Table of Content:

1. Abstract …………………………………………………………… 1

2. Objective …………………………………………………………… 2

3. Introduction …………………………………………………………… 2

4. Result and Discussion ………………………………………………….. 5

5. Conclusion and Recommendation …………………………………….. 10

6. References …………………………………………………………… 11

7. Appendix …………………………………………………………… 12
1.0. Abstract:

The main objective of this experiment is to observe the heat transfer through
conduction in insulating powder and to calculate the thermal conductivity of insulating
powder. The temperature was noted down at every 10 minutes interval until the steady
state of temperature is achieved under voltage of 70V and current of 0.27A. Different
temperature values were noted and the experiment ended at 140th minute giving
temperatures from T1-T10 to be 132.9⁰C, 134.5⁰C, 136.1⁰C, 136.5⁰C, 43.8⁰C, 37.0⁰C,
37.6⁰C, 38.1⁰C, 29.7⁰C, and 37.8⁰C. The values of heat transfer were constant
throughout the experiment with a value of 18.9W and the thermal conductivity of
insulating powder at the steady state is bound to be 0.1539W/m2K. The temperature
difference is noted not more than 0.2⁰C after the interval of 130th minute. At this phase
it is indicated that the system has reached a steady state. There is some
recommendation that can be taken to improve the experiment such as increasing the
radius of insulation. Cleaning the inner sphere may reduce the heat loss. Taking the
average values of the temperature readings will give us a more accurate thermal
conductivity.
2.0. Objective:

The main objective of this experiment are:

 To observe the heat transfer through conduction in insulating powder.

 To calculate the thermal conductivity of insulating powder.
3.0. Introduction:

Heat transfer is a phenomenon of transition of thermal energy from a heated

surface or body to cooler surface. When an object is in a different temperature then its
surroundings or item the object transfers heat from the hotter surface to cooler surface
this is known as heat transfer or heat exchange. Heat exchange occurs in a way where
both the objects at different temperatures attends the same temperature after heat
transfer where it reaches a state of thermal equilibrium. This phenomenon basically
follows the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics that states heat transfers from a hot region to
cold region and this phenomenon can’t be stopped it can only be slowed down
(Karthikeyan N, 2018).

Conduction heat transfer is the transfer of heat by means of molecular

excitement within a material without bulk motion of the matter. Conduction heat
transfer in gases and liquids is due to the collisions and diffusion of the molecules
during their random motion. On the other hand, heat transfer in solids is due to the
combination of lattice vibrations of the molecules and the energy transport by free
electrons. Heat transfer is a function of the higher and lower temperatures of the aorta
wall, and aorta geometry and properties and is given by

Q˙∝(A)(ΔT)Δx

Q˙=kA(Th−Tc)Δx=−kA(Tc−Th)Δx=−kAΔTΔx.

Figure 3.1: One-dimensional heat transfer.

 In this experiment the apparatus consist of two thinned walled concentric
spheres of copper of different size. The small inner copper sphere is provided with the
heater with a temperature sensor T1, T2,T3 and T4. The insulating powder asbestos is
packed between the two spheres. The outer sphere is provided with the sensors T5,
T6, T7, T8, T9 and T10. Voltmeter and Ammeter is provided with dimmer stat and variac
to measure the heat input. The voltage and current provided are 70V and 0.27A
respectively.

Figure 3.2: Apparatus to measure the thermal conductivity of insulating

powder.

Thermal conductivity is a measure of the capacity of a material to conduct heat

through its mass. Different insulating materials and other types of material have
specific thermal conductivity values that can be used to measure their insulating
effectiveness. It can be defined as the amount of heat (expressed in kcal, Btu or J)
that can be conducted in unit time through unit area of unit thickness of material, when
there is a unit temperature difference. Thermal conductivity can be expressed in kcal
m-1 °C-1, Btu ft-1 °F-1 and in the SI system in watt (W) m-1 °C-1. Thermal conductivity is
also known as the k-value (FAO,2003).
 One factor that affects the thermal conductivity are the different types of
material used such as insulators. In conventional, fibre or flake type insulations, the
solid material is finely dispersed throughout an air space. Such system depends on
the thermal conductivity and surface radiation properties of the solid material, as well
as the nature and volumetric fraction of the air or void space. If small voids or hollow
spaces are formed by bonding or fusion portions of the solid material, a rigid matrix is
created. When these spaces are sealed from each other, the system is referred to as
cellular insulation. Reflective insulations are composed of multilayer, parallel, thin
sheets of foils of high reflectivity, which are spaced to reflect radiant energy back to its
source. The spacing between the foils are designed to prohibit the motion of air, and
in high-performance insulations, the space is evacuated. In all types of insulations,
evacuation of air in the void space will reduce the effective thermal conductivity in the
system (Incropera, Dewitt, Bergman, & Lavine, 2017, p. 66).
4.0. Result and Discussion:

The main objective of this experiment is to measure the heat transfer by

conduction through insulating powder and note observe the thermal conductivity k of
the insulating powder. For this purpose a sphere of two different sizes packed with
each another is used, one is the inner sphere of lesser diameter and another is the
outer layer of the sphere with larger diameter. The experiment begins with providing a
voltage and the current of 70V and 0.27A respectively. The experimental results were
noted down after an interval of every 10 minutes where the temperature sensors will
fluctuate its temperatures. T1 to T4 shows the sensors detecting the inner temperature
of the sphere and T5 to T10 detects the outer temperature of the sphere. The
experiment continuous until the 140th minute where the insulating powder obtains a
steady state. The values of thermal conductivity k are obtained from different
temperature differences at every interval where it will have a steady value after
reaching the steady state.

Table 4.1: Temperature sensor values at different intervals.

Time V I T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10
(min) (volt) (Amp) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) o
( C) (oC)
0 70 0.27 116.2 117.3 118.8 119.3 40.6 35.6 36.0 36.2 28.0 36.2
10 70 0.27 117.2 118.8 120.3 120.7 40.9 36.0 36.4 36.7 28.5 36.7
20 70 0.27 118.2 120.5 122.0 122.4 41.2 35.8 36.2 36.6 28.5 36.6
30 70 0.27 120.6 122.2 123.7 124.1 41.6 36.2 36.7 37.1 28.6 36.9
40 70 0.27 122.1 123.7 125.2 125.6 41.8 36.1 36.6 37.1 28.4 36.9
50 70 0.27 123.4 125.2 126.7 127.0 42.1 36.0 36.6 36.9 28.5 36.8
60 70 0.27 125.0 126.6 128.1 128.5 42.3 36.4 37.0 37.4 28.7 37.2
70 70 0.27 126.0 127.6 129.2 129.6 42.6 36.6 37.1 37.6 28.8 37.4
80 70 0.27 127.1 128.7 130.2 130.7 42.9 36.5 37.1 37.6 28.8 37.3
90 70 0.27 128.2 129.8 131.4 131.7 43.0 36.6 37.2 37.7 29.0 37.5
100 70 0.27 129.5 131.1 132.6 133.0 43.3 36.4 37.1 37.5 29.1 37.3
110 70 0.27 130.0 131.7 133.2 133.6 43.5 36.6 37.1 37.6 29.3 37.5
120 70 0.27 131.0 132.7 134.2 134.5 43.4 36.7 37.3 37.8 29.5 37.5
130 70 0.27 131.7 133.5 135.0 135.3 43.8 36.9 37.5 38.1 29.7 37.8
140 70 0.27 132.9 134.5 136.1 136.5 43.8 37.0 37.6 38.1 29.7 37.8
 In table 4.1, different temperatures of the sensors are provided where the
temperatures indicate the inner sphere and the outer sphere surface temperatures.
These temperatures are at 70V and 0.27A consistently at an interval of every 10
minutes. At 0Th minute the experiment just starts and the temperature of the inner
sphere T1 to T4 noted down are 116.2⁰C, 117.3⁰C, 118.8⁰C, and 119.3⁰C. The
temperature difference between the sensors at every 10 minute interval were noted
to be 2⁰C, 3⁰C less or more in the beginning. After the experiment reaches around
120th minute the temperature difference was noted not more the 0.5⁰C and 0.2⁰C.
This is the state where it is noted that the system has reached a steady state. At
130th minute the temperatures from T1-T10 were noted to be 131⁰C, 133.5⁰C,
135.0⁰C, 135.3⁰C, 43.8⁰C, 36.9⁰C, 37.5⁰C, 38.1⁰C, 29.7⁰C and 37.8⁰C. And at the
140th minute the temperatures from T1-T10 were noted to be 132.9⁰C, 134.5⁰C,
136.1⁰C, 136.5⁰C, 43.8⁰C, 37.0⁰C, 37.6⁰C, 38.1⁰C, 29.7⁰C, and 37.8⁰C. The
temperature difference is noted not more than 0.2⁰C. At this phase it is indicated
that the system has reached a steady state.

Table 4.2: The value of thermal conductivity at different time intervals.

Time (min). k (W/m oC)

0 0.1824
10 0.1804
20 0.1767
30 0.1739
40 0.1709
50 0.1682
60 0.1661
70 0.1645
80 0.1626
90 0.1609
100 0.1536
110 0.1579
120 0.1557
130 0.1556
140 0.1539
 In table 4.2 the values of thermal conductivity are provided after calculation at
different time intervals and different temperatures. Thermal conductivity is measured
by the amount of heat transfer and the radius of the inner and outer spheres as the
radius of the inner sphere is 0.05m and the outer sphere is 0.1m. The value of heat
transfer is constant as the voltage and the current are kept constant. So the value of
V and is measure to be the product of 70V and 0.27A that turns out to be 18.9W. As
the value of thermal conductivity depends on the temperature difference of the inner
and outer sphere and is inversely proportional so at higher temperature difference the
thermal conductivity. As it is shown in the table 4.2 the thermal conductivity at 0 th
minute is noted to be 0.1824 W/m⁰C and at 140th minute is noted to be 0.1539 W/m⁰C.
As the temperature differences increases the value of thermal conductivity decreases.
The value of thermal conductivity is less because asbestos is a good insulator.

160

140 T1 (oC)

120 T2 (oC)
Temperature, ⁰C.

T3 (oC)
100
T4 (oC)
80
T5 (oC)
60
T6 (oC)
40 T7 (oC)
20 T8 (oC)

0 T9 (oC)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100110120130140 T10 (oC)
Time, MIn

Figure 4.3: Graph showing the temperature Vs Time distribution.

The temperature data from table 4.1 are plotted in a graph as shown in figure
4.3. Based on the graph, it gives a clear picture of how the temperature distribution is
occurred. For the temperature sensors inside the sphere which were T 1 to T4, the
temperature values were higher as compared to the temperature sensors from T 5 to
T10. This is because of the radius of heat transmission from heater to the sphere
through the insulating material, asbestos. The heater is able to immerse heat which is
measured by temperature sensors and the nearest sensors were located at the inner
surface of the sphere. As heat flows further, frictions from the insulating material and
to the sphere occurred which reduces the heat energy transmission. Moving on, the
outer surface sphere shows a gradual increment. As from the figure 4.3 it is obvious
that the temperature had bigger increments in the beginning of the experiment and
where at the end it reaches a steady state showing not more than an increment of
0.2⁰C. However, it is ideal for such situation to occur unless assumptions are to be
made. Thus, to sum up that the temperature distribution is at steady state, the
temperature difference must be less than the value of 0.2 .

0.21

0.18

0.15
k (W/m⁰C).

0.12

0.09

0.06

0.03

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
Time, min.

Figure 4.4: Graph shows the distribution of thermal conductivity k against Time.

In the figure 4.4 it is show that the value of k which is the thermal conductivity
of the insulating material decreases gradually as the temperature increases by
keeping the input voltage and current constant. The thermal conductivity at 0th minute
is noted to be 0.1824 W/m⁰C and at 140th minute is noted to be 0.1539 W/m⁰C. As the
temperature differences increases the value of thermal conductivity decreases. The
value of thermal conductivity is less because asbestos is a good insulator.
 The reason behind this is due to the factors that affect thermal conductivity of
asbestos which are temperature, properties of material that is asbestos and the path
length the heat follows. Since the heat transfer rate, properties of asbestos, structure
of sphere and radial distance of heat energy were all same, the thermal conductivity
main focus was only on the temperature difference between inner sphere and surface
since that was the only variable differing throughout the experiment as evident from
figure 4.4. By theory, solids that have low thermal conductivity values like an insulator
are used to minimize the rate of heat flow surfaces increases along with time and when
it does so, the thermal conductivity decreases. (Engineeringtoolbox, 2003).

At the time interval 100th minute the thermal conductivity is observed to be

0.1536 W/m⁰C that is lower to the corresponding value that is 0.1579 W/m⁰C at 110th
minute. This fluctuation can be due to error in reading or the temperature
misinterpretation during calculations. The thermal conductivity decreases as the
temperature increases as it is inversely proportional to the temperature difference.
Thus the system obtains a steady state at 140th minute giving the lower thermal
conductivity of 0.1539 W/m⁰C.
5.0. Conclusion and Recommendation:

In conclusion, the heat transfer through an insulating powder is observed with the
calculations for its thermal conductivity. The system reaches a steady state at 140th
minute giving temperatures of T1-T10 to be 132.9⁰C, 134.5⁰C, 136.1⁰C, 136.5⁰C,
43.8⁰C, 37.0⁰C, 37.6⁰C, 38.1⁰C, 29.7⁰C, and 37.8⁰C where the increment is not more
than 0.2⁰C. And a thermal conductivity of 0.1539W/m2K at steady state temperatures.
There are some recommendations that can be considered in this experiment such as
increasing the radius of the heat flow from the outside surface temperature of sphere.
This can increase the time to transfer heat and in turn reduces heat loss to
surroundings. Cleaning the surface can prevent heat decapitation and at last taking
average of the respective readings can give a more accurate reading.
6.0. Reference:

Karthikeyan N, Manapparai M, Prabu M, Ekanthamoorthy J, 2018, Investigating-the-

thermal-conductivity-of-insulating-powder.[online].[Accessed 19th May,2019].
Available from World Wide Web:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327160419_Investigate_the_Thermal_Con
ductivity_of_Insulating_Powders

Sciencedirect, 2017, Conduction-heat-transfer.[online].[Accessed 19th May,2019].

Available from World Wide Web:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/conduction-heat-transfer

FAO, 2003, Heat-Transmission-Modes-and-Technical-Terms.[online].[Accessed 18th

May,2019]. Available from World Wide Web:

http://www.fao.org/3/y5013e/y5013e00.htm#Contents

Incopera, Dewitt, Bergman, & Lavine. (2017). Fundamentals of Heat and Mass
Transfer.[online].[Accessed 18th May,2019]. Available from World Wide Web:

https://www.academia.edu/31181539/Fundamentals_of_Heat_and_Mass_Transfer_
7th_Edition_Incropera_dewitt

Engineering ToolBox, 2003, Thermal Conductivity of common Materials and Gases.

[online] .[Accessed 19th May,2019]Available at:

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html
7.0. Appendix:

Data:

Inner radius ri = 0.05 m

Outer radius ro = 0.1 m

Voltage, V = 70 volts

Current, I = 0.27 Amp

Sample calculations at 0th minute

𝑄 = 𝑉 × 𝑙 (𝑊)

Q = 70 x 0.27
Q = 18.9 W

116.2+117.3+118.8+119.3
𝑇𝑖 = = 𝟏𝟏𝟕. 𝟗𝟎 𝑪.
4

40.6 + 35.6 + 36.0 + 36.2 + 28 + 36.2

𝑇𝑜 = = 𝟑𝟓. 𝟒𝟑𝟑𝟎 𝑪.
6

𝑄(𝑟𝑜 − 𝑟𝑖)
𝑘=
4𝜋𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑖(𝑇𝑖 − 𝑇𝑜)
18.9𝑥(0.1 − 0.05)
𝑘= = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟒 𝑾/𝒎⁰𝑪.
4𝜋𝑥0.1𝑥0.05(117.9 − 35.433)