Experimental and Finite Element Analysis of Heat Conduction of Brass, Copper and Aluminium

Abstract

Thermal conductivity is the transmission of internal energy through electron movement or lattice vibrations within a substance from an area with warmer temperatures to one with lower temperatures between two adjacent materials. Kinetic activity escalates with temperature, resulting in accelerated molecular motion. This study examined the linear heat conductivity of three distinct samples: brass, copper, and aluminium. This was achieved by attaching the thermocouples and electric heater to the sockets on the Heat Transfer Experiments Base Unit (TD1002A), which also serves as the heat sink's cold water input and drain. The experimental base unit was utilized to achieve seven different temperatures; simultaneously, seven different temperatures were studied by the finite element analysis method (Ansys Workbench). Analysis of the gathered data revealed that, the temperature decreases progressively along the measurement points for all materials. Brass shows a reduction from 58 °C to 27 °C, copper from 55 °C to 28 °C, and aluminium from 58 °C to 29 °C. Among the tested materials, brass exhibits the largest overall temperature drop, while copper demonstrates the most uniform thermal decline, indicating material-dependent heat transfer behaviour. similarly, the results of finite element showed nearly the same values as the experimental results.