Thermal Resistance Calculator

Formula

The formula to calculate the thermal resistance (R) is:

\[ R = \frac{X}{A \times K} \]

Where:

\( R \) is the absolute thermal resistance (K/W).
\( X \) is the thickness of the material parallel to heat flow (m).
\( A \) is the cross-sectional area perpendicular to heat flow (m²).
\( K \) is the thermal conductivity of the material (W/(K*m)).

What is Thermal Resistance?

Thermal resistance is a measure of the rate of change in temperature of a material per unit of energy added to the material. In other words, it is the resistance to the flow of heat energy. This concept is crucial in fields like engineering and construction to ensure proper thermal management.

Example Calculation

Consider an example where:

Thickness (X): 0.05 m
Cross-Sectional Area (A): 1 m²
Thermal Conductivity (K): 0.04 W/(K*m)

Using the formula to calculate the thermal resistance:

\[ R = \frac{0.05}{1 \times 0.04} = 1.25 \text{ K/W} \]

This means that the thermal resistance for this example is 1.25 K/W.