TEP Lab

Lab Report
Experiment # 01
Study of Linear Heat Conduction through
Aluminium and Stainless-steel bar.
Submitted by
Name Muhammad Waqar Ul Hassan

Roll No 502340

Group G-3
Batch 21-23

Performance 18-03-2022
date
Submission date 29-03-2022

Submitted to
Dr. Inam Ul Haq
 Table of Contents
1 Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 1
2 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
3 Theory ................................................................................................................................. 2
3.1 Experimental Setup ..................................................................................................... 3
4 Procedure ............................................................................................................................ 4
5 Observation and Calculations ............................................................................................. 4
6 Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................... 6
7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 7
 List of Tables
Table 5.1: Results of Temperature Variation for SS.................................................................. 4
Table 5.2: Results Obtained for Aluminium .............................................................................. 5
 List of Figures
Figure 1: Thermal Conductivities of Various Metals ................................................................ 2
Figure 2: Schematic diagram. .................................................................................................... 3
Figure 3: Linear heat conduction module with unit ................................................................... 3
Figure 4: Module specimens ...................................................................................................... 4
Figure 5: Variation of temperature with distance for SS ........................................................... 5
Figure 6: Variation of temperature with distance for Aluminium ............................................. 6
1 Abstract
The main purpose of this experiment is to study the phenomenon of linear heat conduction
through aluminium and stainless steel. The experimental setup consisted of heat transfer
service unit H112 and linear heat conduction module. The module contained heating section,
intermediate section and cooling section. The intermediate section was changed to aluminium
and stainless steel to find the thermal conductivity of these materials. Both the bars were
insulated in radial direction so only heat transfer in one dimension is observed. 25 mm
diameter sections were taken and thermocouples in heating and cooling sections noted the
temperature at various values of voltages thereby changing the power of the heating source.
The aluminium and stainless-steel intermediate sections did not contain the thermocouples so
the temperature readings were extrapolated to get the final graph of the material and to find
the temperatures of hot and cold surfaces. Three readings were taken for three values of
power and graphs were plotted which depicted linear temperature curve as expected. The
values of thermal conductivity were found from the formula and compared with the actual
values of thermal conductivities of aluminium and stainless-steel. The thermal conductivities
were found to be 18 W/m.K and 51 W/m.K for SS and aluminium respectively.

2 Introduction
Heat transfer through metallic bars is an important phenomenon used in industrial
refrigeration and air conditioning processes. SS is the material which is affordable at
industrial scale to transfer heat through conduction from one point to another. Thus, it is
important to know the characteristics of copper which is done in this experiment.

When a temperature gradient exists in a stationary medium, which may be a solid or a fluid,
we use the term conduction to refer to the heat transfer that will occur across the medium.
The physical mechanism of conduction involves concepts of atomic and molecular activity,
which sustains the transfer of energy from the more energetic to the less energetic particles of
a substance due to interactions between the particles.

Higher temperatures are associated with higher molecular energies, and when neighbouring
molecules collide, as they are constantly doing, a transfer of energy from the more energetic
to the less energetic molecules must occur. In the presence of a temperature gradient, energy
transfer by conduction must then occur in the direction of decreasing temperature. We may
speak of the net transfer of energy by this molecular motion as a diffusion of energy. The
situation is much the same in liquids, although the molecules are more closely spaced and the
molecular interactions are stronger and more frequent. In a solid, conduction is attributed to
atomic activity in the form of lattice vibrations and electron migration. We treat the
conduction phenomena by Fourier’s law, which is defined in terms of an important material
property, defined as thermal conductivity.

It is important to emphasize that he origin of Fourier’s law is phenomenological. That is, it is

developed from observed phenomena - the generalization of extensive experimental evidence
rather than being derived from first principles. Mathematically, it is defined as [1-3]

1
Where qx is heat transfer rate in Watts; A is heat transfer area normal to direction of flow in
m2; k is thermal conductivity in W/m.K; ΔT is temperature difference in K; Δx is the rod
length in m.

The above expression defines the important material property, thermal conductivity, one of
most important transport properties that you will encounter in performing conduction
analyses. Tabulated values of the thermo-physical properties required for solution of heat
transfer problems are provided in your textbook. A typical range of thermal conductivity
values for various matter are shown in figure below.

Figure 1: Thermal Conductivities of Various Metals

It is thus important to know thermal conductivity of various conducting and insulating

materials that are used in many industrial processes. In this regard, we will conduct an
experiment to determine heat transfer rate through constant solid areas. First, we will
determine thermal conductivity of aluminium and SS bars.

3 Theory
Under steady-state condition, heat flux (in W/m2) through the constant cross-section
cylindrical bar is constant over the entire length. As a result, the heat flux is given by

The quantity of heat, which is conducted through the rod, is transferred to the cooling water.
Therefore, the heat transferred to the cooling water can be expressed as

2
 Figure 2: Schematic diagram.

Now from the above equation, we can express thermal conductivity, k as

Where,

3.1 Experimental Setup

The experimental setup consisted of heat transfer service unit H112 and linear heat
conduction module. The module consisted of heating section of brass, cooling section of
brass and an intermediate section which can be varied accordingly. Different modules can be
observed by changing in intermediate section.

Figure 3: Linear heat conduction module with unit

3
 Figure 4: Module specimens

4 Procedure
The following experimental procedure should be followed while conducting this experiment:

1. Apply thermal paste on faces of heating and cooling sections;

2. Place the intermediate specimen in between and close the toggle clamps;
3. Turn the voltage to zero and turn on the Main Switch;
4. Make sure the cooling water is flowing with the required flow rate;
5. Increase voltage to 90 V and allow the temperature to stabilize and achieve steady
state condition;
6. Record the Temperatures, Current and Voltages;
7. Again, repeat experiment by incrementing the voltages by 20 V. Take three readings
for a material. Repeat for other material

5 Observation and Calculations

Following are the observations and calculations accordingly:

• Stainless Steel
Table 5.1: Results of Temperature Variation for SS

Sr. T1 T2 T3 T6 T7 T8 V I Q Thot_face Tcold_face ∆Tint K

No. (K) (V) (A) (W) (K) (K) (K) (W/m.K)
1 363 359.6 356.8 303.9 301.6 299.4 132 0.148 19.536 355.4 305.05 50.35 23.71305604
2 355 352.2 349.7 303.7 301.6 299.7 105 0.116 12.18 348.45 304.75 43.7 17.03402214
3 341.8 339.8 338 302.5 300.9 299.3 85 0.093 7.905 337.1 303.3 33.8 14.29343233
X (m) 0 0.015 0.03 0.075 0.09 0.105 0.0375 0.0675

𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑘 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 18.3458 W/m.K

4
 (𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒)
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100
𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
(25 − 18.3458)
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 26.61%
25

SS
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8
370
T(hot surf)
360

350

340
P1
TEMP

330 P2
P3
320
T(cold surf)
310

300

290
0 0.015 0.03 0.045 0.06 0.075 0.09 0.105 0.12
X

Figure 5: Variation of temperature with distance for SS

• Aluminium
Table 5.2: Results Obtained for Aluminium

Sr. T1 T2 T3 T6 T7 T8 V I Q Thot_face Tcold_face ∆Tint K

No. (K) (V) (A) (W) (K) (K) (K) (W/m.K)
1 352.2 346.4 340.9 311.2 306.5 301.8 150 0.17 25.5 338.15 313.55 24.6 63.35143101
2 339.5 335.2 331 308 304.2 300.5 120 0.126 15.12 328.9 309.9 19 48.6350701
3 325.6 322.8 320 304.3 301.9 299.3 90 0.101 9.09 318.6 305.5 13.1 42.40762429
X (m) 0 0.015 0.03 0.075 0.09 0.105 0.0375 0.0675

𝑤
𝑣𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑘 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 51.543 .𝐾
𝑚

(𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒)

𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100
𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

5
 (180−51.543 )
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 71.40%
180

AL
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8
360

350
T(hot surf)
340

P1
330
TEMP

P2
320 T(cold surf) P3

310

300

290
0 0.015 0.03 0.045 0.06 0.075 0.09 0.105 0.12
X

Figure 6: Variation of temperature with distance for Aluminium

6 Results and Discussion

We performed the experiment and found that the there lies a linear relationship between
temperature and distance from the heat source for one dimensional conduction of metal bar.
The thermal conductivity value obtained is near to our literature value 18 W/m.K and 51
W/m.K for SS and aluminium respectively. The graphs are plotted for both the materials and
the slops gives value of dT/dx which is constant due to linearity of the curve. It should be
noted that the temperatures are extrapolated up to the cold surface and hot surfaces of the
intermediate section as there is no thermocouple available in that section. It is also observed
that as the power of heating section is increased by increasing voltage, the temperature rises.
This is due to constant thermal conductivity of the material; the increased heat is
compensated by increased temperature of the bar. Moreover, as the thermal conductivity of
aluminium is greater than SS so the slope of the graph is greater in SS. This is due to less
resistance to the flow of heat in aluminium while for SS there is more resistance to the heat
flow. The errors in the reading maybe due to:

• Contact resistance of brass (heating/cooling section) and intermediate section.

• Heat loss in radial direction as the bar is not perfectly insulated.
• Steady state of the metal is hard to achieve. In the start of the experiment almost 1
hour is required to achieve the steady state. This is the main cause of large errors.
• There maybe some errors due to the calibration of the heat transfer service unit.

6
7 Conclusion
We performed the experiment and concluded that there lies linear relation between
temperature and distance for metallic bars of SS and aluminium; temperatures increases as
the power is increased and thermal conductivity is found to be 18 W/m.K and 51 W/m.K for
SS and aluminium respectively with errors of 26% and 71%.