Includes

Teacher's Notes
and
Instruction Manual and 012-03349D
5/94
Typical
Experiment Results Experiment Guide for
the PASCO scientific
Model TD-8561

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
APPARATUS

© 1987 PASCO scientific $5.00

012-03349D Thermal Conductivity Apparatus

Introduction

Thermal Conductivity Apparatus The technique for measuring thermal conductivity is

straightforward. A slab of the material to be tested is
Heat can be transferred from one point to another by three
clamped between a steam chamber, which maintains a
common methods: conduction, convection and radiation.
constant temperature of 100 °C, and a block of ice, which
Each method can be analyzed and each yields its own
maintains a constant temperature of 0°C. A fixed tempera-
specific mathematical relationship. The TD-8561 Thermal
ture differential of 100 °C is thereby established between
Conductivity Apparatus allows one to investigate the rate
the surfaces of the material. The heat transferred is
of thermal conduction through five common materials
measured by collecting the water from the melting ice. The
used in building construction.
ice melts at a rate of 1 gram per 80 calories of heat flow
The equation giving the amount of heat conducted through (the latent heat of melting for ice).
a material is:
The thermal conductivity, k, is therefore measured using
∆Q = k A ∆T ∆t / h. the following equation:
In this equation, ∆Q is the total heat energy conducted, A k = (cal cm/cm2 sec) =
is the area through which conduction takes place, ∆T is the
(mass of melted ice) (80 cal/gm) (thickness of material)
temperature difference between the sides of the material,
∆t is the time during which the conduction occurred and h (area of ice) (time during which ice melted) (temp.
is the thickness of the material. The remaining term, k, is differential)
the thermal conductivity of a given material. where distances are measured in centimeters, masses in
The units for k depend upon the units used to measure the grams, and time in seconds.
other quantities involved. Some sample conversions The Thermal Conductivity Apparatus includes the follow-
between different possible sets of units are shown in Table ing equipment (see Figure 1):
1.
• Base
Btu in. Btu in. Btu ft Btu in. • Steam chamber with hardware for mounting sample
in.2 sec °R in.2 hr °R ft2 hr °R ft2 hr °R
Watt cm 1.338 x 10-2 4.818 57.82 693.8 • Ice mold with cover (Part # 648-03427)
cm2 °K
Watt m 1.338 x 10-5 4.818 x 10-2 0.5782 6.938 • Materials to test: Glass, wood, lexan, masonite, and
m2 °K sheet rock (The wood, masonite, and sheet rock are
Watt in. 9.485 x 10-4 3.414 40.97 491.7 covered with aluminum foil for waterproofing.)
in.2 °R
Cal cm 5.600 x 10-3 20.16 241.9 2.903 x 103
cm sec °K
2

Table 1

The importance of k lies in whether one wishes to conduct Steam

heat well (good conductor) or poorly (good insulator). chamber
Therefore, the relative size of k is of importance to with hardware
designers and builders, and should be of importance to for Base
mounting
home owners. sample
Note further that choosing a material with a small value
for k does not guarantee a well-insulated structure. The
amount of heat conducted out in winter (and therefore Materials to test
needing to be replaced) depends also upon three other (Glass, wood,
lexan, masonite, Ice mold
factors: area, thickness and temperature difference. The
sheet rock) (Part# 648-03427)
same holds true for heat conducted in during the summer.
The equation for determining k is:
Figure 1 Equipment Included with the Thermal
k = ∆Q h / A ∆T ∆t = _____ Conductivity Apparatus
1
 Experiment: Measuring Thermal Conductivity
Measuring Thermal Conductivity – Procedure
Instructions for Lab TA
1) Fill the ice mold with water and freeze it. Do not freeze water with lid on jar.

Instructions for Students

1) Run the jar under warm water to loosen the ice in the mold. Do not directly apply warm water
to ice. Hold jar upside down with the water running over the white plastic until the ice is able to
slide out freely.

NOTE: Do not attempt to “pry” the ice out of the mold.

2) Select three materials for which you are going to perform the experiment from the five
provided, and measure and record h, the thickness of the sample material.
3) Mount the sample material onto the steam chamber (see Figure 1) as shown in Figure 2 below.

NOTE: Take care that the sample material is flush against the water channel, so water will
not leak, then tighten the thumbscrews.

4) Place the ice on top of the sample as shown in Figure 2. Do not remove the ice but make sure
that the ice can move freely in the mold. Just place the open end of the mold against the
sample, and let the ice slide out as the experiment proceeds. There is a small slit on the brim of
the ice mold that should be positioned facing the water channel so that the melting ice can flow
through the slit.
 Experiment: Measuring Thermal Conductivity
5) Let the ice sit for several minutes so it begins to melt and comes in full contact with the sample.
Take an appropriate measurement of the ice block so you can evaluate the beginning diameter,
da1, of the ice block in centimeters. Record this value. (Don’t begin taking data before the ice
begins to melt, because it may be at a lower temperature than 0oC.)
6) While you are waiting for the ice to melt, fill the steam generator two-thirds full of water. Place
the cork on top, plug it in to a wall outlet, and turn it on high. Keep it away from your melting
ice because it will radiate heat and cause the ice to melt faster.
7) Attach the ¼” tubing to both outlets on the cork. Direct the tubes so that they are facing away
from your experiment. Plug the ends with a wad of paper towels so that condensation won’t
get everywhere.
8) Obtain data for determining the ambient melting rate of the ice as follows:
a. Determine the mass of a small container used for collecting the melted ice and record it.
b. Collect the melting ice in the container for a measured time ta (10 minutes).
c. Determine the mass of the container plus water and record it.
d. Subtract your first measured mass from your second to determine ma, the mass of the
melted ice in grams.
9) Measure the ice block the same as in step 5 and record the final diameter, da2, of the ice block in
centimeters at the end of time ta.
10) Run steam into the steam chamber. The steam will burn your skin if you are not careful. Use
the fireproof gloves provided for you in lab. Let the steam run for several minutes until
temperatures stabilize so that the heat flow is steady and condensed water starts to drip from
the steam chamber drain. (Place a container under the drain spout of the steam chamber to
collect the water that escapes from the chamber.)
11) Follow the same measuring procedure you adopted in steps 5 and 9 and record the diameter of
the ice block at the beginning and record it in the data table as d1 in centimeters.
12) Empty the cup used for collecting the melted ice. Repeat steps 8 and 9, but this time with the
steam running into the steam chamber. As before, measure and record m (in grams), the mass
of the melted ice, and t, the time during which the ice melted (10 minutes).
13) Measure the ice block the same as in step 5 and record the diameter d2 in centimeters of the ice
block at the end of time t.
14) Follow the procedure of the lab manual from steps 10-13 with collecting ice for 10 minutes for
two more material samples.

Data and Calculations

1) Determine Aave (in cm2), the area over which the heat flow between the ice and the steam inside
the chamber took place in the steam experiments. (Assume that A is just the area of the ice in
contact with the sample material.)
 Experiment: Measuring Thermal Conductivity

2) Determine Aa,ave (in cm2), the area over which the heat flow between the ice and the ambient air
inside the chamber and outside of the mold took place in the ambient experiment.
3) Divide m by t and ma by ta to determine R and Ra, the rates at which the ice melted in the steam
experiments and ambient experiment respectively.

4) Calculate k, the conductivity of the sample, with the use of the equation below.

( )
( )

5) Determine the percent error of the experimental k compared to the accepted values found in
the document “Lab2_AcceptedMaterialProperties.pdf”.
 Experiment: Measuring Thermal Conductivity

Data Table
Sample Name h d1,a d2,a ta ma

Sample Name h d1 d2 t m