Definition: In heat transfer, conduction (or heat conduction) is the transfer of heat energy by microscopic diffusion and collisions

of particles or quasi-particles within a body due to a temperature gradient. Since conduction is an internal phenomenon it happens by diffusing and colliding of microscopic objects including molecules, electrons, atoms, and phonons. They transfer microscopically disorganized kinetic and potential energy, which are jointly known as internal energy. Conduction can only take place within an object or material, or between two objects that are in direct or indirect contact with each other. Conduction takes place in all forms of ponderable matter, such as solids, liquids, gases and plasmas. Thermal Conductivity: To quantify the ease with which a particular medium conducts, engineers employ the thermal conductivity, also known as the conductivity constant or conduction coefficient, k. In thermal conductivity k is defined as "the quantity of heat, Q, transmitted in time (t) through a thickness (L), in a direction normal to a surface of area (A), due to a temperature difference (T)." Thermal conductivity is a material property that is primarily dependent on the medium's phase, temperature, density, and molecular bonding. Thermal effusivity is a quantity derived from conductivity which is a measure of its ability to exchange thermal energy with its surroundings. Conduction Heat Transfer equation: In heat transfer, to measure the conductive heat transfer rate through a body, we use the Fouriers law, which expresses conductive heat transfer as:

Calculation

= heat transferred in time = = thermal conductivity of the barrier = area = temperature = thickness of barrier

Thermal Conduction Applications Splat Cooling Splat cooling is a method for quenching small droplets of molten materials by rapid contact with a cold surface. The particles undergo a characteristic cooling process, with the heat profile at t=0 for initial temperature as the maximum at and at and , and the heat profile at for as the boundary conditions. Splat cooling rapidly ends in a steady state temperature, and is similar in form to the Gaussian diffusion equation. The temperature profile, with respect to the position and time of this type of cooling, varies with:

Splat cooling is a fundamental concept that has been adapted for practical use in the form of thermal spraying. The thermal diffusivity coefficient, represented as alpha, can be written as . This varies according to the material.

Metal Quenching Metal quenching is a transient heat transfer process in terms of the Time Temperature Transformation (TTT). It is possible to manipulate the cooling process to adjust the phase of a suitable material. For example, appropriate quenching of steel can convert a desirable proportion of its content of austenite to martensite, creating a very tough product. To achieve this it is necessary to quench at the nose of the TTT diagram. Since materials differ in their Biot numbers, the time it takes for the material to quench, or the Fourier number, will vary in practice. In steel, the quenching temperature range is generally from 600C to 200C. To control the quenching time and to select suitable quenching media, it is necessary to determine the Fourier number from the desired quenching time, the relative temperature drop, and the relevant Biot number. Usually the correct figures are read from a standard nomogram. By calculating the heat transfer coefficient from this Biot number, we can find a liquid medium suitable for the application.

Reference: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conduction#Thermal_Conduction_Applications

[2] http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heatra.html