Experiment Title : Linear and Radial Heat Conduction

Course : UEME3213 Heat and Mass Transfer

Program : Chemical Engineering

Name of Student : Kelly Low Yee Ning

Student ID No : 1704750

Year and Trimester : Y3T3

Date of Experiment: 5/2/2020

Name of Lecturer : Dr. Low Foon Siang

Objective

The objective of this experiment is to examine the temperature profile and determine rate of
heat transfer for both linear and radial conduction.

Introduction

Thermal conduction is the mode of heat transfer, which occurs in a material by virtue of a
temperature gradient. It always take place from a higher temperature region to lower
temperature region where is synonymous to Second Law of Thermodynamics. As an
example, the heat conduction between hot stove top of electric stove and the bottom of a pan.
The rate of heat conduction is dependent on the function of temperature gradient between two
substance and thermal conductivity. Conduction is considered as the most significant in
means of heat transfer and it is more obvious in solids due to their compact structure of
atoms. In the laboratory, a single dimensional approach is required to demonstrate the basic
law that relates rate of heat flow to temperature gradient and area.

Theory

Linear Conduction Heat Transfer (Homogeneous bar)

Fourier’s Law states that:

dT
Q=kA
dx

where, Q = heat flow rate, [W]

W
k = thermal conductivity of the material, [ ]
k∙m
A = cross-sectional area of the conduction, [m ]2

dT = changes of temperature between two points, [k]

dx = changes of displacement between two points, [m]
Radial Conduction Heat Transfer (Cylindrical)

When the inner and outer surfaces of a thick walled cylinder are each at a uniform
temperature, heat flows radially through the cylinder wall. From continuity considerations the
radial heat flow through successive layers in the wall must be constant if the flow is steady
but since area of successive layers increases with radius, the temperature gradient must
decrease with radius.

The amount of heat (Q), which is conducted across the cylinder wall per unit time, is:
−2 πLk ( T i−T o )
Q=
R
ln o
Ri

where, Q = heat flow rate, [W]

W
k = thermal conductivity of the material, [ ]
k∙m
L = thickness of the conduction, [m]
Ti = inner section temperature, [K]
To = outer section temperature, [K]
Ro = outer radius, [m]
Ri = inner radius, [m]

Description:

Unit Assembly

The equipment comprises two heat-conducting specimens, a multi-section bar for the
examination of linear conduction and a metal disc for radial conduction. A control panel
supplies electrical power to the heaters and shows readings for all relevant measurements.

A small flow of cooling water provides a heat sink at the end of the conducting path
in each specimen.
 1
7
2

3 8

4
9
5

Figure 1: Unit Assembly for Heat Conduction Study Bench (Model: HE 105)

1. Control Panel 6. Thermocouple Connectors

2. Heater Power Indicator 7. Thermocouples
3. Heater Power Regulator 8. Radial Module
4. Temperature Indicator 9. Linear Module
5. Temperature Selector

Specifications

 Linear Module
Consists of the following sections:
i) Heater Section
Material: Brass
Diameter: 25 mm
ii) Cooler Section
Material: Brass
Diameter: 25 mm
iii) Interchangeable Test Section – Insulated Brass Test Section with
Temperature Sensors Array (Diameter = 25mm, Length = 30mm)

 Radial Module
Consists of the following sections:
 Material: Brass
Diameter: 110 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
 Instrumentations
Linear module consists of a maximum of 9 type K thermocouple
temperature sensors at 10 mm interval. For radial module, 6 type K
thermocouple temperature sensors at 10 mm interval along the radius are
installed.
Each test modules are installed with a 100 Watt heater.

Procedure

Linear Conduction Heat Transfer

1. The main switch is ensured to be switched off initially. Then, brass conductor section
intermediate section with 25mm diameter is inserted into linear module and is
clamped together.
2. Temperature sensors T1 until T9 are installed to the test module and the sensors are
connected to the panel.
3. The heater supply lead for linear conduction module is connected to the power supply
socket on the control panel.
4. Water supply is turned on and water is ensured flowing from the free end of the water
pipe to drain. The condition is checked at intervals.
5. The heater power control knob control panel is turned to the fully anticlockwise
position.
6. The digital readouts will be illuminated once the power supply and main switch is
switched on.
7. Heater is switched on and heater power control is turned to 20 Watts and sufficient
time is allowed to achieve steady state condition before recording the temperature at
all temperature points as well as the input power reading on the wattmeter (Q).
8. Step 7 is repeated for other input power from 0 to 20 Watts. After each change,
sufficient time is allowed to achieve steady state conditions again.
9. Graph of temperature versus distance from heater end (x) is plotted and thermal
conductivity of the test section is calculated.
Radial Heat Transfer

1. The main switch is ensured to be switched off initially.

2. The temperature sensors from T1 until T6 are installed to the radial test module and
the sensors are connected to the control panel.
3. The heater supply lead for radial conduction module is connected into the power
supply socket on the control panel.
4. Water supply is turned on and water is ensured flowing from the free end of the water
pipe to drain. This condition is checked at intervals.
5. The heater power control knob control panel is turned to the fully anticlockwise
position.
6. The digital readouts will be illuminated once the power supply and main switch is
switched on.
7. Heater is switched on and heater power control is turned to 20 Watts and sufficient
time is allowed to achieve steady state condition before recording the temperature at
all six temperature points as well as the input power reading on the wattmeter (Q).
8. Step 7 is repeated for other input power from 0 to 20 Watts. After each change,
sufficient time is allowed to achieve steady state conditions again.
9. Graph of temperature versus distance from heater end (r) is plotted and thermal
conductivity of the test section is calculated.

Results

Table 1: Results recorded for Linear Module

Heater Power, Q T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9
(Watts) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C)
5 38.8 37.6 37.4 35.8 33.5 34.1 32.4 31.4 30.6
10 44.4 42.3 42.4 39.8 35.8 36.5 34.6 33.1 31.9
15 50.0 47.0 47.3 43.7 37.6 39.2 36.7 34.6 32.9
20 51.6 48.4 48.8 44.8 37.3 39.6 37.2 35.0 33.1
Distance from 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Heater End, x (m)

Table 2: Results recorded for Radial Module

Heater Power, Q (Watts) T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

(˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C)
5 34.3 31.3 29.7 29.3 28.7 28.2
10 38.3 33.5 30.7 30.2 29.1 28.4
15 40.0 35.0 31.3 30.8 29.5 28.5
20 41.5 34.6 30.7 30.9 29.6 28.5
Distance from Heater 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
End, Ri or Ro (m)

Linear Heat Conduction

Comparison with Theory
Points (experimental data), Line (theory)

120

100
Temperature (deg C)

80

60

40

20

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Distance along Axis (cm)

Figure 2: Graph of Temperature against Distance along Axis for Linear Heat Conduction
 Radial Heat Conduction
Comparison with Theory
Points (experimental data), Line (theory)

50
45
40
Temperature (deg C)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Radial Distance from Centre of Cylinder (cm)

Figure 3: Graph of Temperature against Radial Distance for Radial Heat Conduction

Radial Heat Conduction

Comparison with Theory
Points (experimental data), Line (theory)

45

40

35
Temperature (deg C)

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Radial Distance from Centre of Cylinder (cm)

Figure 4: Graph of Temperature against Radial Distance for Radial Heat Conduction
Calculation

Linear Conduction:

dT
Q=kA
dx
dx=10 mm=0.01 m

Diameter of linear module = 25mm = 0.025m

2
π d 2 π ( 0.025 )
Area, A= = =0.000491 m2
4 4

Taking data of T1 and T2 temperature indicator from 5 Watt heater power,

Q=5.0 W

T 1=38.8˚ C=( 38.8+273)K =311.8 K

T 2=37.6 ˚ C=(37.6+273)K =310.6 K

dT =T 1−T 2=311.8 K – 310.6 K=1.2 K

dT
Rearranging Q=kA ,
dx
Q dx 5× 0.01 W
k= = =84.87
A dT 0.000491× 1.2 m∙ K

Taking all values of k calculated from T1 to T9,

84.87+509.23+63.65+ 44.28+ (−169.74 ) +59.91+101.85+127.31
Average k =
8
W
¿ 102.67
m∙ K

Taking values of all average k values from 0 to 20 Watt power,

102.67+ (−211.11) + (−65.65 )+ (−42.85 )

Overall Average k =
4

W
¿−54.23
m∙ K

Radial Conduction:
 −2 πLk ( T i−T o )
Q=
R
ln o
Ri
Diameter of radial module=110 mm=0.11 m

Thickness of radial module=3 mm=0.003 m

Ri=0.01m , Ro =0.02 m

Ro 0.02
ln ( ) ( )
Ri
=ln
0.01
=0.693

Taking value of T1 and T2 of 5 Watt heater power,

Q=5.0 W

T 1=34.3˚ C=( 34.3+ 273) K=307.3 K

T 2=31.3˚ C=(31.3+273) K =3 0 4.3 K

dT =T 2−T 1=304.3 K – 307.3 K =−3.0 K

−2 πLk ( T i−T o )
Q=
Rearranging R ,
ln o
Ri

Ro

k=
−Q ln
Ri
=
( )
−5 ×ln
0.02
0.01 ( )
=61.28
W
2 πLdT 2 π ×0.003 × (−3 ) m∙K

Taking all values of k calculated for 5 Watt power,

61.28+ 67.21+ 190.75+ 98.64

Average k =
4

W
¿ 104.47
m∙ K

Taking all average k calculated from 0 to 20 Watt powers,

104.47+141.55+193.37 +(−12.39)
Overall Average k =
4

W
¿ 106.75
m∙K
Discussion

Conduction is a way of heat transfer between two substances other than radiation and
convection influenced by temperature difference. In this experiment, we are required to study
about the effects of conduction linearly and radially with two different modules. The heat
conduction is able to be observed through the temperature change along the distance on the
axis with graphs plotted. We can get both the temperature profile theoretically and
experimentally with the aid of spreadsheet to view our data as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6
below.

Figure 5: Spreadsheet for Linear Heat Conduction Module

 Figure 6: Spreadsheet for Radial Heat Conduction Module.

As seen in Figure 5, the overall average thermal conductivity for linear conduction
module calculated from the spreadsheet is -54.23 W/mK which the negative sign indicates the
error present in the experiment. This may likely to be caused by the fluctuation of
temperature where it does not decrease gradually but having a sudden increase in some of the
position where the temperature indicator is placed. Logically, the temperature profile should
be in a decreasing pattern as the distance from the heater end goes further. Thus, a slight
increase in temperature at some position of temperature indicator is considered as abnormal
according to theory. As the formula is dependent on temperature difference, negative value
would be generated as the temperature has increment unexpectedly in a decreasing slope. For
example, the temperature of T6 indicator for power of 5 Watt is 34.1˚C which is 0.6 ˚C
higher than the previous temperature 33.5 ˚C causing -0.6 ˚C appear as the dT. As a result,
the value of thermal conductivity k for T6 is negative although the average thermal
conductivity is still positive.

Moreover, as we theoretically think that the temperature profile should be in a

decreasing form, the graph plotted theoretically is increasing instead as shown in Figure 2.
This is because the theoretical line is plotted based on the dT calculated using the overall
thermal conductivity. As the value of overall thermal conductivity already appeared as a
negative, the value of dT will be affected when the negative k value is plugged into the
formula. The theory graph is plotted based on same starting temperature as the experiment
and for the proceeding temperature, the value is calculated using previous temperature to
subtract the temperature difference calculated which is dT. Thus, the theory line graph appear
as increasing as the temperature calculated are all higher than the previous temperature which
this can be viewed in Figure 2 and Figure 7. By observing the theoretical and experimental
graphs, we can see that there is a huge difference between the two graphs where the
percentage error can be as high as 70.36% calculated using T9 values for Graph 4.

Figure 7: Theory and Experiment Graphs for Linear Heat Conduction

For radial heat conduction, there is also negative values appeared for thermal
conductivity due to the increment of temperatures. In contrast, the average and overall
thermal conductivity is still positive except for the average thermal conductivity of power 20
Watts which it has negative value. As the overall thermal conductivity calculated is 106.75
W/mK, whereby the value is positive, the theoretical graph plotted is in increasing manner as
shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4. As there is still difference in the two types of graphs, the
percentage error can be as high as 20.3% calculated using T9 value of Graph 4. By observing
the value of average thermal conductivity for each heater power, we can get that as the power
increases, the thermal conductivity increases. Although the value of average thermal
conductivity for 20 Watt is a negative value, we can still see the increasing trend from the
first three sets of value where this trend could not be observed from linear conduction as there
is huge error in experiment result. Furthermore, the temperature of higher power will have a
higher value compare to the lower heater power ones.

In addition, there is some possibilities that might influence the inaccuracy of the
results we obtained from the experiment. Firstly, the time allowed for the module to reach
steady state might not be sufficient enough which results in the value of temperature taken to
be inaccurate causing abnormal pattern in temperature profile. Moreover, the sensitivity of
the temperature indicator might be out as the equipment is being used for a long time or the
connectors are not connected to the device properly. Last but not least, the condition of the
flow of water might not be checked properly to allow proper heat conduction in the module
which will also affect the temperature value.

Conclusion

The temperature profile of linear and radial heat conduction have decreasing pattern as the
distance from heater increase. As the power used for experiment increase, the temperature
and thermal conductivity increases.

Reference

Jduar002. (2016). ME170Bconduction – Linear and Radial Heat Conduction. [online]

Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/file/21144018/ME170Bconduction/