INTRODUCTION TO THERMODYNAMIC ENGINEERING

(TME20403)
LAB REPORT 1

Experiment Date :
Date Submitted:
Submission Date: 29 SEPTEMBER 2021

Weightage :

Semester : SEPTEMBER 2021

Instruction to students:

• This is a grouping lab report.

• Complete this cover sheet and attach it to your report (first page).

Student declaration:

I declare that:
• This report is our own work
• We understand what is meant by plagiarism
• My lecturer has the right to deduct my marks in the case of:
- Late submission
- Any plagiarism found in my assignment
Name Student ID

012021091371
Siti Arissa Binti Mohd Nor Azmi
012021091370
Al-Luqman Hakim Bin Abdul Malik Faizal
012021091368
Raven Raj A/L Tamil Maran

Total
MARKS:
Introduction

Conduction Thermal transmission is the transmission of heat by matter without bulk motion of matter
(i.e. solid, liquids, or gases). In another way, the transmission of energy is the result of interactions between
the participants from the more powerful to the less energyful particles of a material. The heat transmission in
gases and liquids is caused by collisions and diffusion of the random molecules. On the other hand, a
combination of the grid vibrations and the transportation of energy by free electrons leads to heat transfer in
materials. Through the wall of a vena, for example, the human body can have heat conduction. The internal
surface exposed to the blood is more than the external surface at a greater temperature. The heat transfer
must be linked with the mechanical, thermal or geometrical features in order to analyse conduction heat
transfer.

Lab Sheet

Aim:

1. To find the thermal conductivity of a material by the two slabs guarded hot plate method.
2. To find the thermal resistance of the sample.

Apparatus:

A circular main heater plate (MH) is surrounded by an annular guard heater plate (GH) with a narrow air
gap in between. Each heater is made up of electrical resistance wire sandwiched between two copper
plates. Thermocouples are fixed to the plates to measure their surface temperatures. Two identical
circular slabs of the material to be tested are placed on either side of and in good thermal contact with
the heater plates. On the outer sides of the two slabs, in good thermal contact, are two circular
water-cooled slabs whose surface temperatures can also be monitored with thermocouples (Fig 1). The
purpose of the guard heater is to prevent heat loss from the edge of the main heater by maintaining the
temperature outside the main heater at the same temperature as the main heater. This ensures that all
heat lost from the main heater flows through the test slabs.
Theory:

The theory of heat transfer seeks to predict the energy transfer that may take place between
material bodies as a result of temperature difference. This energy transfer is defined as heat. The
three modes by which heat can be transferred from one place to another are conduction,
convection and radiation.
In conduction, heat is carried by means of collisions between rapidly moving molecules closer to
the hot end of a body of matter and the slower molecules closer to the cold end. Some of the
kinetic energy of the fast molecules passes to the slow molecules, and as a result of successive
collisions, heat flows through the body of matter from the hot end to the cold end. Solids, liquids,
and gases all conduct heat. Conduction is poorest in gases because their molecules are relatively
far apart and so interact less frequently than in solids and liquids. Metals are the best conductors
of heat because some of their electrons are able to move about relatively freely and can interact
frequently by collisions.
Without the guard heater, cooler air surrounding the edge of the main heater would be heated
by conduction and convection. Thus some of the heat supplied to the main heater would be
carried away by the surrounding air.
With the guard heater in place and adjusted to the same temperature as the main heater, the air
in the gap between is maintained at the temperature of the main heater, so no heat is lost at the
edge of the main heater. All heat lost from the main heater must flow into the test slabs.

Consider one dimensional heat conduction (Fig 2). The rate at which heat is conducted through
a slab of a particular material is proportional to the area A of the slab and to the temperature
difference ΔT between its sides and inversely proportional to the slab's thickness d.

The amount of heat Q that flows through the slab in the time t is given by

Rate of conduction

And thus (1)

Where ΔT = T1 – T2, and k is the thermal conductivity of the material, is a

measure of its ability to conduct heat. The SI unit of k is Wm-1K-1.

Thermal conductivity: Note that a heat flow rate is involved, and the numerical value of the
thermal conductivity indicates how fast heat will flow. In general, thermal conductivity is strongly
temperature dependent. It has the units of watts per meter per Kelvin. Heat transfer by
conduction in a solid can be realized through the support of phonons, electrons and photons. The
individual contributions of these carriers widely depend on material and its temperature.
Thermal conductivity is thus a second order tensor, but in a material with cubic isotropy it
 reduces to a scalar. It is an intensive property (changing the amount of material does not change
its thermal conductivity) and is a function of both pressure and temperature.
The thermal resistance R of a layer of a material of thickness d and of thermal conductivity k is given
by

. (2)

The greater the value of R, the greater the resistance to the flow of heat.

Applications:

Heat transfer has wide applications for the proper functioning of thermal devices and systems.
This principle is used to solve many problems in thermal mechanics.

1. Heat exchangers.
2. Building construction works.
3. Thermal energy storage devices.

4. Heat transfer in human body.

5. Thermopile and infrared thermometer.

6. Thermal resistance in electronics like thermal diode or thermal rectifier.

7. Used in laser cooling, radiative cooling, magnetic cooling, etc.

Heat transfer by Conduction

Performing Simulation:

Simulator Controls

1. The Choose Material combo box is used to select the material for the test slab.
2. The Diameter of the material slider is used set the diameter of the portion of the test slab in contact

with the main heater, in cm

3. The Thickness of material slider is used to set the thickness of the test slab, in cm.

4. The Coldwater temperature slider is used to set the temperature ( in degrees Celsius) of the water

flowing inside the outer plates.

5. The White knobs in simulator can be rotated by clicking side arrows to adjust the voltage and

corresponding current, which can be used to calculate input power.

6. The MH-GH Switch is used to set either main heater (MH) or guard heater (GH) voltage and
current as shown on the meters. Note: For the simulator to be powered on, the voltage for both
heaters must be the same.
7. The Power on button switches on the power after the initial adjustments are done.
8. The Temperature indicator is used to read the temperature at the positions of the various

thermocouples. After a steady state is reached (when the timer shows 20 minutes), click the
arrows on either side of the knob to read temperatures T1 to T8 in degrees Celsius.

Procedure for Simulation

1. Choose the material from combo box.

2. Using the sliders, fix a particular diameter for the portion of the test slab in contact with the

main heater, and a thickness for the entire slab.

3. Adjust the cold water temperature using the slider.
4. Using the white knobs, fix the value of same voltage and current for both main heater (MH)

and guard heater (GH). With the MH-GH switch set to MH, use white MH knob to set the voltage
and current for the main heater. Then click the MH-GH switch to GH and use the white GH knob
to set the voltage and current for the guard heater to the same values you set for the main heater.
5. Click the Power On switch to power the unit on.
6. After a steady state is reached (20 minutes in the timer), use the temperature indicator to read

and note down T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7

and T8.
7. Using the work sheet and the equations from the theory page, calculate the thermal
conductivity of the test slab. Note: since the main heater is in contact with a test slab on both
sides, the area A in equation

(1)

where d is the diameter of the MH, not , as might first be assumed.

 Procedure for Real lab

The procedure for the real lab is quite similar. The main differences are (1) the guard heater can
be set to a slightly different temperature, as needed, to keep the temperature of the main heater
uniform, and (2) the calculations can be extended to allow for and/or find the dependence of k
on ΔT.

Observations and Calculations

Mean temperature at the surface of the specimen on the heater side,

= °C

Mean temperature at the surface of the specimen on cold plate side,

= °C

Area of heat transfer

= m2

In above equation, d is the diameter of the specimen

Heat transferred,

Δx is the thickness of the specimen

Thermal conductivity k= Wm-1K-1

Result:

Thermal conductivity of the given specimen by conduction = Wm-1K-1

Discussion

This lab was conducted virtual by using this

https://vlab.amrita.edu/index.php?sub=1&brch=194&sim=801&cnt=2 link. By following the
procedure given, we been given 5 types of material which is the cardboard, glass, mica,
asbestos and ebonite solid. The diameter is fixed for 5 material which is 10cm and the
thickness is 0.5cm. Voltage and current is 100V and 0.2mA.

Firstly, select one material and set the voltage and current to 100V and 0.2mA then start to
power on. Waited for 20min shown in the timer for the value of T1 until T8 is show up.
Repeated the step for all material.

Table above shown the results after the simulation done. Correction, the values in
temperature is in Celsius not Kelvin. Calculation below is the heat transferred in kJ value. The
TK value can be produced by adding T1, T2, T3, T4 and divided with 4. For TC = T5+T6/2. From
the table above, the value given was in Celsius not in Kelvin. As we know that 0C is equal to
273.15K. As we the value been ad and divided by 2 the TC value is equal to 136.575K. Area of
!" !
heat transfer A, can be calculate #
. Diameter given is 10cm. The value of thermal

conductivity k, is taken from the lab simulation that been done together with our lecturer.

The objective of this approach is to have a better understanding of how heat is transported
between two objects via conduction. Heat constantly travels from a high to a low temperature
zone, we observed. The Temperature Indicator is used to determine the temperature in
different locations. Thermocouples of each material type that has been tested are also
included. Vibrations of heat are transferred. When hot molecules meet with cold ones, a
reaction occurs. The conduction characteristics of gases are the poorest. The finest heat
conductors are metals in solids and liquids because their molecules are more scattered and
interact less frequently than metals in solids and liquids because some of their electrons may
move around relatively freely.
Results

CARDBOARD = 0.21 WM^ -1 K^-1

GLASS = 1.1 WM^-1 K^ -1
MICA = 0.71 WM^-1 K^-1
ASBESTOS-CEMENT BOARD = 0.744 WM^-1K^-1
EBONITE SOLID = 0.17 WM^-1K^-1
Conclusion

The amount of heat transfer that happens as a system change from one equilibrium state to
another was studied in thermodynamics. Thermodynamics does not predict how long a
process will take. The presence of a temperature difference is the most basic requirement for
heat transfer. The main factor behind heat transmission is the temperature difference.
Conduction is the process of energy transmission from a substance's more energetic particles
to its less energetic neighbors as a result of particle interactions. The rate of heat transfer
across a layer is proportional to the temperature difference and the heat transfer area, but
inversely proportional to the temperature difference and the heat transfer area. The
temperature differential and the heat transfer area are proportional to the rate of heat
conduction across a layer, while the layer thickness is inversely proportional.
Assignment
References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conduction
2. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/conductive-heat-transfer-d_428.html
3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2gjtv4/revision/1
4. https://vlab.amrita.edu/index.php?sub=1&brch=194&sim=801&cnt=2
Lab report rubric.

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