DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

INSTRUCTOR LABORATORY MANUAL THERMOFLUIDS

COURSE CODE : EAS 3921

COURSE NAME : AEROSPACE LABORATORY I

TITLE OF THE EXPERIMENT : THERMO CONDUCTIVITY

LEARNING HOURS : 3 Hours

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this laboratory session, the students should be able to

1. Calculate thermal conductivity of a specific material.

2. Study the heat conduction in a material.
3. Determine the type of continuum involved.

SPECIMENS AND EQUIPMENTS:

1. HT 10x A heat Transfer Service Unit

2. HT15 Extended Surface Heat Transfer

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THEORY

1. General

Heat is defined as energy transit due to a temperature difference. Heat transfer utilizes the First and
Second Law of Thermodynamic with addition to rate laws such as the Fouriers Law of Conduction,
Newtons Law of Cooling and the Stefan-Boltzmann Law of Radiation. Basic modes of heat transfer
are as follow:

i. Conduction
ii. Convection
iii. Radiation

The applications of heat transfer are diverse, both in nature and industry. Common examples are such
as the formation of rain, sickness and health of a living body, and the need of cooling in aircraft
engines. In this laboratory, two modes of heat transfer which are the conduction and convection will
be demonstrated separately in two experiments.

These experiments will introduce students to the basic modes of heat transfer, conducting
experiments related to it and to briefly understand the mechanism of the heat transfer process for
each mode. By the end of these experiments students will be expected to be familiar with the behavior
of the heat transfer process and could relate the knowledge learnt to the surrounding environment.

2. Conduction

Conduction of heat transfer can be described as the transmission of energy by direct contact of
particles of matter; heat is transferred when adjacent atoms vibrate against one another, or as
electrons move from atom to atom. The law that governs the conduction process is the Fouriers Law
of Conduction which states that the rate of heat flow, Q, per unit area, A, is proportional to the normal
temperature gradient;

Q T

A x

And when the proportionality constant is inserted,

T
Q kA
x

The minus sign follows from the fact that the heat must flow in the opposite direction to the
temperature gradient. Higher temperatures are associated with higher molecular energies, and when
neighboring molecules collide, a transfer of energy from the more energetic to the less energetic
molecules must occur. Figure 1 represents the example of heat flow due to the temperature gradient.

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 Figure 1: The direction of heat transfer is from higher temperature T1 to lower temperature T2.

The behavior of the conduction process can be represented in four different continuums. A continuum
is said to be homogeneous if its conductivity does not vary from point to point. A continuum is called
heterogeneous if there is such a variation. A continuum is termed as isotropic if its conductivity is the
same in all direction. A continuum is termed as anisotropic if there exists directional variation of
conductivity.

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PROCEDURES
1. Ensure the main switch of the service unit is in OFF position, voltage control is in MANUAL
position and the knob is set to ZERO (release the clamp and adjust the knob anti-clockwise)
2. Ensure all nine thermocouples are connected to the service unit.
3. With the voltage control knob in ZERO setting, switch ON the main switch. Check the reading
for T1 to T9 by turning the temperature selector knob T1 to T9. The temperature should read
approximately the same value. (T1 is the nearest position to the power supply while T8 is at
the far end; T9 is for the ambient temperature).
4. Set the top measurement selector to V position (indicating the voltage supply), adjust the
voltage control knob to a certain value.
5. The temperature value should increase proportional with the increase in voltage supply.
6. Note the temperature readings only until the temperature is stabilized.

RESULTS
1. Heat supply, Q (W) = Power supply, P (W) which is P=IV.
2. Record the values of T1 to T9 for different values of V.
3. Plot the graph T (temperature) against x (distance).
4. Determine the value of thermal conductivity, k, of the cylinder rod and the most possible
material that fit the calculated thermal conductivity.

Voltage supply (V) Current (I) T1 T2 Tn

Table 1 Experimental result of thermo conductivity

Given information;
Distance between thermocouple points is 5cm.
Radius of continuum is 5mm.

QUESTIONS
1. State the First and Second Law of Thermodynamics.
2. Which continuum that exists in this heat transfer process? Briefly explain the reasons.
3. Given solid, liquid, and gas, which medium is the best conductor? Give your reasons.

semakan: 6/08/2015