Heat Transfer through Composite Walls

Aim: To determine total thermal resistance and thermal conductivity of composite walls.

Introduction:
Many engineering applications of practical utility involve heat transfer
through a medium composed of two or more materials of different thermal conductivities
arranged in series or parallel. Consider for example the walls of a refrigerator, hot cases,
cold storage plants, hot water tanks etc., which always have some kind of insulating
materials between the inner and the outer wall. A hot fluid flow inside the tube covered
with a layer of thermal insulation is an example of composite system because in this case
the thermal conductivities of tube metal insulation are different. The problem of heat
transfer through the composite system can be solved by the application of thermal
resistance concept.
The procedure for solving one dimensional, steady state heat conduction
problems for composite system comprising parallel plates, co-axial cylinders or
concentric spheres are dealt here.

Description:
The apparatus consists of three slabs of different materials namely Mild
Steel, Wood and Bakelite. The heater is provided to supply heat input across these
composite walls. Total heater assembly comprises of a heater bound between two
aluminium plates, on both side of these heater identical structures of composite walls are
placed. Thermocouples are provided at proper positions in the composite walls to record
desired inside temperature of composite wall. Multi-channel temperature indicator is used
to measure this temperature. Small hand press provided to press the wall on each other
and ensure that no air gap remaining between two plates. Heat input to heater is given
through a dimmerstat variac and measured by Voltmeter and Ammeter. By varying heat
input & combination of the composite structure, wide range of experiment can be
performed.

Specifications:
(1) Diameter of slabs (d)
Wood : 0.3m
Bakelite : 0.3m
Mild Steel : 0.3m
(2) Thickness of slab (b) : 0.036m
(3) Heater : 400W
(4) Thickness of wood plate : 0.012m
(5) Thickness of Bakelite plate : 0.012m
(6) Thickness of Mild Steel plate : 0.012m
(7) Temperature Indicator : 0 - 300ºC
(8) Ammeter : 0 – 5A
(9) Voltmeter : 0 – 300V
 Precautions:
(1) Keep the dimmerstat at zero position before switch on the power supply.
(2) Increase the voltage gradually.
(3) Operates selector switch of temperature indicator gently.
(4) Do not exceed 120V so as to avoid the fluctuating result.
Procedure:
(1)Arrange the plates in proper fashion (symmetrical) on both sides of the
heater plates.
(2) See that plates are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the heater
plates.
(3) Operate the hand press properly to ensure perfect contact between the
plates.
(4) Close the box by cover sheet to achieve steady environmental
conditions.
(5) Switch on the supply of heater.
(6) Give known steady input to the heater with the help of dimmerstat.
(7) Keep initially 100 V for 20 minutes almost and than reduce to 80 V till
steady state is reached so that steady state can be reached within less
time.
(8) Check the input to the heater with selector switch, voltmeter &
ammeter.
(9) Note down the temperature every 10 minutes till a steady condition is
reached.
(10)Calculate the thermal resistance of the material based on the steady state
condition readings.
Observation table: -

Voltmeter reading (V):

Ammeter reading (I):
Thermocouple Time (min)
Readings (ºC)
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8

Calculations:
(1) Rate of heat supply Q = V x I W
(For calculating the thermal conductivity of composite walls, it is
assumed that due to large diameter of the plates, heat flowing
through the central portion is unidirectional i.e. axial flow. Thus for
calculating central half diameter area where unidirectional flow is
considered. Accordingly thermocouples are fixed at closed to center
of the plates.)
 Q
2 W
.
q=
A m2
ʌ 2 2
A=
d m
4
. Q
q in any one direction =
2
T1 +T2 T +T
TA = TB = 3 4
2 2
T +T T +T
TC = 5 6 TD = 7 8
2 2

(2) Total thermal resistance of composite slab:

T -T
R total = AQ D
2
(3) Thermal conductivity of composite slab:
.
q xb
K composite =
TA -TD
b = total thickness of the slab in m
(4) Thermal conductivity of individual materials
. . .
q xb wood q xb bakelite
q xb M.S.
K wood = K bakelite = K M.S. =
TA -TB TB -TC TC -TD
dT
(5) Draw the temperature distribution along wall thickness ( )
dx
Conclusion: