School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

Name : Huzaifa Zain

CMS : 348419
Section : ME-12A

Exp. 5: Thermal Conductivity of Engine Oil

Objectives:
To determine thermal conductivity of fluid using coaxial cylinder method.Test fluid is Engine
Oil.
Apparatus:

1. Inner Temperature 2. Outer Temperature

3. Heater Power 4. Heater Power Switch

5. Main Power Switch 6. Heater Power Regulator

7. Thermocouple Sensors 8. Sample Port Discharge

9. Cooling water outlet 10. Cooling water inlet

11. Sample Port Filling 12. Frame

 School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

1. Sample filling port 2. Cold water inlet

3. Heater 4. Inner Cylinder

5. Thermocouple Inner Cylinder 6. Sample Discharge Port

7. Cold water outlet 8. Outer Cylinder

10. Thermocouple Outer cylinder

9. Fluid

Procedure:
• Connect sample filling port to a syringe and fill clearance between cylinders with engine oil.
Close the sample port port discharge.
• Turn on the cooling water supply to ensure the outer cylinder wall remains at a constant
temperature during the experiment.
• Turn on the main and heater supply to provide heat to the cylinder.
• Adjust the heater control knob to a particular value and note down the voltage (V) and
current (I) to calculate the power (P) supplied to the heater.
• Wait for the system to reach steady-state conditions.
• Note down the inner and outer temperatures of the cylinder using temperature display.
• Use Fourier's Law of heat conduction for radial heat transfer to calculate the thermal
conductivity of the engine oil.
• Repeat the experiment with different heat input, and calculate thermal conductivity for each
run.
 School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

Data Recording:
• Inner Radius:16.65mm
• Outer Radius:17.05mm
• Length of Cylinder:100mm

Current (I) Voltage Power(W) Inner Temperature Outer Temperature Thermal

(V) Conductivity
0.495 2.0 0.99 20.3 20 0.124
1
2.557 10 25.57 28.4 20.5 0.122
2
3.905 15 58.575 37.5 21.7 0.140
3
5.244 20 104.88 58.7 22.9 0.129
4
6.639 25 165.975 69.9 23.3 0.134
5

Average Thermal Conductivity: 0.1298

Task 1:

Instead of calculating thermal conductivity in a table by hand, use programming software such as matlab,
python, or c++. Write a program in which the user is asked to enter current, voltage, inner and outer
temperatures, and the program outputs thermal conductivity as a result.[CLO 3]
Code in C ++
#include <iostream>
#include <cmath>

using namespace std;

int main() {
double curr, volt, in_temp, out_temp, in_radius, out_radius,
len, therm_cond;

// Asking the values from the user and storing in the respective
variables
cout << "Enter the required data :\n";
cout << "current value in amperes: ";
cin >> curr;
cout << "voltage value in volts: ";
cin >> volt;
cout << "inner temperature value in Celsius degrees : ";
cin >> in_temp;
cout << "outer temperature value in Celsius degrees : ";
 School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

cin >> out_temp;

cout << "inner radius value in meters: ";
cin >> in_radius;
cout << "outer radius value in meters: ";
cin >> out_radius;
cout << "length value in meters: ";
cin >> len;

// Inserting the values of the variables n the required formula

therm_cond = (log(out_radius / in_radius) * volt * curr) / (2 *
M_PI * len * (in_temp - out_temp));

// Displaying
cout << "The value for thermal conductivity is: " <<
therm_cond << " W/(m*K)" << endl;

return 0;
}
Output:

Discussion:
Valuable insights have been gained from conducting an experiment using the cylinder
technique to measure the thermal conductivity of engine oil. The results reveal that the
thermal conductivity of engine oil is directly proportional to power output, as demonstrated
by the increase in thermal conductivity with rising current and voltage. Moreover, due to the
thermal insulation of the outer cylinder, the temperature gradient between the inner and outer
cylinders increases as power output increases. While there was slight variation in the thermal
conductivity values for each data point, this could potentially be attributed to measurement
errors or minor changes in experimental conditions. The results of this experiment can be
useful in the development and optimization of engine designs and cooling systems. Further
research could explore the effect of different oil types and viscosities on thermal conductivity
and investigate the impact of other factors such as temperature and pressure on engine oil's
thermal properties. Overall, this experiment provides a valuable foundation.
 School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

Marks Distribution:

Data Recording 2
Task 1 5
Discussion 3