RESULTS AND CALCULATION

Table 1: Temperature at interval radius through the wall of a brass cylinder

at different heater power

Power Temperature, T (°C)

(Watt) T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
0.0 29.0 29.0 29.0 29.2 30.0 -
10.0 29.5 30.0 30.3 30.6 30.6 -
20.0 29.8 30.0 30.1 30.8 31.1 -
30.0 29.5 29.8 29.8 30.4 30.9 -
40.0 29.6 29.8 29.8 30.2 30.6 -
Distance,
0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0
r (m)

Graphs of temperature (°C) against radial distance from the axis of the cylinder (m) at different
heater power (W) were plotted:

Graph of Temperature vs. Distance at 0 W

30.2
30
29.8
Temperature, T (°C)

29.6
29.4
29.2
29
28.8
y = -22x + 29.9
28.6
28.4
28.2
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Distance, r (m)

Figure 1: Graph of temperature against distance at 0 W

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 Graph of Temperature vs. Distance at 10 W
31.3

30.8
Temperature, T (°C)

30.3

y = -28x + 31.04
29.8

29.3

28.8
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Distance, r (m)

Figure 2: Graph of temperature against distance at 10 W

Graph of Temperature vs. Distance at 20 W

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Temperature, T (°C)

30.5

30

29.5 y = -34x + 31.38

29
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Distance, r (m)

Figure 3: Graph of temperature against distance at 20 W

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 Graph of Temperature vs. Distance at 30 W
31.5

31
Temperature, T (°C)

30.5

30

29.5
y = -34x + 31.1
29
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Distance, r (m)

Figure 4: Graph of temperature against distance at 30 W

Graph of Temperature vs. Distance at 40 W

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30.8
30.6
Temperature, T (°C)

30.4
30.2
30
29.8
29.6
29.4 y = -24x + 30.72
29.2
29
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Distance, r (m)

Figure 5: Graph of temperature against distance at 40 W

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 Table 2: Temperature in Kelvin and interval radius in ln at different heater power

Power Temperature, T (K)

(Watt) T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
0.0 302.15 302.15 302.15 302.35 303.15 -
10.0 302.65 303.15 303.45 303.75 303.75 -
20.0 302.95 303.15 303.25 303.95 304.25 -
30.0 302.65 302.95 302.95 303.55 304.05 -
40.0 302.75 302.95 302.95 303.35 303.75 -
ln r -2.9957 -3.2189 -3.5066 -3.9120 -4.6052 -

Graphs of temperature (K) against ln r at different heater power (W) were plotted:

Graph of Temperature (K) vs. ln r at 0 W

303.2

303
Temperature, T (K)

y = -0.6254x + 300.11 302.8

302.6

302.4

302.2

302

301.8
-5 -4.5 -4 -3.5 -3 -2.5
ln r

Figure 6: Graph of temperature (K) against ln r at 0 W

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 Graph of Temperature (K) vs. ln r at 10 W
304.4
304.2
y = -0.6294x + 301.05
304

Temperature, T (K)
303.8
303.6
303.4
303.2
303
302.8
302.6
302.4
-5 -4.5 -4 -3.5 -3 -2.5
ln r

Figure 7: Graph of temperature (K) against ln r at 10 W

Graph of Temperature (K) vs. ln r at 20 W

305

304.5
y = -0.8548x + 300.39
Temperature, T (K)
304

303.5

303

302.5
-5 -4.5 -4 -3.5 -3 -2.5
ln r

Figure 8: Graph of temperature (K) against ln r at 20 W

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 Graph of Temperature (K) vs. ln r at 30 W
304.5

y = -0.8712x + 300.05 304

Temperature, T (K)
303.5

303

302.5

302
-5 -4.5 -4 -3.5 -3 -2.5
ln r

Figure 9: Graph of temperature (K) against ln r at 30 W

Graph of Temperature (K) vs. ln r at 40 W

303.9
y = -0.6203x + 300.89
303.7

303.5 Temperature, T (K)

303.3

303.1

302.9

302.7

302.5
-5 -4.5 -4 -3.5 -3 -2.5
ln r

Figure 10: Graph of temperature (K) against ln r at 40 W

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Sample calculation

From the equation for calculating rate of heat transfer across the wall of a cylindrical tube,

𝑇2 − 𝑇1
𝑄̇ = −2𝑘𝜋𝑙
ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1 )
Rearranging becomes,

𝑄̇ • ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1 )
(𝑇2 − 𝑇1 ) = −
2πk𝑙
Plotting T against ln r gives a slope of,

𝑄̇
𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 = −
2πk𝑙

Using graph in Figure 7 where 𝑄̇ = 10 W, l = 0.003m, and total radius of plate = 0.015m.

From the graph, the slope is equal to -0.6294.

Slope = -0.6294 K

𝑄̇
− = −0.6294 K
2πk𝑙

𝑘 = 168.5785 𝑊/𝑚 ∙ 𝐾

Table 3: Slope of best fit lines in graphs of temperature (K) against ln r

at different heater power and the thermal conductivity of brass
Heater power, 𝑸̇ Thermal conductivity of
Slope, − 𝟐𝛑𝐤𝒍 (K)
𝑸̇ (𝑾) brass, 𝒌 (𝑾/𝒎 ∙ 𝑲)
0.0 -0.6254 254.4850
10.0 -0.6294 252.8677
20.0 -0.8548 186.1897
30.0 -0.8712 182.6847
40.0 -0.6203 256.5774

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DISCUSSION

In this experiment, Fourier’s Law of Heat Conduction was studied by determining the
rate of heat transfer for radial conduction through the wall of a brass cylinder. The apparatus
used was Solteq Heat Conduction Bench.

Fourier’s Law of Heat Conduction states that the heat flux resulting from thermal
conduction is proportional to the magnitude of the temperature gradient and opposite to it in sign.
The rate of heat transfer is also proportional to the area at right angles to that gradient through
which the heat flows.
∆𝑇
𝑄̇ = −𝑘𝐴
∆𝑥

where 𝐴 is the cross-sectional surface area

∆𝑇 is the temperature difference between the ends
∆𝑥 is the distance between the ends

Heat flows in all direction within a solid, but it is difficult to predict the heat transfer rate
using that basis, thus Fourier’s law is often simplified and used in one-dimensional form. When
a solid cylindrical bar is heated from one end, heat flows
linearly through the bar and also outwards in a direction
perpendicular to the axis of the bar. Conduction through
cylindrical bar can be calculated from the internal radius
𝑟1, the external radius 𝑟2 , the length 𝑙, and the temperature
difference between the inner and outer wall 𝑇2 − 𝑇1 . The
surface area of the cylinder is 𝐴𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑟𝑙.
Figure 10: Illustration for heat
transfer through a solid cylinder

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When Fourier's Law of Heat Conduction is applied:
𝑑𝑇 𝑑𝑇
𝑄̇ = −𝑘𝐴𝑟 = −2𝑘𝜋𝑟𝑙
𝑑𝑟 𝑑𝑟
Integrating the radius from 𝑟1 to 𝑟2 :
𝑟2 𝑇2
1
𝑄̇ ∫ 𝑑𝑟 = −2𝑘𝜋𝑙 ∫ 𝑑𝑇
𝑟1 𝑟 𝑇1

Then the rate of heat transfer across a cylinder perpendicular to its axis is:
𝑇1 − 𝑇2
𝑄̇ = 2𝑘𝜋𝑙
ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1 )

This equation is often used to predict the heat transfer rate through the wall of a hollow
cylinder, which is extremely useful in the designing of heat exchangers, factory piping and
various laboratory equipment.

The experiment was performed using a flat circular brass plate with a radius of 60mm
which is heated from its center. Cooling water was connected to the outer surface of the cylinder
to establish a stable temperature gradient. The set-up was allowed to stabilize for at least 2
minutes at each level of heater power before the temperature readings from T1 to T6 were taken.
The distance between each temperature sensor is 10mm from the radial centre. The temperature
readings were taken for heater power at 0 W, 10 W, 20 W, 30 W and 40 W respectively. For
analytical purpose, two sets of graphs were plotted for each heater power input, which are: Graph
of temperature (°C) against distance from the radial center (m) and graph of temperature (K)
against ln r.

The first set of graphs of temperature (°C) against distance (m) showed the temperature
profile at different radius across the brass cylinder at different heater power level. In overall, the
temperature gradually decreased as distance from the radial centre increased. The second set of
graphs of temperature (K) against ln r were plotted to determine the slope of the graph, which
was required to calculate the thermal conductivity of brass. A line of best fit was plotted in each
graph and the gradient was determined. Then, using the rearranged equation for heat transfer
through conduction, the experimental conductivity of brass at different heater power was
evaluated, results were shown in Table 3.

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 According to literature, the theoretical value of the thermal conductivity of brass (70%
Copper and 30% Zinc) is 109 W/m ∙ K at 25oC. It should be noted that the experimental thermal
conductivity of brass ranging from 182.6847 – 256.5774 W/m ∙ K evaluated at temperatures
between 29.0 – 31.1oC is higher than the standard value. Some of the possible explanations for
this phenomena include impurities in the metal sample, different composition of brass alloy as
compared to the standard value available, and the temperature dependency property of thermal
conductivity. The percentage error between the theoretical and experimental value of thermal
conductivity of brass is calculated at each heater power level using the equation below, results
are shown in Table 4.
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
% error = | | × 100%
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

Table 4: Thermal conductivity of brass at different heater power level and its percentage error
Heater power, Thermal conductivity of
Percentage error (%)
𝑸̇ (𝑾) brass, 𝒌 (𝑾/𝒎 ∙ 𝑲)
0.0 254.4850 133.47
10.0 252.8677 131.99
20.0 186.1897 70.82
30.0 182.6847 67.60
40.0 256.5774 135.39

From the table, it can be observed that the relationship between the thermal conductivity
and various heater power level is not linear and not proportional. Ideally, the thermal
conductivity of the brass cylinder should increase with temperature, i.e. heater power. As
temperature increases, the average velocity of the mobile electrons in the brass metal also
increases, causing the heat transfer rate to increase as well. The occurrence of this discrepancy
may be due to errors such as:
i. Internal defect in the heating element of the Solteq Heat Conduction Bench
ii. Inaccuracy in temperature sensing element
iii. Fluctuating temperature reading at each interval
iv. Human error in measurement taking

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