Scribd
Upload
252 views7 pages

Thermal Conductivity-Notes-ppt New

Physics

Uploaded by

krisretro1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
252 views7 pages

Thermal Conductivity-Notes-ppt New

Physics

Uploaded by

krisretro1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 7

Thermal conductivity

Introduction
 A quantity of heat may be transferred from one place to another by
the process of conduction, convection or radiation.

 In conduction and convection, heat is transferred by the molecules


of the body.

 To see this difference let us consider a metal bar heated at one


end. The heat is conducted along the metal bar due to the vibration
of molecules at the hot end. The vibrations are increased due to the
absorption of heat energy and this is transferred to the nearby
molecules by a chain of collision process, and this results in
transmitting heat to the other end of the bar.

In studying conductivity we will discuss important quantities.

Steady State

Suppose heat is flowing in material. When the temperature of a point is 


is not varying with time (constant) then the material is said to be in steady
state.

1
Temperature Gradient
Consider a material by which the heat energy is flowing. Suppose points
X and Y are maintained at the steady temperatures 1oC and 2oC then ,

The temperature gradient =


( θ1 −θ2
x )
Coefficient of thermal conductivity
Consider a parallel sided slab of material (Figure 1) of thickness d whose
faces X and Y are maintained at the steady temperatures 1oC and 2oC
respectively. If there is no loss of heat from the sides then heat will flow
through the specimen from the face at higher temperature to that at the
lower temperature.

Under steady conditions, the quantity of heat, Q entering face, X in a given


time will be the same as that leaves face, Y in the same period.

Figure .1

Experiments show that Q is directly proportional to the area A of the faces,


time t of flow and the temperature gradient (1- 2)/x between the faces.
ΔQ
α A
Δt

ΔQ   
α  
Δt  x 

ΔQ   
αA 
Δt  x 

ΔQ   
 K.A  
Δt  x 

2
Where K is a constant of proportionality and is known as the thermal
conductivity of the substance considered. The quantity (1- 2) / x is the
temperature gradient across the specimen.

Definition of thermal conductivity –K

The thermal conductivity of a substance is defined as the quantity of heat


per unit time flowing under steady conditions across unit area normally
between two opposite faces of a specimen separated per unit distance
when there is a difference in temperature of one unit (1oC) between the
faces.

The SI unit of K will thus be joules per second per unit area (m2) per unit
temperature gradient.

ie. Js-1m-1k-1 or W m-1K-1

Thermal conductivity of various substances in Wm-1 K-1


Substance K (W m-1 K-1)
Aluminium 211
Copper 384
Gold 293
Iron 73.7
Brass 109
Manganin 22.2
Asbestos 126 x 10-3
Ebonite 167 x 10-3
Cardboard 209 x 10-3
Rubber 188 x 10-3
Air 24.2 x 10-3

3
Temperature fall over lag and non-lagged bars
The equation for conduction is

ΔQ
Δt
= K. A
Δθ
Δx ( )
Since  diminishes as x increases, then the temperature gradient is
negative.

If a bar is lagged (insulated) perfectly as in Figure 2 (a), then the heat


flowing per second, dQ/dt through every cross-section from the hot to the
cold end is constant. Since no heat escapes through the sides, then dQ/dt
= Constant.

From equation the temperature gradient d /dx, is constant along the bar.
This is illustrated in Figure 2 (b).

Figure 2 (a) Figure 2 (b)

If the bar is not lagged as in Figure 2(b), then heat is lost from the sides of
the bar, and the heat flowing per second, dQ/dt, through each section
decreases from the hot to the cold end. Hence the temperature gradient
d / dx, decreases with distance along the bar. This is shown by Figure
3(b).

4
Figure 3(a) Figure (b)

Measurement of thermal conductivity


When the thermal conductivity of a metal is to be measured, two
conditions must usually be satisfied.

 Heat must flow through the specimen must be measurable rate.


 The temperature gradient along the specimen must be measurably
steep.

5
Determination of the conductivity of good conductors-
Searle’s Method
Searle has devised a method for determining the thermal conductivity of
good conductors and Figure 4 shows a diagram of the apparatus be used.
The specimen under test is in the form of a cylindrical bar, about 4 cm in
diameter and 20 cm long. One end of this bar fits into a steam chest
through which a steady supply of steam is passed, and the heat
conducted along the bar is taken off by a stream of cold water circulating
through a spiral wrapped round the bar at the cold end and connected to a
constant pressure head device.

Figure .4

The temperature of the water as it enters and leaves the spiral is taken by
two thermometers T4 and T3. Two other thermometers T1 and T2 are
placed in holes drilled in the bar a distance d apart, mercury being placed
in the holes to ensure good thermal contact. To prevent loss of heat from
the sides of the bar the apparatus is lagged.

When the steady state is reached, the reading of the 4 thermometers are
taken, the constant head device having been adjusted to give a sufficiently
slow rate of flow of water through the spiral to ensure a reasonable
temperature difference between T3 and T4 .Having taken the readings,
thermometers T1 and T2 and also T3 and T4 are interchanged and another
set of readings are obtained.

If 1, 2, 3, 4 are the average readings of the thermometers T1, T2, T3, T4
and if a mass m of water pass through the spiral in t seconds, the heat
flow, Q through the bar in this time t is given by the following equation.

6
ΔQ
Δt
= K. A
Δθ
Δx( )
Where, A is the cross-sectional area of the bar and K is the thermal
conductivity of its material.

This is equal to the amount of heat absorbed by the water, mc(3 - 4),
where c is the specific thermal capacity of water.

You might also like