Thermal conductivity of aluminum at different temperatures

Thermal conductivity of aluminum at different temperatures

Junjie Chen

Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 2000 Century Avenue, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, P.R. China

Contributor: Junjie Chen, ORCID: 0000-0002-5022-6863, E-mail address: koncjj@gmail.com

The thermal conductivities of common substances span at least four orders of magnitude. Gases generally have low thermal conductivity, and pure metals have high thermal conductivity. For example, under standard conditions the thermal conductivity of copper is over ten thousand times that of air. Of all materials, allotropes of carbon, such as graphite and diamond, are usually credited with having the highest thermal conductivities at room temperature. The thermal conductivity of natural diamond at room temperature is several times higher than that of a highly conductive metal such as copper. The effect of temperature on thermal conductivity is different for metals and nonmetals. In metals, heat conductivity is primarily due to free electrons.

Thermal conductivity (watts per meter-kelvin), Temperature (degrees kelvin)