Thermal conductivity

In physics, thermal conductivity, k (also denoted as or ), is the property of a material's ability to conduct heat. It appears primarily in Fourier's Law for heat conduction. Heat transfer across materials of high thermal conductivity occurs at a higher rate than across materials of low thermal conductivity. Correspondingly materials of high thermal conductivity are widely used in heat sink applications and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation. Thermal conductivity of materials is temperature dependent. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is thermal resistivity.

Units of thermal conductivity The dimension of thermal conductivity is M1L1T31. In SI units, thermal conductivity is measured in watts per meter kelvin (Wm1K1). In Imperial units, thermal conductivity is measured in BTU/(hrftF). Other units which are closely related to the thermal conductivity are in common use in the construction and textile industries. The construction industry makes use of units such as the Rvalue and the U-value. Although related to the thermal conductivity of a material used in an insulation product, R and U-values are dependent on the thickness of the product. Likewise the textile industry has several units including the tog and the clo which express thermal resistance of a material in a way analogous to the R-values used in the construction industry.

Measurement There are a number of ways to measure thermal conductivity. Each of these is suitable for a limited range of materials, depending on the thermal properties and the medium temperature. There is a distinction between steady-state and transient techniques. In general, steady-state techniques are useful when the temperature of the material does not change with time. This makes the signal analysis straightforward (steady state implies constant signals). The disadvantage is that a well-engineered experimental setup is usually needed. The Divided Bar (various types) is the most common device used for consolidated rock solids.

Definitions The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is thermal resistivity, usually measured in kelvin-meters per watt (KmW1). When dealing with a known amount of material, its thermal conductance and the reciprocal property, thermal resistance, can be described. Unfortunately, there are differing definitions for these terms.

Conductance For general scientific use, thermal conductance is the quantity of heat that passes in unit time through a plate of particular area and thickness when its opposite faces differ in temperature by one kelvin. For a plate of thermal conductivity k, area A and thickness L this is kA/L, measured in WK1 (equivalent to: W/C). Thermal conductivity and conductance are analogous to electrical conductivity (Am1V1) and electrical conductance (AV1). There is also a measure known as heat transfer coefficient: the quantity of heat that passes in unit time through unit area of a plate of particular thickness when its opposite faces differ in temperature by one kelvin. The reciprocal is thermal insulance. In summary:

thermal conductance = kA/L, measured in WK1 thermal resistance = L/(kA), measured in KW1 (equivalent to: C/W) heat transfer coefficient = k/L, measured in WK1m2 thermal insulance = L/k, measured in Km2W1. The heat transfer coefficient is also known as thermal admittance

Resistance It is a thermal-property of a material to resist the flow of heat. It is a resistance offered by a material (a metal in general and a heat sink material in particular) to the conduction or flow of heat through it. Thermal resistance is the reciprocal of thermal conductance, i.e., lowering its value will raise the heat conduction and vice versa. When thermal resistances occur in series, they are additive. So when heat flows through two components each with a resistance of 1 C/W, the total resistance is 2 C/W.

For example, if a component produces 100 W of heat, and has a thermal resistance of 0.5 C/W, what is the maximum thermal resistance of the heat sink? Suppose the maximum temperature is 125 C, and the ambient temperature is 25 C; then T is 100 C. The heat sink's thermal resistance to ambient must then be 0.5 C/W or less.

Transmittance A third term, thermal transmittance, incorporates the thermal conductance of a structure along with heat transfer due to convection and radiation. It is measured in the same units as thermal conductance and is sometimes known as the composite thermal conductance. The term U-value is another synonym.

Convection
Air and other gases are generally good insulators, in the absence of convection. Therefore, many insulating materials function simply by having a large number of gas-filled pockets which prevent largescale convection. Examples of these include expanded and extruded polystyrene (popularly referred to as "styrofoam") and silica aerogel. Natural, biological insulators such as fur and feathers achieve similar effects by dramatically inhibiting convection of air or water near an animal's skin.

Light gases, such as hydrogen and helium typically have high thermal conductivity. Dense gases such as xenon and dichlorodifluoromethane have low thermal conductivity. An exception, sulfur hexafluoride, a dense gas, has a relatively high thermal conductivity due to its high heat capacity. Argon, a gas denser than air, is often used in insulated glazing (double paned windows) to improve their insulation characteristics. Radiation Its a type of thermal conductivity. Thermal radiation is energy emitted by matter as electromagnetic waves due to the pool of thermal energy that all matter possesses that has a temperature above absolute zero. Thermal radiation propagates without the presence of matter through the vacuum of space. Thermal radiation is a direct result of the random movements of atoms and molecules in matter. Since these atoms and molecules are composed of charged particles (protons and electrons), their movement results in the emission of electromagnetic radiation, which carries energy away from the surface.

Unlike conductive and convective forms of heat transfer, thermal radiation can be concentrated in a small spot by using reflecting mirrors, which is exploited in concentrating solar power generation. For example, the sunlight reflected from mirrors heats the PS10 solar power tower and during the day it can heat water to 285 C (545 F).

Thermal conductivity of some metals:

1 Btu/(hr oF ft2/ft) = 1 Btu/(hr oF ft) = 1.731 W/(m K) = 1.488 kcal/(h m oC) Temperature -t(oF) 68 68 200 400 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 752 2192 68 70 68 68 68 572 1112 68 68 68 68 Thermal Conductivity -k(Btu/(hr oF ft)) 64 118 124 144 44 10.7 126 38 4.9 54 31 21 19 17 69.4 27 - 46 52 40 223 213 204 15 64 17 182 6

Metal Admiralty Brass Aluminum, pure Aluminum Bronze Antimony Beryllium Beryllium Copper Bismuth Cadmium Carbon Steel, max 0.5% C Carbon Steel, max 1.5% C Cartridge brass (UNS C26000) Cast Iron, gray Chromium Cobalt Copper, pure Copper bronze (75% Cu, 25% Sn) Copper brass (70% Cu, 30% Zi) Cupronickel Gold Hastelloy B

Metal Hastelloy C Inconel Incoloy Iridium Iron, nodular pearlitic Iron, pure Iron, wrought Lead Manganese Bronze Magnesium Mercury Molybdenum Monel Nickel Nickel Wrought Niobium (Columbium) Osmium Phosphor bronze (10% Sn, UNS C52400) Platinum Plutonium Potassium Red Brass Rhodium Selenium Silicon Silver, pure Sodium Stainless Steel Tantalum Thorium Tin Titanium

Temperature -t(oF) 70 70 - 212 32 - 212 68 212 68 572 1832 68 68 572 68 68 68 68 32 - 212 68 32 - 212 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 32 68

Thermal Conductivity -k(Btu/(hr oF ft)) 5 8.4 6.8 85 18 42 32 20 34 20 17.2 61 91.9 4.85 81 15 52 35 - 52 30 35 28.9 42 4.6 57.8 92 86.7 0.3 48.3 235 77.5 7-26 31 24 36 - 39 11 - 13

Metal Tungsten Uranium Vanadium Wrought Carbon Steel Yellow Brass Zinc Zirconium

Temperature -t(oF) 68 68 68 32 68 -

Thermal Conductivity -k(Btu/(hr oF ft)) 94 - 100 14 35 34 67 67 145

BY: Pradan Jain Id - 40301 Sec- ME-1