ABSTRACT

Determination of thermal conductivity of material until now is usually carried out through experimental investigation and calculations in the laboratory. This approach though quite efficient is capital intensive. Given the advancement in technology and computing power, there should be a more cost-effective way of checking for the thermal conductivity ofmaterials. The Computational Fluid Dynamics and Finite Element approach has proven to be very effective in the analysis and simulation of heat transfer and temperature distribution of engineering systems in recent times. More specifically, the parameter estimation study in Comsol Multiphysics is a powerful technique that is originally used for estimating parameters so that experimental result matches with simulation results. Data oftemperature distribution across a test specimen and time will be used to estimate the thermal conductivity of various materials of known thermal conductivity with the view of using the same technique to estimate the thermal conductivity of new materials. The process includes solving a least square problem and performing curve fittings and interpolation using an optimization function in Comsol Multiphysics. The materials whose thermal conductivity would be estimated are Brass and Mild steel. The result obtained will be compared with the literature to determine the effectiveness of the model. Readily available materials such as Gas cooker/Electric heater, Stopwatch and thermometer will be used for the collection of data. The result ofthe thermal conductivity estimated is expected totally with the thermal conductivity from lab experiments available in the literature. The result ofthe research will help engineers estimate the thermal conductivity ofnew materials even at the comfort oftheir houses.