MEASUREMENT OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY USING
A ONE-DIMENSIONAL STEADY-STATE HEAT FLUX METHOD
Open Access
Author:
Fishbone, Scott Benjamin
Area of Honors:
Mechanical Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Karen Ann Thole, Thesis Supervisor Karen Ann Thole, Thesis Supervisor Professor Matthew M Mench, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Thermal Conductivity Measuring Methods
Abstract:
The thermal conductivity of a material is a key property in many heat transfer applications. Thermal conductivity indicates the resistance to heat being transferred through a material. A low thermal conductivity indicates a material acts more as an insulator while a high value indicates a material acts more as a conductor of heat.
The goal of the project was to create a method that would measure the thermal conductivity of various materials. The development of this method was validated using materials with known thermal conductivity properties. By developing and validating a method, it allows the characterization of thermal conductivity of new materials with unknown properties. After a literature survey and uncertainty analysis was completed, a one-dimensional, steady-state heat flux method was selected as the test method. Once the testing apparatus was constructed, the method was verified by measuring the thermal conductivity of a well known material, namely 303 stainless steel. A new material was characterized as well and compared with a value that others have obtained.
