Chapter 8: Thermal Conductivity

and the Mechanism of Heat

Transport
CHE130 CPMonterola
FOURIER’S LAW OF HEAT CONDUCTION
Consider two parallel plates of area, A

Separated by a distance, Y

Between the plate is a solid.

The driving force of heat transfer is
temperature gradient.
FOURIER’S LAW OF HEAT CONDUCTION
Qy is the heat flux, dQ/dA.

K is the thermal conductivity.

Heat flux is directly proportional to

temperature gradient and the constant of
proportionality is known as Thermal
conductivity.
Thermal diffusivity, α

Cp hat is the heat capacity at constant pressure; the circumflex (^) over the
symbol indicates a quantity "per unit mass."

Thermal diffusivity is analogous to momentum’s kinematic viscosity.

Prandtl Number, Pr

The Prandtl Number indicates the relative ease of momentum and

heat transport in flow systems.
Peclet Number, Pe
Pe = Re x Pr
Re is Reynolds number.
Thermal Conductivity Units
Thermal conductivity can vary all the way from about 0.01 W/m K for gases to
about 1000 W/m . K for pure metals.
HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION
𝑑𝑇
𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟 ′ 𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 𝑄 = −𝐾𝐴
𝑑𝑥

∆𝑇 ∆𝑇
𝑄= ∆𝑥 =
𝑅ത
𝐾𝐴
HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION
• Evaluation of average area, 𝐴ҧ
a. For flat walls: 𝐴ҧ = A1 = A2
b. For cylindrical walls: 𝐴ഥ = 2πxln L
𝑋1−𝑋2
where xln = 𝑋1
𝑙𝑛
𝑋2
MRII Problem #13: Flat Walls
A furnace wall is constructed of firebrick 6 in thick. The temperature of
the inside of the wall is 1300F and the temperature of the outside wall
is 175F. If the mean thermal conductivity under these conditions is 0.17
BTU/h.ft.F. What is the rate of heat loss through 10 sq. ft. of wall
surface?
a. 5700 BTU/h c. 3825 BTU/h
b. 1070 kcal/h d. 2354 kcal/h
MRII Problem #9: Cylindrical Walls
A thick walled copper cylinder has an inside radius of 1 cm and an
outside radius of 1.8 cm. The inner and outer surface temperatures are
held at 305°C and 295°C respectively. Assume
k = 371.9 W/m.K. Determine the heat loss per unit length.
a. 1 W b. 1 kW c. 10 W d. 40 kW
Heat Conduction through Resistance in Series
∆𝑋1 ∆𝑋2
• RT = R1 + R2 … = + …
𝐾1𝐴1 𝐾2𝐴2

σ ∆𝑇
• Q=
𝑅𝑇
MRII Problem #17: Resistance in Series
An industrial furnace wall is constructed of 0.7 ft thick fireclay having k
= 0.6 BTU/ h.ft.°F. This is covered on the outer surface with 0.1 ft thick
layer of insulating material having k = 0.04 BTU/h.ft.°F. The innermost
surface is at 1800°F and the outermost is 100°F. Calculate the steady
heat transfer per square foot.
a. 464 BTU/h.ft2 c. 364 BTU/h.ft2
b. 258 BTU/h-ft2 d. 554 BTU/h.ft2
sw
A composite wall consists of 2” corkboard (inner), 6” concrete and 3”
wood (outer). The thermal conductivity of the materials are 0.025, 0.8
and 0.065 Btu/ft.h.°F. The temperature of the inner surface wall is 40°F
while the outer surface wall is 78°F. What are the temperatures
between the cork and the concrete and between the concrete and
the wood?
a.52.6°F, 73.2°F b. 38.1°F, 67.4°F
c. 62.7°F, 64.9° F d. none of these
Seat Work
For a furnace constructed with 0.7 ft thick of fireclay having k = 0.6
BTU/h.ft.°F. The innermost surface is maintained at 1800°F while the
outer surface of insulating material is maintained at 100°F. How thick
must the insulator be to maintain a maximum allowable heat transfer
rate of 300 BTU/h.ft2?k insulator = 0.04 Btu/h.ft.F.
a. 0.30 ft b. 0.18 ft c. 0.10 ft d. 0.40 ft
BSL Problem 9.1-1
A plastic panel of area A = 1 ft2 and thickness Y = 0.252 in. was found
to conduct heat at a rate of 3.0 W at steady state with temperatures To
= 24.00"C and T, = 26.00"C imposed on the two main surfaces. What is
the thermal conductivity of the plastic in cal/cm. s K at 25"C?

Answer: 2.47 X 10-4

TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE DEPENDENCE OF
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

Kc is estimated using
a given value of K.
BSL Problem 9.2-1
Estimate the thermal conductivity of ethane at 153°F and
191.9 atm from the experimental value k = 0.0159 Btu/hr. ft .
°F at 1 atm and 153°F.
 Thermal conductivity of monoatomic
low density gases
The Chapsman Enskog Formula

T is temperature in K.
M is the molar mass
σ is the Lennard-Jones Parameter found in appendix E1.
Ωk is the collision integral found in appendix E2
K is the thermal conductivity in cal/s.cm.K
Problem 9.3-1 BSL
Compute the thermal conductivity of Ne at 1 atm and 373.2K.
σ and E/k is the Lennard-Jones Parameters found
in appendix E1.
Ωk is the collision integral found in appendix E2
 Thermal conductivity of polyatomic gases
Eucken Formula

μ is in Poise.
Problem 9.3-2 BSL
Estimate the thermal conductivity of molecular oxygen at 300K and low
pressure.
Problem 9.3-3 BSL
9A.1 Prediction of thermal conductivities of gases at low density.
(a) Compute the thermal conductivity of argon at 100°C and
atmospheric pressure, using the Chapman-Enskog theory and the
Lennard-Jones constants derived from viscosity data. Compare your
result with the observed value of 506 X 10 -7 cal/cm. s . K.
(b) Compute the thermal conductivities of NO and CH4 at
300K and atmospheric pressure from the following data
for these conditions:
9A.2 Computation of the Prandtl numbers for gases at low density.
(a) By using the Eucken formula and experimental heat capacity data, estimate the
Prandtl number at 1 atm and 300K for each of the gases listed in the table.
(b) For the same gases, compute the Prandtl number directly by substituting the
following value of the physical properties into the defining formula Pr = Cpμ/k, and
compare the values with the results obtained in (a). All properties are given at low
pressure and 300K.