Experiment X MEASUREMENT OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF INSULATING/BUILDING MATERIALS Jordan Hines Brandon Cain Bobby Norwood Nate Taylor Performed

on October 7, 2011 Report due October 14, 2011 The University of Memphis Department of Mechanical Engineering Proofreaders Signature: ________________________ ABSTRACT
This report was designed to demonstrate Fouriers law of thermal conductivity in one dimensional heat transfer processes and determine the thermal conductivity of a building material. A thermal conductivity of insulating/building material apparatus was used to measure temperatures via thermocouple on a heated and cooled side of a specimen of sheetrock. The resulting temperature measurements were used, along with the testing apparatus manufacturers calibration constants, to determine the thermal conductivity of the test specimen. The experimental thermal conductivity was calculated to be 0.3692 board, which is 0.17 . This value for the thermal conductivity of the test specimen differed greatly from the published value of the thermal conductivity of gypsum . Based on the calculated thermal conductivity, it was concluded that the specimen used in . the experiment was similar to calcium silicate, a type of building material similar to sheetrock that has a higher thermal conductivity and is flame retardant. Calcium Silicate has a published thermal conductivity of 0.35

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ..... p. 3

Theory and Analysis ...........p. 4 Procedure ........p. 5 Results and Discussion........p. 6 Conclusions ......p.7 Appendices ......pp. 8-10

INTRODUCTION
The insulating properties of building materials are essential to modern home construction. Building materials, such as roofing tiles or sheetrock, are selected not only for their aesthetic properties, but for their ability to insulate by inhibiting the flow of heat into and out of a structure. Determining the thermal conductivity of building materials is the purpose of this experiment. The object of this experiment is to use a simple apparatus in order to calculate the contact resistance of a known material. These values are important to engineers because, in conjunction with Fouriers Law of Heat Conduction and an accurate value for the thermal conductivity, k, they enable the accurate prediction of heat transfer rates through specific materials. Fouriers Law states that the rate of heat conduction is proportional to the cross-sectional area of the given material, multiplied by the temperature difference across some thickness, divided by that same thickness. Figure X.1, below, is a diagram of the enclosure that houses the test specimen during this experiment. The specimen is bounded on one side by a heated plate and on the other side by a cooled plate. The temperatures at each side of the specimen are recorded and used in conjunction with a displayed value of heat transfer to the specimen as well as calibration values in order to determine an experimental thermal conductivity, k. Once this experimental value has been determined, it can be compared to a published value of thermal conductivity for the given material to determine the validity of this experiment.

FIGURE X.1. Diagram of the profile of the thermal conductivity testing apparatus. Not shown in this diagram is the guard heater that runs the perimeter of the test specimen area. The guard heater ensures that there is one dimensional heat transfer.

THEORY AND ANALYSIS

Fouriers Law can be written as:


and

(X.1)

where Qcond is the rate of heat transfer due to conduction, in W, k is the thermal conductivity specific to a material, in

is the temperature gradient, in . Because heat is transferred from a higher temperature region to a becomes a negative term in Fouriers law of heat conduction

lower temperature region, the temperature gradient

and thus yields a positive rate of heat transfer. For the condition of one dimensional heat transfer, where heat is conducted in only one direction of a three dimensional coordinate system, Fouriers heat conduction law can be rewritten as:


where is the difference in temperature over a finite thickness.

(X.2)

For the apparatus shown in Figure 1, the thermal conductivity, k, of a material can be determined by employing the following equation calibrated by the manufacturer of the testing apparatus to be used in this experiment: (X.3)

The variables for the thermal conductivity equation 3 are as follows:

     

k is the thermal conductivity to be calculated, in

t is the thickness of the test specimen, in m. Tavg is the average temperature of the heat source and cold plate, in OC. Q is the heat flow to the specimen, in mV. T1 is the temperature of the hot plate T2 is the temperature of the cold plate

The subscripted k calibration constants are given as:       k1 = -7.1195 k2 = -0.1415 k3 = 0.3240 k4 = 0.0837 k5 = 0.0357 k6 = 0.0008

PROCEDURE
TABLE X.1. Equipment information.
Equipment Thermal Conductivity of Building Materials Apparatus 30cm x 30cm x 16 mm Specimen of Gypsum Board Manufacturer P.A. Hilton Ltd. Model Number Serial Number H111N/00511

1) The test specimen of gypsum board was measured and then blanketed with foam rubber sheets to ensure that no air was trapped between the surface of the specimen and the apparatus. 2) The test specimen of gypsum board was placed into the apparatus between the hot and cold plates. 3) The toggle switch labeled #3 in Figure X.3 below was engaged to determine the temperature of the cooling water. 4) Using the heater controller in Figure X.2, the heater was engaged by setting the value to a temperature 15 to 20C above that of the cooling water temperature. 5) When the PV display showed that the temperature had achieved the set value, it was then assumed that the system had reached a steady state. FIGURE X.2. Diagram of the heater controller of the thermal conductivity testing apparatus.

6) The temperatures of the heated side and the cooled side of the test specimen were obtained by flipping toggle switches #1 and #2, respectively, to the down position.

FIGURE X.3. Diagram of the control unit of the thermal conductivity testing apparatus.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

TABLE X.2. Experimental data obtained from the thermal conductivity of building materials apparatus.
Trial 1 Hot Side Temperature, T1 (C) 40.7 Cold Side Temperature, T2 (C) 27.2 Thickness, t (mm) 17 Heat Flow Meter Reading, Q (mV) 48.9

The indicated heat transfer of the testing apparatus was recorded as 48.9 mV and the temperature control was set to 40 OC. The first toggle switch of the control panel seen in Figure 2 was engaged to indicate the temperature of the thermocouple on the hot side of the test specimen. The recorded temperature of the hot side thermocouple, T1, was 40.7 OC. The first toggle switch was disengaged and the second toggle switch was engaged to indicate the temperature of the cold side of the test specimen. The recorded temperature of the cold side thermocouple, T2, was 27.2 OC. Using the recorded temperatures, the average temperature, Tavg, was determined to be 33.95 OC. Substituting T1, T2, Tavg, the thickness of the test specimen t and the calibration constants k into Equation X.3 allowed for the calculation of the thermal conductivity of the sheetrock test specimen. The calculated thermal conductivity of the sheetrock test specimen was determined to be  .

The following are samples of the calculations that were performed:

y y
 


CONCLUSIONS
The calculated thermal conductivity of the sheetrock test specimen was compared to a published value for the same thickness of material. The published value of 0.17 was not in agreement with the value calculated in this was closer in value to that of calcium . experiment. It was then determined that the material used in this experiment was not gypsum, or plaster, sheetrock. Research indicated that the calculated thermal conductivity of 0.3692 silicate board. Calcium silicate board is very similar in appearance to sheetrock and is also used in the construction of interior walls of structures. The published thermal conductivity of calcium silicate was noted as 0.35 The thermal conductivity of calcium silicate was in agreement with the calculated thermal conductivity of the test specimen used in this experiment.

APPENDICES

y y

APPENDIX A - References APPENDIX B Original Data Sheet

APPENDIX A. References

Cengel, Y. and A. Ghajar (2011). Heat and Mass Transfer. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 149.