Stainless Steel Conductivity

Thermal conductivity k is the quantity of heat transmitted due to an unit temperature gradient in unit time under steady conditions in a direction normal to a surface of the unit area.

Stainless steel conductivity. Conductive heat transfer per unit area can be calculated as. Electric conductivity may be represented by the greek letter σ sigma κ kappa or γ gamma. Like steel stainless steels are relatively poor conductors of electricity with significantly lower electrical conductivity than copper. Stainless steel has an even lower conductivity than carbon steel at about 15 watts per.

This article summarizes the thermal conductivity of stainless steel 304 and 316 at various temperatures in annealed condition also other stainless steel grades. 894 electrical conductivity of selected materials material conductivity mho m resistivity ohm m source stainless steel 301 0 14 107 1 nichrome 80 ni 20 cr 0 093 107 1 carbon graphite 105 1 germanium 2 2 1. Thermal conductivity k is used in the fourier s equation. In particular the electrical contact resistance ecr of stainless steel arises as the result of the dense protective oxide layer and limits is functionality in applications as electrical connectors 69.

Q a 17 w m k 2 10 3 m 80 o c 680000 w m 2. Conductivity is a measure of how well a material conducts an electric current. Thermal conductivity for stainless steel is 17 w m k from the table above. This source lists it as 7 496 times 10 7.

This material is a good and economical choice for building structural components. Wrought stainless steel annealed 201 2 50 6 900e 07 mhasm1 conductivity converted from resistivity 202 2 50 6 900e 07 mhasm1 conductivity converted from. Stainless steel has a much lower conductivity than carbon steel. Thermal conductivity of stainless steel.

The thermal conductivity of carbon steel is much lower than that of aluminum. Mathrm omega cdot m which is more than 40 times worse than copper. Calculate overall heat transfer coefficient. Calculate conductive heat transfer.

You are correct stainless steel is a really poor conductor compared to most metals. The reason is that conductivity in metals is high is that metals form a crystal lattice where the outer shell electrons are shared and easily move through the lattice. A thermal conductivity of about 15 watts per kelvin per meter and an electrical conductivity at room temperature of about 1 4 million siemens per meter. Electrical conductivity is the reciprocal quantity of resistivity.