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Thermal conductivity: definitions
Definition
The thermal conductivity k is a thermo-physical material property, which characterizes the quantity of heat transferred through a unit surface area in a time unit when the heat transfer is generated by a temperature gradient.
This quantity appears in Fourier's law:
where:
-
is the flux density
of the heat (W/m2) - k is the tensor of the thermal conductivity (W/m/degree)
- T is the temperature (in degrees)
The thermal conductivity characterizes the ability of the material to transfer heat.
Dependence on temperature
The thermal conductivity can depend on the temperature: k=f(T). It increases or decreases when the temperature increases.