Conduction

Diah Susanti, PhD

The Conduction Rate Equation

qx
dT
qx
k
Fouriers Law in the x - direction:
A
dx
"

Fouriers Law in 3-dimensional forms (Cartesian coordinate)

T T T
"

q k T k i
j
k
y
z
x
"
"
"
The general expression for qq"is:
iq x jq y kq z

T
T
T
"
"
qx k
qy k
qz k
x
y
z
Each of these expressions relates the heat flux across a
surface to the temperature gradient in a direction
perpendicular to the surface.
The medium in which the conduction occurs is isotropic.
Isotropic means that the thermal conductivity is
independent of the coordinate direction.
Anisotropic means that the thermal conductivity is
dependent of the coordinate direction. For example in
wood, film, fiber, and certain crystalline material.

Where,

"

The thermal properties of matter

Fouriers law is applied to all states of matter:
solid, liquid, and gas.
"
qx
Thermal conductivity is defined as: k
T x
ksolid > kliquid > kgas
The thermal conductivity of a solid may be more
than four order magnitude larger than that of a
gas. This trend is due to large differences in
intermolecular spacing for the two states.

Thermal Conductivity for some materials

The Solid State

A solid may be comprised of free electrons and of atoms bound in
a periodic arrangement called the lattice. Accordingly, transport
of thermal energy is due to two effects: the migration of free
electrons and lattice vibrational waves. These effects are
additive, such that the thermal conductivity k is the sum of the
electronic component, ke, and the lattice component, kl:
k = k e + kl
For approximation, ke = 1/e. For pure metals, which are of low e,
ke is much larger than kl.
For alloys, which are of larger e, the contribution of kl to k is no
longer negligible.
For non metallic solid, k is determined by kl
The regularity of the lattice has an important effect on kl.
Crystalline material like quartz having a higher thermal
conductivity than amorphous materials like glass.
In fact for crystalline, non metallic solids such as diamond and
beryllium oxide, kl can be quite large, exceeding values of k
associated with good conductors, such as aluminium.
For most materials, the k values are dependent on temperature.

Insulation systems
Thermal insulation are comprised of low thermal
conductivity materials combined to achieve an even
lower system thermal conductivity.
Reflective insulations are composed of multilayered,
parallel, thin sheets or foils of high reflectivity, which
are spaced to reflect radiant heat back to its source.
The heat transfer through any of these insulation
systems may include several modes: conduction
through the solid materials; conduction or convection
through the air in the void space; and if the
temperature is sufficiently high, radiation exchange
between the surfaces of the solid matrix. The
effective thermal conductivity accounts for all of
these process.

The fluid state

The thermal conductivity of a gas is directly
proportional to the number of particles per unit
volume, n, the mean molecular speed , and the mean
free path , which is the average distance travelled by
molecule before experiencing a collision. Hence:

k n
Because increases with increasing temperature and
decreasing molecular mass, the thermal conductivity
of a gas increases with increasing temperature and
decreasing
molecular
weight.
However
k
is
independent of pressure.
k of non-metallic liquids generally decreases with
increasing temperature, except for water and glycerin.
k of metallic liquids generally also decreases with
increasing temperature

Other relevant properties

In our analysis of heat transfer problems, we will

encounter to some properties of matter,
generally referred to thermophysical properties
and include two distinct categories, transport
and thermodynamics.
The transport properties include the diffusion
rate coefficients, such as k (for heat transfer),
and the kinematic viscosity (for momentum
transfer).
Thermodynamic properties pertains to the
equilibrium state of a system, such as and cp.
Thermal diffusivity, (m2 s-1) is
= k/(cp)

Thermal Conductivity Meter

Example 2.1
The thermal diffusivity is the
controlling transport property for
transient conduction. Using
appropriate values of k, , and cp
from Appendix A, calculate for the
following materials at the prescribed
temperature: pure aluminum at 300,
410,700, 810 K, SiC at 1000 K and
paraffin at 300 K.

The Heat Diffusion Equation

Differential control volume, dxdydz,
z
T(x,y,z)for conduction analysis in Cartesian
y
qz+dz
Coordinate
q
y+d

dy

dx

g
st

qx

qx+d
x

dz

q x
q x dx q x
dx
x
q y
q y dy q y
dy
y
q
q z dz q z z dz
z

Generation:

qy

qz

Accumulation:

E g q dxdydz

T
E st c p
dxdydz
t

The Balance Equation

General Balance Equation:
Accumulation = input output + generation consumption
Sometimes it is said that consumption is the negative
generation, so
Accumulation = input output + generation

Conservation of Energy:

E in E g E out E st

At any point in the medium the rate of energy transfer

by conduction into a unit volume plus the volumetric
rate of the thermal generation must equal the rate of
change of thermal energy stored within the volume.

Heat diffusion equation in Cartesian coordinates

.
T
T
T
T
k
k
k
q c p
x x y y z z
t

If k is constant, the heat equation is:

.

T
T
T q 1 T

x x y y z z k t
If steady state, the heat equation is:
.

T
T
T q

0
x x y y z z k

Heat diffusion equation in

Cartesian coordinates
For steady state, one dimensional
conditions with no energy generation
T
in x - direction:

0
x x

The heat diffusion equation in cylindrical

coordinate
qz+dz

rd

q+d
qr

dz

r
T(r,,z)
y

qr+dr

q
dr
control volume

qz

.
1
T
1 T
T
T
k
k
kr
2
q c p
r r
r r z z
t

 T T
T

q" kT k i
j
k
r
z
r
where
T
T
T
qr " k
; q " k
; qz " k
r
r
z

The heat diffusion equation in spherical

coordinate
q+d

rsind

qr

q+d
rd

r
T(r,,)
y

qr+dr

q
dr
control volume

.
1 2 T
1
T
1

T
T

kr

k
sin

p
r 2 r
r r 2 sin 2 r 2 sin

t

 T T
1 T

q" kT k i
j
k
r
r sin
r
T
T
k T
qr " k
; q " k
; q "
r
r
r sin