Determination of Thermal Resistance of The Coffee Mug

Determination of thermal resistance of the coffee mug:
To know the maximum achievable temperature for an amount of power delivered to the
mug and the coffee inside it is imperative to know the thermal resistance of the mug. Better the
outer insulation, higher is the thermal resistance which enable us to reach higher temperature for
a small amount of power. However, as the heat capacity of water is high, to achieve or maintain
a suitable temperature with low power takes a long time. To find out a typical coffee mug with
inner part-stainless steel and outer jacket- plastic, filled with 300 ml of water, we may follow the
procedure as described below.
Fig.1
The used coffee mug is shown in Fig.1. The inner stainless steel part is also shown next to the
mug. Before the test begins the mass of the stainless part was taken by a balance, and it was 63
gm. Specific heat capacity of stainless Steel ~ 500 Jkg-1K-1 , the heat capacity of the steel part is,
CS = 0.063 x500 = 31.5 JK-1 . The mug was filled with 300ml of water (0.3 kg), as specific heat
of water ~ 4185.5 Jkg-1K-1, heat capacity of the 300ml of water, Cw is ~ 1255.65 JK-1. As we can
see that heat capacity of the water content is much larger than that of the steel part. A 50 W
wire-wound resistor (with water resist coating) was used as a heating element and was put inside
the mug totally submerged in water. A thermocouple was placed inside, the tip of it was
touching the water. After all these are done the lid was placed on top as shown in Fig.2, the thin
connecting wire did not pose much resistance while putting the lid on. A 24V, 2.2A power
supply was connected to the resistor and thermocouple data and corresponding time elapsed,
were recorded as the water inside got heated up.
Fig.2. A 50resistor, is immersed in the water and a 24 V power supply is used to deliver
power.
The temperature versus time plot is shown in Fig.3. Initially the rate of increase of temperature is
high as the water temperature is close to that of the ambient, therefore loss of heat is little. As the
temperature difference increases, so does the heat loss due to the finite thermal resistance of the
coffee mug. From the initial rate of rise of temperature we estimate the power absorbed by the
water. The initial slope, as shown in Fig.3. we find (63.22-22.1)/(4680-125) =41.2/4555 =
0.00903 oC/s. The initial power absorbed by the water is, PW = 0.3 x 4185.5 x 0.00903 =
11.33W. The power delivered to the 50 resistor, PR = I2R = 11.52 W, which is close to the
power absorbed by the water. Part of the stainless container also absorbed some power, which
could be missing 11.52 11.33 W = 0.19 W.
After delivering power for a prolonged time (> 4 hours), water temperature reached a steady
state value of 74.5 oC. At this temperature, the heat delivered to the water is lost to the
environment by various leaks, we can call it the thermal resistance of the mug, Rma. The value
can be determined by using the formula, Rma=T/Q = 52.5/11.52 = 4.56 oC/W.
80
60
Temperature ( C)
70
V = 24 V, R = 50 , I =V/R = 0.48 A, P =V x I = 11.52 W

o
50
At 74.5 C all Supplied heat is lost

o
Thermal Resistance, RTh = T/Q = 52.5/1152 = 4.56 C/W
40
30
20
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
Time (s)
Fig.3. Temperature rise of the water inside the mug with time in seconds.
Electrical Equivalent of the Thermal Circuit:
Now we have, the thermal resistance of the coffee mug, Rma= 4.56 oC/W, heat capacity
of 300 ml water, Cw = 1255.65 JK-1 and heat capacity of the inner stainless steel container, CS
= 0.063 x500 = 31.5 JK-1. We can draw the electrical equivalent of the thermal parameters as
shown in Fig. 4. As the boiling point of water is 100 oC, we can use a 100 V Zener diode as
shown. Power delivered is represented by a current source and ambient temperature represents a
voltage source.
Fig. 4. Electrical equivalent of the thermal parameters. The thermal system is represented by an
equivalent electrical circuit.
Simulation by LTSpice:
For LTSpice simulation, we can draw the circuit as shown in Fig.5. As there is no 100V
Zener diode in the LTSpice library, we can make an equivalent one using a MOSFET (M1) and
two resistors R1 and R3. The values of the resistors are so chosen to produce the zener effect at
100V.
Fig.5. Electrical equivalent of thermal circuit, used for LTSpice simulation.

Now, before the simulation starts, we have to set an initial condition. Before any power delivered
to the mug-water, everything is at ambient temperature. Considering the ambient to be at 25oC,
initial condition, IC = 25 is set as shown in Fig.4. Now the simulation (transient) is run for
20,000 seconds. The simulated result is shown in Fig.6., which is a close match to what we
measured.
Fig.6. LTSpice simulated results.
Estimate for Inductively Heated Coffee Mug:

For inductively heated coffee mug, measuring the current flow for 24V and 48 V
operation, we found the power delivered by the supply are 11.46 W and 52.4 W, respectively.
110
100
80
Temperature, T ( C)
90
70
48V Operation
24V Operation
60
50
40
30
20
0
50
100
150
200
Time (min.)
Fig.7.
250
300
350

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Determination of thermal resistance of the coffee mug:

V = 24 V, R = 50 , I =V/R = 0.48 A, P =V x I = 11.52 W

At 74.5 C all Supplied heat is lost

Thermal Resistance, RTh = T/Q = 52.5/1152 = 4.56 C/W

Fig.5. Electrical equivalent of thermal circuit, used for LTSpice simulation.

Fig.6. LTSpice simulated results.

Estimate for Inductively Heated Coffee Mug:

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