2. Material Properties/Applications a. What effect does the thermal conductivity

Question

2. Material Properties/Applications

a. What effect does the thermal conductivity have on the slope of the temperature profile in a given material? That is, does a higher thermal conductivity make the temperature profile flatter or steeper (i.e. is the temperature drop through the thickness of the material larger or smaller)? How might this impact your daily life?

b. The thermal conductivity of air is ~.025 W/mK, whereas the thermal conductivity of a typical insulation material is ~.05 W/mK. That is, insulation materials have a higher thermal conductivity than air. Why then would it be advantageous to wrap a pipe in insulation rather than leave it sitting in air? Under what conditions would it be more advantageous to insulate something with air? (hint: think about double-paned windows)


book used :-

Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer (6th)

Explanation / Answer

a) thermal conductivity is the capacity of heat conductivity if the thermal conductivity of the material is higher then the temperature gradient is high therefore the temperature profile is steeper if the thermal conductivity of the material is lower then the temperature gradient is low therefore the temperature profile is flatter the type of thermal conductivity material selected depending on the heat transfer required b) depending on the requirement of heat loss to the surrounding we choose insulation material or air thermal conductivity material for examples in boiler tubes it is more efficient to reduce the heat loss where as in electrical wires it is better to increase the heat loss from the electrical wire " I hope this helps you"

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