The thermal diffusivity appears in the transient heat conduction analysis and in the heat equation. Thermal diffusivity represents how fast heat diffuses through a material and has units m2/s. Thermal Engineering
Thermal Diffusivity
In heat transfer analysis, the ratio of the thermal conductivity to the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is an important property termed the thermal diffusivity. The thermal diffusivity appears in the transient heat conduction analysis and in the heat equation.
It represents how fast heat diffuses through a material and has units m2/s. In other words, it is the measure of thermal inertia of given material. Thermal diffusivity is usually denoted α and is given by:
As can be seen it measures the ability of a material to conduct thermal energy (represented by factor k) relative to its ability to store thermal energy (represented by factor ρ.cp). Materials of large α will respond quickly to changes in their thermal environment, whereas materials of small α will respond more slowly (heat is mostly absorbed), taking longer to reach a new equilibrium condition.
Thermal Diffusivity in Heat Conduction Equation
Constant Thermal Conductivity
This equation can be further reduced assuming the thermal conductivity to be constant and introducing the thermal diffusivity, α = k/ρcp:
References:
Heat Transfer:
Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 7th Edition. Theodore L. Bergman, Adrienne S. Lavine, Frank P. Incropera. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2011. ISBN: 9781118137253.
Heat and Mass Transfer. Yunus A. Cengel. McGraw-Hill Education, 2011. ISBN: 9780071077866.
Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer. C. P. Kothandaraman. New Age International, 2006, ISBN: 9788122417722.
U.S. Department of Energy, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 2 of 3. May 2016.
Nuclear and Reactor Physics:
J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
W. M. Stacey, Nuclear Reactor Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN: 0- 471-39127-1.
Robert Reed Burn, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Operation, 1988.
U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.
Paul Reuss, Neutron Physics. EDP Sciences, 2008. ISBN: 978-2759800414.
Advanced Reactor Physics:
K. O. Ott, W. A. Bezella, Introductory Nuclear Reactor Statics, American Nuclear Society, Revised edition (1989), 1989, ISBN: 0-894-48033-2.
K. O. Ott, R. J. Neuhold, Introductory Nuclear Reactor Dynamics, American Nuclear Society, 1985, ISBN: 0-894-48029-4.
D. L. Hetrick, Dynamics of Nuclear Reactors, American Nuclear Society, 1993, ISBN: 0-894-48453-2.
E. E. Lewis, W. F. Miller, Computational Methods of Neutron Transport, American Nuclear Society, 1993, ISBN: 0-894-48452-4.
See also:
Heat Equation
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In heat transfer analysis, the ratio of the thermal conductivity to the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is an important property termed the thermal diffusivity. The thermal diffusivity appears in the transient heat conduction analysis and in the heat equation.
