supplied with the apparatus and repeat the
experiment.
 C

E
B

D
A

Figure 6 - Experimental procedure

Calculations

1. Use the equations in the Theory section to calculate the Thermal Conductivity at each set of
readings.
2. On a single graph, plot the thermal conductivity (vertical axis) against power (horizontal axis)
for all specimens. Draw dotted horizontal lines across the graph at the expected Thermal
Conductivity for each material (see Table 1).
3. Identify any sources of error in the results and conclude how to obtain the best results with
any given specimen.