3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thermalconductivity
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Inphysics,thermalconductivity(oftendenotedk,,or)isthepropertyofamaterialtoconductheat.
ItisevaluatedprimarilyintermsofFourier'sLawforheatconduction.
Heattransferoccursatalowerrateacrossmaterialsoflowthermalconductivitythanacrossmaterialsof
highthermalconductivity.Correspondingly,materialsofhighthermalconductivityarewidelyusedin
heatsinkapplicationsandmaterialsoflowthermalconductivityareusedasthermalinsulation.The
thermalconductivityofamaterialmaydependontemperature.Thereciprocalofthermalconductivityis
calledthermalresistivity.
Thermalconductivityisactuallyatensor,whichmeansitispossibletohavedifferentvaluesindifferent
directions.See#Thermalanisotropybelow.

Contents
1
2
3
4

Unitsofthermalconductivity
Measurement
Experimentalvalues
Definitions
4.1 Conductance
4.2 Resistance
4.3 Transmittance
4.4 Admittance
5 Influencingfactors
5.1 Temperature
5.2 Chemicalphase
5.3 Thermalanisotropy
5.4 Electricalconductivity
5.5 Magneticfield
5.6 Convection
6 Physicalorigins
6.1 Latticewaves
6.2 Electronicthermalconductivity
7 Equations
8 Simplekineticpicture
9 Seealso
10 References
11 Furtherreading
12 Externallinks

Unitsofthermalconductivity
InSIunits,thermalconductivityismeasuredinwattspermeterkelvin(W/(mK)).Thedimensionof
thermalconductivityisM1L1T31.Thesevariablesare(M)mass,(L)length,(T)time,and
()temperature.InImperialunits,thermalconductivityismeasuredinBTU/(hrftF).[note1][1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

1/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Otherunitswhicharecloselyrelatedtothethermalconductivityareincommonuseintheconstruction
andtextileindustries.TheconstructionindustrymakesuseofunitssuchastheRvalue(resistance)and
theUvalue(conductivity).Althoughrelatedtothethermalconductivityofamaterialusedinan
insulationproduct,RandUvaluesaredependentonthethicknessoftheproduct.[note2]
Likewisethetextileindustryhasseveralunitsincludingthetogandtheclowhichexpressthermal
resistanceofamaterialinawayanalogoustotheRvaluesusedintheconstructionindustry.

Measurement
Thereareanumberofwaystomeasurethermalconductivity.Eachoftheseissuitableforalimited
rangeofmaterials,dependingonthethermalpropertiesandthemediumtemperature.Thereisa
distinctionbetweensteadystateandtransienttechniques.
Ingeneral,steadystatetechniquesareusefulwhenthetemperatureofthematerialdoesnotchangewith
time.Thismakesthesignalanalysisstraightforward(steadystateimpliesconstantsignals).The
disadvantageisthatawellengineeredexperimentalsetupisusuallyneeded.TheDividedBar(various
types)isthemostcommondeviceusedforconsolidatedrocksolids.

Experimentalvalues
Thermal
conductivity
isimportant
inmaterial
science,
research,
electronics,
building
insulationand
relatedfields,
especially
wherehigh
operating
temperatures
areachieved.
Experimentalvaluesofthermalconductivity.
Several
materialsare
showninthelistofthermalconductivities.Theseshouldbeconsideredapproximateduetothe
uncertaintiesrelatedtomaterialdefinitions.
Highenergygenerationrateswithinelectronicsorturbinesrequiretheuseofmaterialswithhighthermal
conductivitysuchascopper(see:Copperinheatexchangers),aluminium,andsilver.Ontheotherhand,
materialswithlowthermalconductance,suchaspolystyreneandalumina,areusedinbuilding
constructionorinfurnacesinanefforttoslowtheflowofheat,i.e.forinsulationpurposes.

Definitions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

2/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thereciprocalofthermalconductivityisthermalresistivity,usuallyexpressedinkelvinmetersperwatt
(KmW1).Foragiventhicknessofamaterial,thatparticularconstruction'sthermalresistanceandthe
reciprocalproperty,thermalconductance,canbecalculated.Unfortunately,therearediffering
definitionsfortheseterms.
Thermalconductivity,k,oftendependsontemperature.Therefore,thedefinitionslistedbelowmake
sensewhenthethermalconductivityistemperatureindependent.Otherwiseanrepresentativemean
valuehastobeconsideredformore,seetheequationssectionbelow.

Conductance
Forgeneralscientificuse,thermalconductanceisthequantityofheatthatpassesinunittimethrougha
plateofparticularareaandthicknesswhenitsoppositefacesdifferintemperaturebyonekelvin.Fora
plateofthermalconductivityk,areaAandthicknessL,theconductancecalculatediskA/L,measuredin
WK1(equivalentto:W/C).Thethermalconductanceofthatparticularconstructionistheinverseof
thethermalresistance.Thermalconductivityandconductanceareanalogoustoelectricalconductivity
(Am1V1)andelectricalconductance(AV1).
Thereisalsoameasureknownasheattransfercoefficient:thequantityofheatthatpassesinunittime
throughaunitareaofaplateofparticularthicknesswhenitsoppositefacesdifferintemperaturebyone
kelvin.Thereciprocalisthermalinsulance.Insummary:
thermalconductance=kA/L,measuredinWK1
thermalresistance=L/(kA),measuredinKW1(equivalentto:C/W)
heattransfercoefficient=k/L,measuredinWK1m2
thermalinsulance=L/k,measuredinKm2W1.
Theheattransfercoefficientisalsoknownasthermaladmittanceinthesensethatthematerialmaybe
seenasadmittingheattoflow.

Resistance
Thermalresistanceistheabilityofamaterialtoresisttheflowofheat.
Thermalresistanceisthereciprocalofthermalconductance,i.e.,loweringitsvaluewillraisetheheat
conductionandviceversa.
Whenthermalresistancesoccurinseries,theyareadditive.Thus,whenheatflowsconsecutively
throughtwocomponentseachwitharesistanceof3C/W,thetotalresistanceis3+3=6C/W.
Acommonengineeringdesignprobleminvolvestheselectionofanappropriatesizedheatsinkfora
givenheatsource.Workinginunitsofthermalresistancegreatlysimplifiesthedesigncalculation.The
followingformulacanbeusedtoestimatetheperformance:

where:
Rhsisthemaximumthermalresistanceoftheheatsinktoambient,inC/W(equivalenttoK/W)
Tistherequiredtemperaturedifference(temperaturedrop),inC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

3/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Pthisthethermalpower(heatflow),inwatts
Rsisthethermalresistanceoftheheatsource,inC/W
Forexample,ifacomponentproduces100Wofheat,andhasathermalresistanceof0.5C/W,whatis
themaximumthermalresistanceoftheheatsink?Supposethemaximumtemperatureis125C,andthe
ambienttemperatureis25CthenTis100C.Theheatsink'sthermalresistancetoambientmustthen
be0.5C/Worless(totalresistancecomponentandheatsinkisthen1.0C/W).

Transmittance
Athirdterm,thermaltransmittance,quantifiesthethermalconductanceofastructurealongwithheat
transferduetoconvectionandradiation.Itismeasuredinthesameunitsasthermalconductanceandis
sometimesknownasthecompositethermalconductance.ThetermUvalueisoftenused.

Admittance
Thethermaladmittanceofamaterial,suchasabuildingfabric,isameasureoftheabilityofamaterial
totransferheatinthepresenceofatemperaturedifferenceonoppositesidesofthematerial.Thermal
admittanceismeasuredinthesameunitsasaheattransfercoefficient,power(watts)perunitarea
(squaremeters)pertemperaturechange(kelvin).Thermaladmittanceofabuildingfabricaffectsa
building'sthermalresponsetovariationinoutsidetemperature.[2]

Influencingfactors
Temperature
Theeffectoftemperatureonthermalconductivityisdifferentformetalsandnonmetals.Inmetals
conductivityisprimarilyduetofreeelectrons.FollowingtheWiedemannFranzlaw,thermal
conductivityofmetalsisapproximatelyproportionaltotheabsolutetemperature(inkelvin)times
electricalconductivity.Inpuremetalstheelectricalconductivitydecreaseswithincreasingtemperature
andthustheproductofthetwo,thethermalconductivity,staysapproximatelyconstant.Inalloysthe
changeinelectricalconductivityisusuallysmallerandthusthermalconductivityincreaseswith
temperature,oftenproportionallytotemperature.
Ontheotherhand,heatconductivityinnonmetalsismainlyduetolatticevibrations(phonons).Except
forhighqualitycrystalsatlowtemperatures,thephononmeanfreepathisnotreducedsignificantlyat
highertemperatures.Thus,thethermalconductivityofnonmetalsisapproximatelyconstantathigh
temperatures.AtlowtemperatureswellbelowtheDebyetemperature,thermalconductivitydecreases,
asdoestheheatcapacity.

Chemicalphase
Whenamaterialundergoesaphasechangefromsolidtoliquidorfromliquidtogasthethermal
conductivitymaychange.Anexampleofthiswouldbethechangeinthermalconductivitythatoccurs
whenice(thermalconductivityof2.18W/(mK)at0C)meltstoformliquidwater(thermal
conductivityof0.56W/(mK)at0C).[3]

Thermalanisotropy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

4/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Somesubstances,suchasnoncubiccrystals,canexhibitdifferentthermalconductivitiesalongdifferent
crystalaxes,duetodifferencesinphononcouplingalongagivencrystalaxis.Sapphireisanotable
exampleofvariablethermalconductivitybasedonorientationandtemperature,with35W/(mK)along
theCaxisand32W/(mK)alongtheAaxis.[4]Woodgenerallyconductsbetteralongthegrainthan
acrossit.
Whenanisotropyispresent,thedirectionofheatflowmaynotbeexactlythesameasthedirectionofthe
thermalgradient.

Electricalconductivity
Inmetals,thermalconductivityapproximatelytrackselectricalconductivityaccordingtothe
WiedemannFranzlaw,asfreelymovingvalenceelectronstransfernotonlyelectriccurrentbutalso
heatenergy.However,thegeneralcorrelationbetweenelectricalandthermalconductancedoesnothold
forothermaterials,duetotheincreasedimportanceofphononcarriersforheatinnonmetals.Highly
electricallyconductivesilverislessthermallyconductivethandiamond,whichisanelectricalinsulator,
butduetoitsorderlyarrayofatomsitisconductiveofheatviaphonons.

Magneticfield
TheinfluenceofmagneticfieldsonthermalconductivityisknownastheRighiLeduceffect.

Convection
Airandothergasesaregenerallygoodinsulators,intheabsence
ofconvection.Therefore,manyinsulatingmaterialsfunction
simplybyhavingalargenumberofgasfilledpocketswhich
preventlargescaleconvection.Examplesoftheseinclude
expandedandextrudedpolystyrene(popularlyreferredtoas
"styrofoam")andsilicaaerogel,aswellaswarmclothes.Natural,
biologicalinsulatorssuchasfurandfeathersachievesimilar
effectsbydramaticallyinhibitingconvectionofairorwaternear
ananimal'sskin.

Ceramiccoatingswithlowthermal
conductivitiesareusedonexhaust
systemstopreventheatfromreaching
sensitivecomponents

Lightgases,suchashydrogenandheliumtypicallyhavehigh
thermalconductivity.Densegasessuchasxenonand
dichlorodifluoromethanehavelowthermalconductivity.An
exception,sulfurhexafluoride,adensegas,hasarelativelyhigh
thermalconductivityduetoitshighheatcapacity.Argon,agasdenserthanair,isoftenusedininsulated
glazing(doublepanedwindows)toimprovetheirinsulationcharacteristics.

Physicalorigins
Heatfluxisexceedinglydifficulttocontrolandisolateinalaboratorysetting.Attheatomiclevel,there
arenosimple,correctexpressionsforthermalconductivity.Atomically,thethermalconductivityofa
systemisdeterminedbyhowatomscomposingthesysteminteract.Therearetwodifferentapproaches
forcalculatingthethermalconductivityofasystem.
ThefirstapproachemploystheGreenKuborelations.Althoughthisemploysanalytic
expressions,which,inprinciple,canbesolved,calculatingthethermalconductivityofadense
fluidorsolidusingthisrelationrequirestheuseofmoleculardynamicscomputersimulation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

5/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

(http://rsc.anu.edu.au/~evans/evansmorrissbook.htm).
Thesecondapproachisbasedontherelaxationtimeapproach.Duetotheanharmonicitywithin
thecrystalpotential,thephononsinthesystemareknowntoscatter.Therearethreemain
mechanismsforscattering:
Boundaryscattering,aphononhittingtheboundaryofasystem
Massdefectscattering,aphononhittinganimpuritywithinthesystemandscattering
Phononphononscattering,aphononbreakingintotwolowerenergyphononsoraphonon
collidingwithanotherphononandmergingintoonehigherenergyphonon.

Latticewaves
Heattransportinbothamorphousandcrystallinedielectricsolidsisbywayofelasticvibrationsofthe
lattice(phonons).Thistransportmodeislimitedbytheelasticscatteringofacousticphononsatlattice
defects.ThesepredictionswereconfirmedbytheexperimentsofChangandJonesoncommercial
glassesandglassceramics,wherethemeanfreepathswerelimitedby"internalboundaryscattering"to
lengthscalesof102cmto103cm.[5][6]
Thephononmeanfreepathhasbeenassociateddirectlywiththeeffectiverelaxationlengthfor
processeswithoutdirectionalcorrelation.IfVgisthegroupvelocityofaphononwavepacket,thenthe
relaxationlength isdefinedas:

wheretisthecharacteristicrelaxationtime.Sincelongitudinalwaveshaveamuchgreaterphase
velocitythantransversewaves,VlongismuchgreaterthanVtrans,andtherelaxationlengthormeanfree
pathoflongitudinalphononswillbemuchgreater.Thus,thermalconductivitywillbelargelydetermined
bythespeedoflongitudinalphonons.[5][7]
Regardingthedependenceofwavevelocityonwavelengthorfrequency(dispersion),lowfrequency
phononsoflongwavelengthwillbelimitedinrelaxationlengthbyelasticRayleighscattering.Thistype
oflightscatteringfromsmallparticlesisproportionaltothefourthpowerofthefrequency.Forhigher
frequencies,thepowerofthefrequencywilldecreaseuntilathighestfrequenciesscatteringisalmost
frequencyindependent.Similarargumentsweresubsequentlygeneralizedtomanyglassforming
substancesusingBrillouinscattering.[8][9][10][11]
Phononsintheacousticalbranchdominatethephononheatconductionastheyhavegreaterenergy
dispersionandthereforeagreaterdistributionofphononvelocities.Additionalopticalmodescouldalso
becausedbythepresenceofinternalstructure(i.e.,chargeormass)atalatticepointitisimpliedthat
thegroupvelocityofthesemodesislowandthereforetheircontributiontothelatticethermal
conductivityL( L)issmall.[12]
Eachphononmodecanbesplitintoonelongitudinalandtwotransversepolarizationbranches.By
extrapolatingthephenomenologyoflatticepointstotheunitcellsitisseenthatthetotalnumberof
degreesoffreedomis3pqwhenpisthenumberofprimitivecellswithqatoms/unitcell.Fromthese
only3pareassociatedwiththeacousticmodes,theremaining3p(q1)areaccommodatedthroughthe
opticalbranches.Thisimpliesthatstructureswithlargerpandqcontainagreaternumberofoptical
modesandareducedL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

6/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Fromtheseideas,itcanbeconcludedthatincreasingcrystalcomplexity,whichisdescribedbya
complexityfactorCF(definedasthenumberofatoms/primitiveunitcell),decreasesL.Micheline
RoufosseandP.G.KlemensderivedtheexactproportionalityintheirarticleThermalConductivityof
ComplexDielectricCrystalsatPhys.Rev.B7,53795386(1973).Thiswasdonebyassumingthatthe
relaxationtimedecreaseswithincreasingnumberofatomsintheunitcellandthenscalingthe
parametersoftheexpressionforthermalconductivityinhightemperaturesaccordingly.[12]
Describingofanharmoniceffectsiscomplicatedbecauseexacttreatmentasintheharmoniccaseisnot
possibleandphononsarenolongerexacteigensolutionstotheequationsofmotion.Evenifthestateof
motionofthecrystalcouldbedescribedwithaplanewaveataparticulartime,itsaccuracywould
deteriorateprogressivelywithtime.Timedevelopmentwouldhavetobedescribedbyintroducinga
spectrumofotherphonons,whichisknownasthephonondecay.Thetwomostimportantanharmonic
effectsarethethermalexpansionandthephononthermalconductivity.
Onlywhenthephononnumberndeviatesfromtheequilibriumvaluen0,canathermalcurrentarise
asstatedinthefollowingexpression

wherevistheenergytransportvelocityofphonons.Onlytwomechanismsexistthatcancausetime
variationofninaparticularregion.Thenumberofphononsthatdiffuseintotheregionfrom
neighboringregionsdiffersfromthosethatdiffuseout,orphononsdecayinsidethesameregioninto
otherphonons.AspecialformoftheBoltzmannequation

statesthis.Whensteadystateconditionsareassumedthetotaltimederivateofphononnumberiszero,
becausethetemperatureisconstantintimeandthereforethephononnumberstaysalsoconstant.Time
variationduetophonondecayisdescribedwitharelaxationtime()approximation

whichstatesthatthemorethephononnumberdeviatesfromitsequilibriumvalue,themoreitstime
variationincreases.Atsteadystateconditionsandlocalthermalequilibriumareassumedwegetthe
followingequation

UsingtherelaxationtimeapproximationfortheBoltzmannequationandassumingsteadystate
conditions,thephononthermalconductivityLcanbedetermined.ThetemperaturedependenceforL
originatesfromthevarietyofprocesses,whosesignificanceforLdependsonthetemperaturerangeof
interest.MeanfreepathisonefactorthatdeterminesthetemperaturedependenceforL,asstatedinthe
followingequation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

7/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

whereisthemeanfreepathforphononand

denotestheheatcapacity.Thisequationisaresult

ofcombiningthefourpreviousequationswitheachotherandknowingthat
isotropicsystemsand

forcubicor

.[13]

Atlowtemperatures(<10K)theanharmonicinteractiondoesnotinfluencethemeanfreepathand
therefore,thethermalresistivityisdeterminedonlyfromprocessesforwhichqconservationdoesnot
hold.Theseprocessesincludethescatteringofphononsbycrystaldefects,orthescatteringfromthe
surfaceofthecrystalincaseofhighqualitysinglecrystal.Therefore,thermalconductancedependson
theexternaldimensionsofthecrystalandthequalityofthesurface.Thus,temperaturedependenceofL
isdeterminedbythespecificheatandisthereforeproportionaltoT3.[13]
Phononquasimomentumisdefinedasqanddiffersfromnormalmomentumbecauseitisonlydefined
withinanarbitraryreciprocallatticevector.Athighertemperatures(10K<T<),theconservationof
energy
andquasimomentum
,whereq1iswavevectorofthe
incidentphononandq2,q3arewavevectorsoftheresultantphonons,mayalsoinvolveareciprocal
latticevectorGcomplicatingtheenergytransportprocess.Theseprocessescanalsoreversethedirection
ofenergytransport.
Therefore,theseprocessesarealsoknownasUmklapp(U)processesandcanonlyoccurwhenphonons
withsufficientlylargeqvectorsareexcited,becauseunlessthesumofq2andq3pointsoutsideofthe
Brillouinzonethemomentumisconservedandtheprocessisnormalscattering(Nprocess).The
probabilityofaphonontohaveenergyEisgivenbytheBoltzmanndistribution
.ToU
processtooccurthedecayingphonontohaveawavevectorq1thatisroughlyhalfofthediameterofthe
Brillouinzone,becauseotherwisequasimomentumwouldnotbeconserved.
Therefore,thesephononshavetopossessenergyof
,whichisasignificantfractionofDebye
energythatisneededtogeneratenewphonons.Theprobabilityforthisisproportionalto
,with
.Temperaturedependenceofthemeanfreepathhasanexponentialform
.Thepresenceof
thereciprocallatticewavevectorimpliesanetphononbackscatteringandaresistancetophononand
thermaltransportresultingfiniteL,[12]asitmeansthatmomentumisnotconserved.Onlymomentum
nonconservingprocessescancausethermalresistance.[13]
Athightemperatures(T>)themeanfreepathandthereforeLhasatemperaturedependenceT1,to
whichonearrivesfromformula
bymakingthefollowingapproximation
andwriting
.ThisdependencyisknownasEucken'slawandoriginatesfromthe
temperaturedependencyoftheprobabilityfortheUprocesstooccur.[12][13]
ThermalconductivityisusuallydescribedbytheBoltzmannequationwiththerelaxationtime
approximationinwhichphononscatteringisalimitingfactor.Anotherapproachistouseanalytic
modelsormoleculardynamicsorMonteCarlobasedmethodstodescribethermalconductivityinsolids.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

8/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Shortwavelengthphononsarestronglyscatteredbyimpurityatomsifanalloyedphaseispresent,but
midandlongwavelengthphononsarelessaffected.Midandlongwavelengthphononscarrysignificant
fractionofheat,sotofurtherreducelatticethermalconductivityonehastointroducestructurestoscatter
thesephonons.Thisisachievedbyintroducinginterfacescatteringmechanism,whichrequiresstructures
whosecharacteristiclengthislongerthanthatofimpurityatom.Somepossiblewaystorealizethese
interfacesarenanocompositesandembeddednanoparticles/structures.[14]

Electronicthermalconductivity
Hotelectronsfromhigherenergystatescarrymorethermalenergythancoldelectrons,whileelectrical
conductivityisratherinsensitivetotheenergydistributionofcarriersbecausetheamountofchargethat
electronscarry,doesnotdependontheirenergy.Thisisaphysicalreasonforthegreatersensitivityof
electronicthermalconductivitytoenergydependenceofdensityofstatesandrelaxationtime,
respectively.[12]
MahanandSofo(PNAS199693(15)74367439)showedthatmaterialswithacertainelectronstructure
havereducedelectronthermalconductivity.Basedontheiranalysisonecandemonstratethatifthe
electrondensityofstatesinthematerialisclosetothedeltafunction,theelectronicthermalconductivity
dropstozero.Bytakingthefollowingequation
,where0istheelectronicthermal
conductivitywhentheelectrochemicalpotentialgradientinsidethesampleiszero,asastartingpoint.As
nextstepthetransportcoefficientsarewrittenasfollowing
,

,
where

anda0theBohrradius.ThedimensionlessintegralsInaredefinedas

wheres(x)isthedimensionlesstransportdistributionfunction.TheintegralsInarethemomentsofthe
function
,
wherexistheenergyofcarriers.Bysubstitutingthepreviousformulasforthetransportcoefficienttothe
equationforEwegetthefollowingequation
.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

9/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

FromthepreviousequationweseethatEtobezerothebracketedtermcontainingIntermshavetobe
zero.Nowifweassumethat
,
whereistheDiracdeltafunction,Intermsgetthefollowingexpressions
,
,
.
BysubstitutingtheseexpressionstotheequationforE,weseethatitgoestozero.Therefore,P(x)has
tobedeltafunction.[14]

Equations
InanisotropicmediumthethermalconductivityistheparameterkintheFourierexpressionfortheheat
flux

where istheheatflux(amountofheatflowingpersecondandperunitarea)and
thetemperature
gradient.Thesignintheexpressionischosensothatalwaysk>0asheatalwaysflowsfromahigh
temperaturetoalowtemperature.Thisisadirectconsequenceofthesecondlawofthermodynamics.
Intheonedimensionalcaseq=H/AwithHtheamountofheatflowingpersecondthroughasurface
withareaAandthetemperaturegradientisdT/dxso

Incaseofathermallyinsulatedbar(exceptattheends)inthesteadystateHisconstant.IfAisconstant
aswelltheexpressioncanbeintegratedwiththeresult

whereTHandTLarethetemperaturesatthehotendandthecoldendrespectively,andListhelengthof
thebar.Itisconvenienttointroducethethermalconductivityintegral

Theheatflowrateisthengivenby

Ifthetemperaturedifferenceissmallkcanbetakenasconstant.Inthatcase
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

10/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Simplekineticpicture
Inthissectionwewillmotivateanexpressionforthethermal
conductivityintermsofmicroscopicparameters.
Consideragasofparticlesofnegligiblevolumegovernedhard
coreinteractionsandwithinaverticaltemperaturegradient.The
uppersideishotandthelowersidecold.Thereisadownward
energyflowbecausethegasatoms,goingdown,haveahigher
energythantheatomsgoingup.Thenetflowofenergyper
secondistheheatflowH,whichisproportionaltothenumberof
particlesthatcrosstheareaApersecond.Infact,Hshouldalso
beproportionaltotheparticledensityn,themeanparticle
velocityv,theamountofenergytransportedperparticlesowith
theheatcapacityperparticlecandsomecharacteristic
temperaturedifferenceT.Sofar,inourmodel,

Gasatomsmovingrandomlythrough
asurface.

TheunitofHisJ/sandoftherighthandsideitis(particle/m3)(m/s)(J/(Kparticle))(m2)(K)=J/s,so
thisisalreadyoftherightdimension.Onlyanumericalfactorismissing.ForTwetakethe
temperaturedifferenceofthegasbetweentwocollisions

wherelisthemeanfreepath.

Detailedkineticcalculations[15]showthatthenumericalfactoris1/3,so,allinall,

Comparisonwiththeonedimensionexpressionfortheheatflow,givenabove,givesanexpressionfor
thefactork

Theparticledensityandtheheatcapacityperparticlecanbecombinedastheheatcapacityperunit
volume
so

whereCVisthemolarheatcapacityatconstantvolumeandVmthemolarvolume.
Forthehardcoregasthemeanfreepathisgivenby

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

whereisthecollisioncrosssection.So

11/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Theheatcapacityperparticlecandthecrosssectionbotharetemperatureindependentsothe
temperaturedependenceofkisdeterminedbytheTdependenceofv.Foramonatomicgas,withatomic
massM,visgivenby

So

Thisexpressionalsoshowswhygaseswithalowmass(hydrogen,helium)haveahighthermal
conductivity.
Formetalsatlowtemperaturestheheatiscarriedmainlybythefreeelectrons.Inthiscasethemean
velocityistheFermivelocitywhichistemperatureindependent.Themeanfreepathisdeterminedby
theimpuritiesandthecrystalimperfectionswhicharetemperatureindependentaswell.Sotheonly
temperaturedependentquantityistheheatcapacityc,which,inthiscase,isproportionaltoT.So

withk0aconstant.Forpuremetalssuchascopper,silver,etc.lislarge,sothethermalconductivityis
high.Athighertemperaturesthemeanfreepathislimitedbythephonons,sothethermalconductivity
tendstodecreasewithtemperature.Inalloysthedensityoftheimpuritiesisveryhigh,soland,
consequentlyk,aresmall.Therefore,alloys,suchasstainlesssteel,canbeusedforthermalinsulation.

Seealso
Copperinheatexchangers
Heattransfer
Heattransfermechanisms
Insulatedpipes
Interfacialthermalresistance
Laserflashanalysis
Specificheat
Thermalbridge
Thermalconductancequantum

Thermalconductancequantum
Thermalcontactconductance
Thermaldiffusivity
Thermalrectifier
Thermalresistanceinelectronics
Thermistor
Thermocouple

References
Notes
1.1Btu/(hrftF)=1.730735W/(mK)
2.RValuesandUValuesquotedintheUS(based
ontheimperialunitsofmeasurement)donot
correspondwithandarenotcompatiblewiththose
usedoutsidetheUS(basedontheSIunitsof
measurement).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

12/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

References
1.Perry,R.H.Green,D.W.,eds.(1997).Perry's
ChemicalEngineers'Handbook(7thed.).
McGrawHill.Table14.ISBN978007
0498419.
2."ThermalMassinBuildings".Reidsteel.
Retrieved23January2013.
3.NIST:Standardreferencedataforthethermal
conductivityofwater
(http://www.nist.gov/data/PDFfiles/jpcrd493.pdf)
4."Sapphire,Al2O3".AlmazOptics.Retrieved
20120815.
5.Klemens,P.G.(1951)."TheThermal
ConductivityofDielectricSolidsatLow
Temperatures".ProceedingsoftheRoyalSociety
ofLondonA208(1092):108.
Bibcode:1951RSPSA.208..108K.
doi:10.1098/rspa.1951.0147.
6.Chan,G.K.Jones,R.E.(1962)."Low
TemperatureThermalConductivityofAmorphous
Solids".PhysicalReview126(6):2055.
Bibcode:1962PhRv..126.2055C.
doi:10.1103/PhysRev.126.2055.
7.Pomeranchuk,I.(1941)."Thermalconductivityof
theparamagneticdielectricsatlowtemperatures".
JournalofPhysics(Moscow)4:357.ISSN0368
3400.
8.Zeller,R.C.Pohl,R.O.(1971)."Thermal
ConductivityandSpecificHeatofNoncrystalline
Solids".PhysicalReviewB4(6):2029.
Bibcode:1971PhRvB...4.2029Z.
doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.4.2029.

9.Love,W.F.(1973)."LowTemperatureThermal
BrillouinScatteringinFusedSilicaand
BorosilicateGlass".PhysicalReviewLetters31
(13):822.Bibcode:1973PhRvL..31..822L.
doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.31.822.
10.Zaitlin,M.P.Anderson,M.C.(1975)."Phonon
thermaltransportinnoncrystallinematerials".
PhysicalReviewB12(10):4475.
Bibcode:1975PhRvB..12.4475Z.
doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.12.4475.
11.Zaitlin,M.P.Scherr,L.M.Anderson,M.C.
(1975)."Boundaryscatteringofphononsin
noncrystallinematerials".PhysicalReviewB12
(10):4487.Bibcode:1975PhRvB..12.4487Z.
doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.12.4487.
12.Pichanusakorn,P.Bandaru,P.(2010).
"Nanostructuredthermoelectrics".Materials
ScienceandEngineering:R:Reports67(24):
1963.doi:10.1016/j.mser.2009.10.001.
13.Ibach,H.Luth,H.(2009).SolidStatePhysics:
AnIntroductiontoPrinciplesofMaterials
Science.Springer.ISBN9783540938033.
14.Minnich,A.J.Dresselhaus,M.S.Ren,Z.F.
Chen,G.(2009)."Bulknanostructured
thermoelectricmaterials:Currentresearchand
futureprospects".Energy&Environmental
Science2(5):466479.doi:10.1039/b822664b.
15.Kittel,C.Kroemer,H.(1980).ThermalPhysics.
W.H.FreemanandCompany.Chapter14.
ISBN9780716710882.

Furtherreading
Callister,William(2003)."AppendixB".MaterialsScienceandEngineeringAnIntroduction.
JohnWiley&Sons.p.757.ISBN0471224715.
Halliday,DavidResnick,Robert&Walker,Jearl(1997).FundamentalsofPhysics(5thed.).John
WileyandSons,NewYorkISBN0471105589.
SrivastavaG.P(1990),ThePhysicsofPhonons.AdamHilger,IOPPublishingLtd,Bristol.
TM58526AFR8819,Volume6(ArmyCorpofEngineerspublication)
Reid,C.R.,Prausnitz,J.M.,PolingB.E.,Propertiesofgasesandliquids,IVedition,McGraw
Hill,1987
R.Joven,R.Das,A.Ahmed,P.Roozbehjavan,B.Minaie,"Thermalpropertiesofcarbon
fiber/epoxycompositeswithdifferentfabricweaves",in:SAMPEInternationalSymposium
Proceedings,Charleston,SC2012

Externallinks
Thermopedia(http://www.thermopedia.com/content/1186/)
(http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp/41/12/10.1063/1.1725836)JChemPhysthermal
conductivityofelectrolytesolutions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

13/14

3/17/2016

ThermalconductivityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheimportanceofSoilThermalConductivity(http://tempsand.com.au/soilthermalandelectrical
conductivitytestbytempsand)forpowercompanies
JChemPhysgasmixtures
(http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp/32/4/10.1063/1.1730841)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thermal_conductivity&oldid=709227071"
Categories: Conceptsinphysics Heatconduction Physicalquantities Thermodynamicproperties
Heattransfer Rubberproperties
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon9March2016,at20:32.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionalterms
mayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

14/14