Engineering tools · Free to use
Plane Wall Conduction and Thermal Resistance
Plane Wall Conduction Calculator
Estimate thermal resistance and steady heat flow through a single or multilayer plane wall.
Input parameters
Inputs and calculations stay in this browser.
Result
Heat transfer rate
W
Enter wall-surface temperatures. Convection between the wall and surrounding fluids is not included.
Equation
R = Σ Li / (ki A); Q̇ = (Th − Tc) / R
Enter wall-surface temperatures. Convection between the wall and surrounding fluids is not included.
Applicability
- For a single or multilayer plane wall with the same heat-transfer area and uniform, constant conductivity in each layer.
- Assumes steady one-dimensional conduction and ignores contact resistance and edge losses.
- The hot-side temperature must not be below the cold-side temperature.
Worked example
Example: 10 m² area, 0.1 m thickness, 0.5 W/(m·K) conductivity and 10 K temperature difference give 0.02 K/W and 500 W.
For engineering estimates; check the operating conditions and applicable requirements for design.