1.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this experiment are to investigate Fouriers Law for the linear
conduction of heat along a simple bar. Next, this experiment is to investigate the influence of
thermal insulation upon the conduction of heat between adjacent metals.

2.0

SUMMARY

In this experiment, students are now able to investigate Fouriers Law for the linear
conduction of heat along a simple bar and also able to investigate the influence of thermal
insulation upon the conduction of heat between adjacent metals. The diameter of brass
conductor is 30 mm and the length of each of the sensor is 10mm. The experiment was
divided into two part, where Part 1 the variables are the power input at set of time and Part 2
is the different set of materials to conduct the heat. Three different Watt of power was used in
this experiment which are 10, 15 and 20 Watt. From the data that has been recorded, a
temperature against length graph was plotted for each input power. In Part 1, three tests have
been conducted for each Watt from temperature T1 until T9. The temperature that used is T1,
T2, T3, and T7, T8, T9. A graph was plotted to show the relationship between temperature
and length. It shows that the heat transfer obey the Fouriers law even when the power input
increase where the heat transfer will decrease as the distance increase. Although it obey
Fouriers law, there are slight error in TT2 and TT9. TT2 indicate that the temperature
increase where as it should be drop and TT9 for power input 15 W is higher than power input
20 W. This error may occur due to the faulty of the sensor where it need to be calibrate or
exchange. For Part 2, the power was remain constant which is 10 W while the material used
were different which are paper, cork and blank. In this experiment, different material was
used to observe which material is good at conduct heat and good for insulator. From the
graph constructed, it shows that the paper is good conductor while the blank is good insulator.
This was supported by the table for thermal conductivity where paper is 160.069 W/mK, cork
32.844 W/mK and 0.9551 W/mK.

3.0

INTRODUCTION AND THEORY

Conduction is defined as the transfer of energy from more energetic particles to

adjacent less energetic particles as a result of interactions between particles. In solids,
conduction is the combined result of molecular vibrations and free electron mobility. Metals
typically have high free electron mobility, which explains why they are good heat conductors.
Conduction can be easily understood if imagine a two blocks, one very hot and the other cold.
If we put these blocks in contact with one another but insulate them from the surroundings,
thermal energy will be transferred from the hot to the cold block, as evidenced by the increase
in temperature of the cold block. This mode of heat transfer between the two solid blocks is
termed conduction.
This experiment will study data from two type of heat conduction configuration i.e.
linear and radial module. The heat conduction study bench consists of two electrically heated
modules mounted on a bench support frame. One module contains a cylindrical metal bar
arrangement for a variety of linear conduction experiments while the other consists of a disc
for radial conduction experiment. Both test modules are equipped with an array of
temperature sensors. Cooling water, to be supplied from a standard laboratory tap is fed to
one side of the test pieces in order to maintain a steady temperature gradient. Computer will
display the direct reading of the temperature sensors and power input to the heater for ease of
monitoring and data acquisition.

THEORY

RADIAL CONDUCTION HEAT TRANSFER (CYLINDRICAL)

Figure

3.0:
Radial Temperature Distribution

Geometry of the cylinder stationary temperature profile. The temperature profile is

evaluated in a cylindrical volume around the heating rod. Here, R i and Ro respectively present
the inner and the outer radius of the region under evaluation, which will be smaller than the
container of the experiment.
When the inner and outer surfaces of a thick walled cylinder are each at a uniform
temperature, heat rows radially through the cylinder wall. From continuity considerations the
radial heat flow through successive layers in the wall must be constant if the flow is steady
but since the area of successive layers increases with radius, the temperature gradient must
decrease with radius.

The amount of heat (Q), which is conducted across the cylinder wall per unit time, is:

where,
Q = heat flow rate, [W]
L = thickness of the material, [m]
k = thermal conductivity of the material, [W/Km]
Ti = inner section temperature, [K]
To = outer section temperature, [K]
Ro = outer radius, [m]
Ri = inner radius, [m]

LINEAR CONDUCTION HEAT TRANSFER

Figure 3.1:

Linear
Temperature Distribution

It is often necessary to evaluate the heat flow through a solid when the flow is not
steady for example through the wall of a furnace that is being heated or cooled. To calculate
the heat flow under these conditions it is necessary to find the temperature distribution
through the solid and how the distribution varies with. Using the equipment set-up already
described, it is a simple matter to monitor the temperature profile variation during either a
heating or cooling cycle thus facilitating the study of unsteady state conduction.

Assume that Figure 3.3 the bar is a length L, a uniform hot temperature Th is imposed
on one end, and a cold temperature Tc is imposed on the other. The bar is insulated in the
peripheral direction which all the heat flows in the axial direction due to an imposed
temperature differential along the bar.

Figure 3.3: Schematic of a Long Cylindrical Insulated Bar

The equation that governs the heat flow is known as Fouriers Law
Fourier's Law states that:

where,
Q = heat flow rate, [W]
k = thermal conductivity of the material,
A = cross-sectional area of the conduction, [m2]
dT = changes of temperature between 2 points, [K]
dx = changes of displacement between 2 points, [m]

Figure 3.4: Linear Temperature Distribution of Different Materials

From continuity the heat flow rate (Q) is the same for each section of the conductor. Also the
thermal conductivity (k) is constant (assuming no change with average temperature).

For example the temperature gradient is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area,

Figure 3.5: Temperature Distribution with Various Cross-sectional Areas

HEAT CONDUCTION WITH INSULATION

Insulation is a barrier that minimize the transfer of heat energy from one material to
another by reducing the conduction, convection or radiation effects. Most insulation is used
to prevent the conduction of heat. In some cases radiation is a factor. Conduction occurs
when materials especially solids are in contact with each other. High kinetic energy atoms
and molecules bump into their neighbours, increasing the neighbours energy. This increase
in energy can flow through materials and from one material to another.
When two surfaces are in contact, paths of thermal conduction exist only across those
points where actual physical contact accursed on the microscopic scale and the degree of
thermal contact depends on the respective surface finishes. Air trapped in the gaps between
each surface acts as a thermal insulator resulting in a temperature step in the conduction path.
This can be reduced by the use of conducting compound, which fills the air spaces and
provides improved thermal contact. To slow down the transfer of heat by conduction from
one solid to another, materials that are poor conductors are placed in between the solids. By
mean that poor conductor is obviously a good insulator.

Figure 3.6: Material with Insulation Material

5.0

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Test

Wattmeter

TT1

TT2

TT3

TT4

TT5

TT6

TT7

TT8

TT9

No.
1

Watt (Q)
10

(C)
41.5

(C)
43.9

(C)
39.0

(C)
31.9

(C)
31.9

(C)
31.8

(C)
30.3

(C)
30.0

(C)
29.9

15

58.3

63.4

53.6

41.0

40.7

39.9

31.2

30.7

30.3

20

76.9

83.6

74.4

53.2

52.7

51.5

31.6

30.9

30.1

Table 5.0: The data obtained for radial.

Temperature (C) vs Length, x (m)

90
80
70
60
10 Watt

50

Temperature (C)

20 Watt

40

30 Watt

30
20
10
0
0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

Length, x (m)

Figure 5.0: The graph of temperature (C) against length, x (m) for radial.

Wattmeter

Thermal Conductivity, k

(W)

(W/mK)

10

4.004

15

2.487

20

1.984

Table 5.1: The data calculated for radial.

Test

Materials

Wattmeter

TT1

TT2

TT3

TT7

TT8

TT9

No
A

Paper

Watt (Q)
10

(C)
64.1

(C)
69.0

(C)
58.8

(C)
31.3

(C)
29.5

(C)
29.3

Cork

10

72.2

78.0

66.1

31.6

29.9

29.8

Blank

10

78.6

85.3

71.1

30.7

30.6

30.0

Table 5.2: The data obtained for different materials.

Temperature (C) vs Length, x (m)

90
80
70
60
Paper

50

Temperature (C)

Cork

40

Blank

30
20
10
0
0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

Length, x (m)

Figure 5.1: The graph of temperature (C) against length, x (m) for different materials.

Material

Thermal Conductivity, k
(W/mK)

Paper

160.069

Cork

32.844

Blank

0.9551

Table 5.3: The data calculated for different materials.

Heat transfer is the flow of high temperature to the lower temperature. Heat transfer
are done by conduction, convection and radiation. For this experiment, the heat was
transferred by conduction. Conduction involved with a solid object, where the atoms is
packed together such as a metal rod. When one of the end of the rod is heated, the atoms in
the rod will gain energy and start to vibrate. Thus, the heat is transfer from one end to another
which it obey the Fouriers law. Fouriers law state that the time rate of heat transfer through
a material is proportional to the negative gradient in the temperature and to the area.
The experiment was divided into two part, where Part 1 the variables are the power
input at set of time and Part 2 is the different set of materials to conduct the heat. For part 1,
the power input was set at 10 W, 15 W and 20 W and wait for 5 minutes for the temperature
to stabilize. As the power input increased, the temperature recorded were increased. Besides,
the highest temperature obtained mostly at TT2 which 43.9C, 63.4C and 83.6C for 10 W,
15 W and 20 W respectively. While, for the lowest temperature obtained mostly at TT9 which
29.9C, 30.3C and 30.1C for 10 W, 15 W and 20 W respectively. The temperature reading
for each wattmeter is decreasing while the radius is increasing. After the data is in tabulated
form, a graph of temperature (T) against length (x) are plotted as shown in Figure 5.0 and the
theoretical value of thermal conductivity can be calculated. For linear conduction experiment,
the reading are taken for each different insulator used. After that, a graph of temperature
profile are plotted and the thermal conductivity is calculated by using Fouriers law.
Therefore, from the first part of this experiment, it shows that the heat transfer obey
the Fouriers law even when the power input increase where the heat transfer will decrease as
the distance increase. Although it obey Fouriers law, there are slight error in TT2 and TT9.
TT2 indicate that the temperature increase where as it should be drop and TT9 for power
input 15 W is higher than power input 20 W. This error may occur due to the faulty of the
sensor where it need to be calibrate or exchange. The Table 5.1 shows the relationship of
power input and thermal conductivity whereas the power input increase, the thermal
conductivity also decrease.
For the Part 2, the power was constant at 10 W and the time was set for 5 minutes
only the material that use for conduction are paper, cork and blank. As the materials used
were switch to paper, cork and blank, the temperature recorded were increased. Besides, the
highest temperature obtained mostly at TT2 which 69.0C, 78.0C and 85.3C for paper, cork
and blank respectively. While, for the lowest temperature obtained mostly at TT9 which

29.3C, 29.8C and 30.0C for paper, cork and blank respectively. For Part 2, the different
material was used to observe which material is good at conduct heat and good for insulator.
From the graph constructed as shown in Figure 5.1, it shows that the paper is good conductor
while the blank is good insulator. This was supported by the Table 5.3 for thermal
conductivity where paper is 160.069 W/mK, cork 32.844 W/mK and 0.9551 W/mK.
Based on this experiment, an insulation performance is influenced by many factors
such as thermal conductivity, insulation thickness and density. It is important to note that the
factors influencing performance may vary over the time as material ages or environmental
conditions change. Usually, material of higher density should not be placed on top of lower
density insulation that is easily compressed. Doing so will reduce the thickness of the
material underneath and thereby lower its thermal conductivity values. For two connected
objects of the same dimension connected to the hotter and cooler, the higher the temperature
drop, the lower the thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity is the significant material
parameter. The lower it is, the better the insulating effect.

5.0

CONCLUSION

Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy by collisions between more energetic and
less energetic particles. Insulators are used to reduce the rate of heat transfer from one place
to another. As the conclusion that is taken from the results and analysis, it can stated that the
linear conduction of heat along a homogenous bar can be investigate by Fouriers law. From
that result, the slope (T/r) of the graph for the radial conduction and the temperature profile of
the graph for linear conduction were identified and examine. The rate of heat transfer
resulting from radial heat conduction through the wall of the cylinder. The influence of
thermal insulation upon the conduction of heat between adjacent metal are been investigate.
In this experiment, the thermal conductivity, k for radial has been calculated according to
Fouriers law. For Part 2, the different material was used to observe which material is good at
conduct heat and good for insulator, and it shows that the paper is good conductor while the
blank is good insulator. Besides, the thermal conductivity obtained for paper is 160.069
W/mK, cork 32.844 W/mK and 0.9551 W/mK. The thermal conductivity is varies between
different types of metals used. For two connected objects of the same dimension connected
to the hotter and cooler, the higher the temperature drop, the lower the thermal conductivity.
The smaller the thermal conductivity values, the better the insulator. This is the basic physical
property of a material measured.

6.0

RECOMMENDATION

Errors and some inconsistencies may occurred in this experiment due to personal error
and miscalculations. The overall recommendation in this experiment including Part 1 and Part
2 is before experiment is started, the electrical control need to be familiarize among the group
members and make sure that the power is on OFF position before start of experiment. After
that, water must flow at all time during the experiment. Avoid using a high cooling water
flow to prevent disconnection of the hose from the test unit. Besides that, 20 W power
delivery cannot be exceed under any circumstances, and the temperature cannot be allowed to
go above 100C at any of the thermocouple locations. In order to get accurate result all the
recommendation mentioned must be follow and the precaution must be avoided.

7.0

REFERENCES

Holman, J. P.,(1992). Heat Transfer. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Incropera, F. P., and Devvitt, D. P., (1996). Fundamentals of heat and mass transfer, J. Wiley
and sons, New York.

Kern, D. Q., and A. D. Kraus., (1972). Extended surface heat transfer, McGraw-Hill book
Co., New York.

J.R. Taylor., (1982). An Introduction to Error Analysis: The Study of Uncertainties in

Physical Measurements, University Science Books.

P. V. Bork., H. Grote., D. Notz., and M. Regler., (1993). Data Analysis Techniques in High
Energy Physics Experiments, Cambridge University Press.