THERMAL CONDUCTION IN COMPOSITE MATERIALS

“Things are Getting Heated”

Introduction Methodology
Heater
Conduction is defined as the transfer of Insulation 1. Heat is introduced to the top brass section while heat is removed
heat between a hot region and an T1 from the bottom brass section using cooling water.
Brass
adjacent cold region. Steady-state heat T2
conduction is represented by Fourier's Law T3
2. Thermocouples are used to measure and record the temperature
to describe heat flow: Stainless along the brass sections until a constant value is achieved.
Steel
q = heat flux
Q = rate of heat conduction Cooling T6 3. Vary the heat supplied to the top brass sections by altering the
Water
dT/dx = temperature gradient T7 voltage.
k = thermal conductivity Brass T8
Equation 1: Fourier’s Law A = cross-sectional area
Figure 1: Schematic of Armfield
4. Repeat the experiment using aluminium instead of stainless steel.
Overall heat transfer coefficient, U, is HT11 Heat Conduction Unit
dependent on several parameters:
- Heat, Q
- Area, A Results
- Temperature gradient, dT/dx
shown in Equation 2.
Temperature Distribution Graph with Various Voltage Temperature Distribution Graph with Various
30
for Stainless Steel Composite Bar Voltage for Aluminium Composite Bar
25

25

Equation 2: Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient, U 20

Temperature, T (oC)

Temperature, T ( C)
20
o

Different materials have different values of 15 SS(3V)

15

thermal conductivity, which affects the heat SS(4V)

10
Al(5V)
10
SS(5V) Al(4V)
transfer coefficient for a composite system.
5 5

0 0
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008
Distance from the heat source, x (m) Distance from the heat source, x (m)
Objectives Figure 2: Graph of Stainless Steel Composite Bar Figure 3: Graph of Aluminium Composite Bar

1. To measure the distribution of
temperature in a composite material.
2. To determine the heat transfer
coefficient in composite materials
compared to the theoretical value.
• When a higher voltage is used, a higher temperature gradient is created and the overall
heat transfer coefficient increases.
• The calculated experimental value for U for stainless steel composite bar is 382Wm-2oC-1
while for aluminium is 782Wm-2oC-1. The aluminium composite bar has greater heat transfer
along the bar.
• The calculated theoretical values, 590Wm-2oC-1 for stainless steel and 1557Wm-2oC-1 for
aluminium, are higher than the experimental values.

Applications of Composite Materials Conclusion

1. The heat transfer coefficient, U, of the composite bar with aluminium is higher than for the
composite bar with stainless steel.

2. The calculated experimental values of U are lower than the theoretical values. This could be
due to the assumptions made that the experiment had reached steady-state when it had yet
to stabilize. Carrying out the experiment for a longer duration will give more accurate values.
Picture 1:Cement Picture 2: Reinforced Plastic

Works Cited

1. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html
2. Conduction & Diffusion, CE1 Foundation Laboratory, Imperial College London, 2016.
Picture 3: Body Armour Picture 4: Aeroplanes
3. Heat Transfer & Conduction, The Concord Consortium, 2013.