Effective thermal conductivity of copper powders

Effective thermal conductivity of copper powders of different particle size has been measured experimentally at room temperature and normal pressure using the transient hot strip method. A variation in the values of the effective thermal conductivity of these powders with their porosities is observed. To explain this variation a model for a two-phase system (powders) is developed. Theoretical calculations of the effective thermal conductivity of powders using this model and a model developed by Hadley (1986) (volume-averaging formalism) have been carried out. It has been found on comparison that the theoretical results are in good agreement with the experiment.