Thermal conductivity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Thermal conductivity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In physics, thermal conductivity, (or denoted ), is the property of a material's ability to conduct heat. It appears primarily in Fourier's Law for heat conduction. Heat transfer across materials of high thermal conductivity occurs at a higher rate than across materials of low thermal conductivity. Correspondingly materials of high thermal conductivity are widely used in heat sink applications and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation. Thermal conductivity of materials is temperature dependent. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is thermal resistivity.

Contents
1 Units of thermal conductivity 2 Measurement 3 Experimental values 4 Definitions 4.1 Conductance 4.2 Resistance 4.3 Transmittance 5 Influencing factors 5.1 Temperature 5.2 Material phase 5.3 Material structure 5.4 Electrical conductivity 5.5 Convection 6 Physical origins 6.1 Lattice waves 6.2 Electronic thermal conductivity 7 Equations 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading

Units of thermal conductivity

In the International System of Units (SI), thermal conductivity is measured in watts per meter kelvin (W/ (mK)) or Wm 1K 1. In the imperial system of measurement thermal conductivity is measured in Btu/(hrft F) where 1 Btu/ (hrft F) = 1.730735 W/(mK).[1]

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ther units which are closely related to the thermal conductivity are in common use in the construction and textile industries. The construction industry makes use of units such as the R- alue (resistance value) and the U- alue (thermal transmittance). lthough related to the thermal conductivity of a product R and U-values are dependent on the thickness of a product. Likewise the textile industry has several units including the Tog and the Clo which express thermal resistance of a material in a way analogous to the R-values used in the construction industry. ote: R- alues and U- alues quoted in the US (based on the imperial units of measurement) do not correspond with and are not compatible with those used in Europe (based on the SI units of measurement).

Measurement
Main article: Thermal conductivity measurement There are a number of ways to measure thermal conductivity. Each of these is suitable for a limited range of materials, depending on the thermal properties and the medium temperature. There is a distinction between steady-state and transient techniques. In general, steady-state techniques are useful when the temperature of the material does not change with time. This makes the signal analysis straightforward (steady state implies constant signals). The disadvantage is that a well-engineered experimental setup is usually needed. The Divided Bar (various types) is the most common device used for consolidated rock samples. The transient techniques perform a measurement during the process of heating up. Their advantage is quicker measurements. Transient methods are usually carried out by needle probes. method described by ngstrom involves rapidly cycling the temperature from hot to cold and back and measuring the temperature change as the heat propagates along a thin strip of material in a vacuum.

erimental values
Main article: List of

Experimental values of thermal conductivity.

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thermal conductivities Thermal conductivity is important in material science, research, electronics, building insulation and related fields, especially where high operating temperatures are achieved. However, materials used in such trades are rarely sub ected to chemical purity standards. Several materials are shown in the list of thermal conductivities. These should be considered approximate due to the uncertainties related to material definitions. n the one hand solutions for computer cooling or turbine blades usually use high thermal conductive materials such as silver, copper and aluminium, to cool down specific components. n the other hand in construction or furnaces low thermal conductive materials such as polystyrene and alumina are used to separate warm / hot parts from cold ones.

efinitions
The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is thermal resistivity, usually measured in kelvin-meters per watt (KmW 1). When dealing with a known amount of material, its thermal conductance and the reciprocal property, thermal resistance, can be described. Unfortunately, there are differing definitions for these terms.

Conductance
For general scientific use, thermal conductance is the quantity of heat that passes in unit time through a plate of particular area and thickness when its opposite faces differ in temperature by one kelvin. For a plate of thermal conductivity k, area A and thickness L this is kA/L, measured in WK 1 (equivalent to: W/ C). Thermal conductivity and conductance are analogous to electrical conductivity ( m 1 1) and electrical conductance ( 1). There is also a measure known as heat transfer coefficient: the quantity of heat that passes in unit time through unit area of a plate of particular thickness when its opposite faces differ in temperature by one kelvin. The reciprocal is thermal insulance. In summary: thermal conductance = kA/L, measured in WK 1 thermal resistance = L /(kA), measured in KW 1 (equivalent to: C/W) heat transfer coefficient = k/L, measured in WK 1m 2 thermal insulance = L /k, measured in Km W 1. The heat transfer coefficient is also known as thermal admittance

esistance
Main article: Thermal resistance It is a thermal-property of a material to resist the flow of heat. It is a resistance offered by a material (a metal in general and a heat sink material in particular) to the conduction or flow of heat through it.

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Thermal resistance is the reciprocal of thermal conductance, i.e., lowering its value will raise the heat conduction and vice versa. When thermal resistances occur in series, they are additive. So when heat flows through two components each with a resistance of 1 C/W, the total resistance is 2 C/W. common engineering design problem involves the selection of an appropriate si ed heat sink for a given heat source. Working in units of thermal resistance greatly simplifies the design calculation. The following formula can be used to estimate the performance:

where: Rhs is the maximum thermal resistance of the heat sink to ambient, in C/W (equivalent to K/W) is the temperature difference (temperature drop), in C Pth is the thermal power (heat flow), in watts Rs is the thermal resistance of the heat source, in C/W For example, if a component produces 100 W of heat, and has a thermal resistance of 0.5 C/W, what is the maximum thermal resistance of the heat sink Suppose the maximum temperature is 125 C, and the ambient temperature is 25 C then the is 100 C. The heat sink's thermal resistance to ambient must then be 0.5 C/W or less.

Transmittance
third term, thermal transmittance, incorporates the thermal conductance of a structure along with heat transfer due to convection and radiation. It is measured in the same units as thermal conductance and is sometimes known as the composite thermal conductance. The term U-value is another synonym.

nfluencin factors
Tem erature
The effect of temperature on thermal conductivity is different for metals and nonmetals. In metals conductivity is primarily due to free electrons. Following Wiedemann Fran law thermal conductivity of metals is approximately proportional to the absolute temperature (in Kelvin) times electrical conductivity. In pure metals the electrical resistivity often increases proportional to temperature and thus thermal conductivity stays approximately constant. In alloys the change in electrical conductivity is usually smaller and thus thermal conductivity increases with temperature, often proportional to temperature. n the other hand conductivity in nonmetals is mainly due to lattice vibrations (phonons). Except for high quality crystals at low temperatures, the phonon mean free path of phonons is not reduced significantly at higher temperatures. Thus the thermal conductivity of nonmetals is approximately constant at not too low temperatures. t low temperatures well below Debye-temperature thermal conductivity decreases ust like the heat capacity does.

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Material hase
When a material undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas the thermal conductivity may change. n example of this would be the change in thermal conductivity that occurs when ice (thermal conductivity of 2.18 W/(mK) at 0 C) melts into liquid water (thermal conductivity of 0.58 W/(mK) at 0 C).

Material structure
Pure crystalline substances can exhibit different thermal conductivities along different crystal axes, due to differences in phonon coupling along a given crystal axis. Sapphire is a notable example of variable thermal conductivity based on orientation and temperature, with 35 W/(mK) along the c-axis and 32 W/ (mK) along the a-axis.[2]

lectrical conductivity
In metals, thermal conductivity approximately tracks electrical conductivity according to the Wiedemann-Fran law, as freely moving valence electrons transfer not only electric current but also heat energy. However, the general correlation between electrical and thermal conductance does not hold for other materials, due to the increased importance of phonon carriers for heat in non-metals. s shown in the table below, highly electrically conductive silver is less thermally conductive than diamond, which is an electrical insulator.

Convection
ir and other gases are generally good insulators, in the absence of convection. Therefore, many insulating materials function simply by having a large number of gas-filled pockets which prevent largescale convection. Examples of these include expanded and extruded polystyrene (popularly referred to as "styrofoam") and silica aerogel. atural, biological insulators such as fur and feathers achieve similar effects by dramatically inhibiting convection of air or water near an animal's skin. Light gases, such as hydrogen and helium typically have high thermal conductivity. Dense gases such as xenon and dichlorodifluoromethane have low thermal conductivity. n exception, sulfur hexafluoride, a dense gas, has a relatively high thermal conductivity due to its high heat capacity. rgon, a gas denser than air, is often used in insulated gla ing (double paned windows) to improve their insulation characteristics.

hysical ori ins

Heat flux is exceedingly difficult to control and isolate in a laboratory setting. Thus at the atomic level, there are no simple, correct expressions for thermal conductivity. tomically, the thermal conductivity of a system is determined by how atoms composing the system interact. There are two different approaches for calculating the thermal conductivity of a system.

Ceramic coatings with low thermal conductivities are used on exhaust systems to prevent heat from reaching sensitive components

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