Aim:

To determine the thermal conductivity of lagged material.

Apparatus/ Equipment Description:

The equipment is mainly divided in two parts as shown in figure 1.

Cylindrical Container and lagged material

A control panel

The holdup consists of three thin walled concrete cylindrical pipes of different diameters and
made out of galvanization iron. The inside pipe consists of a electrical heater made of nichrome
wire. The gap between the first two cylinders id filled compactly with the insulating material,
with which the lagging is to be done. Between second and third cylinder another insulating
material used for lagging is filled compactly, so that there is no air gaps left in the insulating
materials and the cylinder walls.
The input to the heat source is measured with the help of a voltmeter and ammeter. Further, by
providing a variac in the circuitry of heating coil, the input can be varied. For the measurement
of the temperature chromel-alumel thermocouples have been employed. Thermocouples
numbered TC1 to TC6 are embedded on to the surface of the cylinder equidistantly for arriving
out at an average temperature. The positions of the thermocouples are shown in Fig.2.

Theory:
Thermal insulators are materials or combination of materials, which have air-or-gas filled
pockets or voids spaces that retard the heat transfer with reasonable effectiveness. These
materials are particulate and/ or fibrous, with or without binders, or may be assembled, such as
multiple heat reflecting surfaces that incorporate air-or-gas filled void spaces. The ability of a
material to retard the flow of heat is expressed by its thermo-physical property called thermal
conductivity. Low value of thermal conductivity is a characteristic of thermal insulation.
Thermal insulators are produced from many materials or combination of materials in various
forms, sizes, shapes and thickness. The most commonly available materials categories are as
follows:Fibrous or cellular minerals: alumina, asbestos, glass, perlite, rock, silica, or slag
Fibrous or cellular Organic: Cane, cotton, wood and wood bark (cork).
Cellular organic: elasteomer, polystyrene, polyisocyanate, polyisocyanurate, polyvinalacetate
Cements: insulating and/ or finishing
Heat reflecting materials: aluminum, nickel, and stainless steel

The available forms of insulating materials find its place in engineering industry as well as in
chemical process industry as energy savers. By applying him proper insulation, the thermal
systems surface temperature can be maintained as close as possible to ambient temperatures i.e.
the heat losses to the atmosphere can be reduced to a great extent.
Consider the thermal conduction heat transfer through the wall of a hollow cylinder formed by
the insulating material packed between two thin cylinders as shown in Fig.3. The assumptions
made for the theoretical analysis are as follows.

One-Dimensional heat flow in radial direction

The thermal conductivity of insulating material is constant
Insulating material is tightly packed between the two cylinders without any air gas.
All the instruments and thermocouples are calibrated before the experiment carried out.

Consider the insulating material in a cylinder. The Thermal conductivity of any material is
governed by Fouriers Law, Which is as follows:
Qx = -kA dt/dx
Where, A= surface area of cylinder, 2*3.14*L, m2
K= Qx ln(r0/ri)/2 pi L(Ti-T0) = Qx ln(r0/ri)/2 pi L delta T W/(m-K)
Where,
Ri = Radius of inner cylinder
Ro = Radius of outer cylinder
RT = Total resistance
Delta T = Temperature difference
Ti = Average temperature of inner cylinder
T0 = Average temperature of outer cylinder
Qx = Heat Input
V = Input voltage from demister
I = Input Current from demister

Experimental Setup:
S.
No.
1

Name of the part

Material

Dimensions

Remarks

Cylinders

Galvanized Iron

2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Digital Voltmeter
Digital Ammeter
Thermocouple
Channel Selector
Demister
Heating Coil
Insulating Power

R1= 60mm
R2= 110mm
R3= 156mm
L= 900mm
0-200V
0-2A
0-3000C

Resolution = .1
Resolution = .001
Resolution = .1oC

Chromel- Alumel
Nichrome Wire heater
Asbestos and wood dust

0-230 V
900V

Table 1: It shows the specification of the equipment

Schematic representation of heat transfer through lagged pipe

Experimental Procedure:

Arrange the pipes in proper fashion with heavy assembly.

Fill the lagging material in pipes uniformly and gentle pushing and press the lagged
material so that there are no air gaps. See that the material gets packed uniformly.
Close the ends of the pipes and keep the assembly ready for the experiment.
Switch-on the main switch of the control panel.
Increase slowly the power input to heater with the help of the demister starting from
initial position.
Adjust the input equal to 60 to 80 Watts max by using ammeter and voltmeter.
Ensure that the input remains constant throughout the experiment.
Note down the readings in the table.

Observation Table:
Inside Pipe outside diameter, d1 = 120mm
Middle Pipe mean diameter, d2 = 220mm
Outside pipe inside diameter, d3 = 312mm
Voltmeter reading, V = 87 V
Ammeter reading, A = .72A
Heat supplied, Q = 62.64 W

S.
No.

Voltmeter
Reading,
V

87

Ammete
r
Reading,
A
.72

Heat
Supplied
, Q=V*I

TC1

TC2

TC3

TC4

TC5

TC6

62.64

323.6

323.4

312.9

312.9

308.5

309.1

Mean Readings:
Ti (inside) = (T1+T2)/2 = 323.5 K
Tm (middle) = (T3+T4)/2 = 312.9K
To (inside) = (T5+T6)/2 = 308.8K

Calculations:
Thermal Conductivity through the lagged pipe = .72 W/m-K
Thermal Conductivity through Asbestos = .63 W/m-K
Thermal Conductivity through wood dust = 3.83 W/m-K

Precautions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Increase the voltage gradually

Keep the assembly undisturbed while testing
Operate selector switch of temperature indicator gently.
Do not increase voltage above 140V.

Conclusion:
Thermal conductivity of the lagged pipe is approximately equals to thermal conductivity through
asbestos. But less than the wood dust.