21

Thermal Properties of Materials

21–3 Calculate the heat (in calories and joules) required to raise the temperature of 1 kg
of the following materials by 50C.
(a) lead (b) nickel (c) Si3N4 (d) 6,6–nylon

Solution: The heat is the specific heat times the weight times the temperature
change. Calories can be converted to joules by multiplying by 4.184.

(a) cPb  10.038 cal /gK211000 g2150 K2  1900 cal  7,950 J

(b) cNi  10.106 cal /gK211000 g2150 K2  5300 cal  22,175 J

(c) csilicon nitride  10.17 cal /gK211000 g2150 K2  8,500 cal  35,564 J

(d) c6,6 nylon  10.40 cal /gK211000 g2150 K2  20,000 cal  83,680 J

21–4 Calculate the temperature of a 100-g sample of the following materials, (originally
at 25C) when 3000 calories are introduced.
(a) tungsten (b) titanium (c) Al2O3 (d) low-density polyethylene

Solution: (a) W: 3000 cal  10.032 cal /gK21100 g21T  252

or TW  962.5°C

(b) Ti: 3000 cal  10.125 cal /gK21100 g21T  252 or TTi  265°C

(c) Al2O3: 3000 cal  10.20 cal /gK21100 g21T  252

or Talumina  175°C

(d) LDPE: 3000 cal  10.55 cal /gK21100 g21T  252 or TPE  79.5°C

225
226 The Science and Engineering of Materials Instructor’s Solution Manual

21–5 An alumina insulator for an electrical device is also to serve as a heat sink. A 10C
temperature rise in an alumina insulator 1 cm  1 cm  0.02 cm is observed during
use. Determine the thickness of a high-density polyethylene insulator that would be
needed to provide the same performance as a heat sink. The density of alumina is
3.96 g/cm3.

Solution: The heat absorbed by the alumina is:

heat  10.20 cal /gK2110°C213.96 g /cm3 211 cm  1 cm  0.02 cm2
 0.1584 cal
The same amount of heat must be absorbed by the polyethylene, which
has a density of about 0.96 g/cm3:
heat  10.44 cal /gK2110°C210.96 g /cm3 211 cm  1 cm  t2
0.1584 cal  4.224t
t  0.0375 cm

21–6 A 200-g sample of aluminum is heated to 400C and is then quenched into 2000 cm3
of water at 20C. Calculate the temperature of the water after the aluminum and
water reach equilibrium. Assume no temperature loss from the system.

Solution: The amount of heat gained by the water equals the amount lost by the
aluminum. If the equilibrium temperature is Te:
10.215 cal /gK21400  Te 21200 g2  11.0 cal /gK21Te  20212000 g2
17,200  43Te  2000Te  40,000
Te  28°C

21–7 A 2-m-long soda-lime glass sheet is produced at 1400C. Determine its length after
it cools to 25C.

Solution: ¢/  /oa¢T  12 m219  106 m/m°C211400  252

¢/  0.02475 m
/o  /f  ¢/  2  0.02475  1.97525 m

21–8 A copper casting is to be produced having the final dimensions of 1 in.  12 in. 
24 in. Determine the size of the pattern that must be used to make the mold into
which the liquid copper is poured during the manufacturing process.

Solution: ¢/  /oa 1Tm  To 2  /o 116.6  106 211084.9  252

¢/  0.01759/o
/  /o  0.01759/o
/  24  10.0175921242  24.422 in.
/  12  10.0175921122  12.211 in.
/  1  10.017592112  1.0176 in.

21–9 An aluminum casting is made by the permanent mold process. In this process, the
liquid aluminum is poured into a gray cast iron mold that is heated to 350C. We
wish to produce an aluminum casting that is 15 in. long at 25C. Calculate the
length of the cavity that must be machined into the gray cast iron mold.
 CHAPTER 21 Thermal Properties of Materials 227

Solution: The aluminum casting shrinks between the solidification temperature

(660.4C) and room temperature (25C). However, the gray cast iron mold
expands when it is heated from 25C to 350C during the casting process.
The original length of the cavity in the mold is therefore given by the
amount of contraction of the aluminum minus the amount of expansion of
the mold:
/  /o  ¢/gray iron  ¢/aluminum
15  /o  /o 3 112  106 21350  252  125  106 21660.4  252 4
15  /o  0.0039/o  0.015885/o  0.988/o
/o  15.182 in.

21–10 We coat a 100-cm-long, 2-mm-diameter copper wire with a 0.5-mm-thick epoxy

insulation coating. Determine the length of the copper and the coating when their
temperature increases from 25C to 250C. What is likely to happen to the epoxy
coating as a result of this heating?

Solution: Both the copper and the epoxy expand when heated. The final length of
each material, assuming that they are not bonded to one another, would be:
/Cu  1100 cm2116.6  106 21250  252  100  100.3735 cm
/epoxy  1100 cm2155  106 21250  252  100  101.2375 cm
The epoxy expands nearly 1 cm more than does the underlying copper. If
the copper and epoxy are well bonded, the epoxy coating will buckle,
debond, and perhaps even flake off.

21–11 We produce a 10-in.-long bimetallic composite material composed of a strip of

yellow brass bonded to a strip of Invar. Determine the length to which each material
would like to expand when the temperature increases from 20C to 150C. Draw a
sketch showing what will happen to the shape of the bimetallic strip.

Solution: If the two metals are not bonded to one another, the amount each would
like to expand is:
brass  10  1102118.9  106 21150  202  10.0246 in.
/Invar  10  110211.54  106 21150  202  10.0020 in.
The brass expands more than the Invar; if the two are bonded together, the
bimetallic strip will bend, with the Invar on the inside radius of curvature
of the strip.
Invar

Invar
Brass

Brass
228 The Science and Engineering of Materials Instructor’s Solution Manual

21–17 A nickel engine part is coated with SiC to provide corrosion resistance at high tem-
peratures. If no residual stresses are present in the part at 20C, determine the thermal
stresses that develop when the part is heated to 1000C during use. (See Table 14–3.)

Solution: The net difference in the amount of expansion is given by:

¢a  anickel  aSiC  113  4.32  106  8.7  106
The thermal stresses s in the SiC coating are:
s  E¢a¢T
 160  106 psi218.7  106 in./in.°C211000  202  511,560 psi
The nickel expands more than the SiC; therefore the stresses acting on the
SiC are tensile stresses. The tensile strength of SiC is only on the order of
25,000 psi (Table 14–3), so the coating will likely crack.

21–18 Alumina fibers 2 cm long are incorporated into an aluminum matrix. Assuming
good bonding between the ceramic fibers and the aluminum, estimate the thermal
stresses acting on the fiber when the temperature of the composite increases 250C.
Are the stresses on the fiber tensile or compressive? (See Table 14–3.)

Solution: The net difference in the expansion coefficients of the two materials is:
¢a  aAl  aalumina  125  6.72  106  18.3  106
The thermal stresses on the alumina are:
s  E¢ a¢T
 156  106 psi2118.3  106 in./in.°C21250°C2  256,200 psi
The aluminum expands more than the alumina; thus the alumina fibers are
subjected to tensile stresses. The alumina has a tensile strength of only
about 30,000 psi (Table 14–3); consequently the fibers are expected to
crack.

21–19 A 24-in.-long copper bar with a yield strength of 30,000 psi is heated to 120C and
immediately fastened securely to a rigid framework. Will the copper deform plasti-
cally during cooling to 25C? How much will the bar deform if it is released from
the framework after cooling?

Solution: If room temperature is 25C, then the thermal stresses that develop in the
restrained copper as it cools is:
s  Ea¢T  118.1  106 psi2116.6  106 21120  252
s  28,544 psi
The thermal stresses are less than the yield strength; consequently, no
plastic deformation occurs in the copper as it cools. When the copper is
released from its restraint, the residual stresses will be relieved by elastic
deformation. The strain stored in the material by contraction will be:
e  s E  28,544 18.1  106  0.001577 in./in.
The change in length of the copper bar is
¢/  124 in.210.001577 in./in.2  0.0378 in.
 CHAPTER 21 Thermal Properties of Materials 229

21–20 Repeat problem 21–19, but using a silicon carbide rod rather than a copper rod.
(See Table 14–3.)

Solution: SiC has a modulus of 60  106 psi (Table 14–3). The thermal stresses are:
s  Ea¢T  160  106 psi214.3  106 21120  252
s  24,510 psi
The thermal stresses are less than the tensile strength of SiC (about 25,000
psi, Table 14–3). Thus the elastic strain stored in the SiC is:
e  s E  24,510 60  106  0.0004085 in./in.
The change in length of the copper bar is
¢/  124 in.210.0004085 in./in.2  0.0098 in.

21–21 A 3-cm-plate of silicon carbide separates liquid aluminum (held at 700C) from a
water-cooled steel shell maintained at 20C. Calculate the heat Q transferred to the
steel per cm2 of silicon carbide each second.

Solution: The temperature change through the

x  3 cm thick SiC is
T  700 
20  680C. The temperature gradient is thus:
¢T ¢x  680 3  226.7°C /cm
The thermal conductivity is 0.21 cal/cm # s # K; thus:
Q A  10.2121226.72  47.6 cal /cm2 # s

21–22 A sheet of 0.01-in. polyethylene is sandwiched between two 3 ft  3 ft  0.125 in.

sheets of soda-lime glass to produce a window. Calculate (a) the heat lost through
the window each day when room temperature is 25C and the outside air is 0C and
(b) the heat entering through the window each day when room temperature is 25C
and the outside air is 40C.

Solution: The rule of mixtures will allow us to calculate the thermal conductivity of
this laminar composite. The volume fractions of each constituent are
determined from the thicknesses:
fPE  0.01 in. 10.01  0.125  0.1252  0.01 0.26  0.03846
fg  12210.1252 0.26  0.96154
1 K  0.03846 0.0008  0.96154 0.0032  348.556
K  1 348.556  0.00287 cal /cm # s # K
The surface area of the glass is 3 ft  3 ft, or
A  13 ft2 2 112 in./ft2 2 12.54 cm /in.2 2  8361 cm2
The thickness of the composite is:
¢x  10.26 in.212.54 cm /in.2  0.6604 cm

(a) The heat loss to the outside is:

Q  Kcomposite A¢T ¢x
 10.00287 cal/cm # s # K218361 cm2 2125 K 0.6604 cm2
 908.39 cal /s
230 The Science and Engineering of Materials Instructor’s Solution Manual

or:
Q  1908.39 cal /s213600 s/h2124 h /day2  78.5  106 cal /day

(b) The heat entering the room from outside is:

Q  10.00287 cal /cm # s # K218361 cm2 2140  252 0.6604 cm2
 545.03 cal /s  47.09  106 cal /day

21–23 We would like to build a heat-deflection plate that permits heat to be transferred rapidly
parallel to the sheet but very slowly perpendicular to the sheet. Consequently we incor-
porate 1 kg of copper wires, each 0.1 cm in diameter, into 5 kg of a polyimide polymer
matrix. Estimate the thermal conductivity parallel and perpendicular to the sheet.

Solution: We can first calculate the volume fractions of the two constituents in the
composite. The volume of each material is:
VCu  1000 g 8.93 g /cm3  111.98 cm3
VPI  5000 g 1.14 g /cm3  4385.96 cm3
fCu  111.98 1111.98  4385.962  0.025
fPI  0.975
Parallel to the wires:
K  10.025210.96 cal /cm # s # K2  10.975210.0005 cal /cm # s # K2
 0.0245 cal /cm # s # K
Perpendicular to the wires:
1 K  0.025 0.96  0.975 0.0005  0.026  1950  1950.026
K  0.00051 cal /cm # s # K
The thermal conductivity is much higher parallel to the conductive copper
wires than perpendicular to the wires.

21–24 Suppose we just dip a 1-cm-diameter, 10-cm-long rod of aluminum into one liter of
water at 20C. The other end of the rod is in contact with a heat source operating at
400C. Determine the length of time required to heat the water to 25C if 75% of the
heat is lost by radiation from the bar.

Solution: The heat required to raise the temperature of the water by 5C is:
Heat  11 cal /g # K211000 g2125  202  5000 cal
However, since 75% of the heat is lost by radiation, we must supply a
total of
Heat  4  5000  20,000 cal
The heat flux Q is cal per area per time; thus
Heat t  KA¢T ¢x
20,000 10.57 cal /cm # s # k21 4211 cm2 2 1400  202

t 10 cm
t  1176 s  19.6 min
 CHAPTER 21 Thermal Properties of Materials 231

21–26 Determine the thermal shock parameter for hot-pressed silicon nitride, hot pressed
silicon carbide, and alumina and compare it with the thermal-shock resistance as
defined by the maximum quenching temperature difference. (See Table 14–3.)

Solution: For Si3N4:

180,000 psi210.035 cal /cm # s # K2
TSP  sf K Ea 
145  106 psi213.3  106 cm /cm # K2
 18.86 cal # cm /s
For SiC:
125,000 psi210.21 cal /cm # s # K2
TSP  sf K Ea 
160  106 psi214.3  106 cm /cm # K2
 20.35 cal cm /s
#

For alumina:
130,000 psi210.038 cal /cm # s # K2
TSP  sf K Ea 
156  106 psi216.7  106 cm /cm # K2
 3.04 cal cm /s
#

The maximum quenching difference for silicon nitride is 500C, for sili-
con carbide is 350C, and for alumina is 200C. The maximum quenching
difference correlates reasonably well with the thermal shock parameter.

21–27 Gray cast iron has a higher thermal conductivity than ductile or malleable cast iron.
Review Chapter 12 and explain why this difference in conductivity might be
expected.

Solution: The thermal conductivities of the constituents in the cast irons are:
Kgraphite  0.8 cal /cm # s # K
Kferrite  0.18 cal /cm # s # K
Kcementite  0.12 cal /cm # s # K
The gray cast iron contains interconnected graphite flakes, while the
graphite nodules in ductile and malleable iron are not interconnected.
Graphite, or carbon, has a higher thermal conductivity than does the
“steel” matrix of the cast iron. Consequently heat can be transferred more
rapidly through the iron-graphite “composite” structure of the gray iron
than through the ductile and malleable irons.