Thermal Conductivity of Liquid Cyclohexane, n-Decane, n-Hexadecane, and Squalane at Atmospheric Pressure up to 353 K Determined with a Steady-State Parallel-Plate Instrument

Abstract

The present work reports experimental data on the thermal conductivity of the four hydrocarbons cyclohexane, n-decane, n-hexadecane, and squalane in the liquid state at ambient pressure up to temperatures of 353.15 K. Absolute measurements were performed with a steady-state guarded parallel-plate instrument (GPPI) with an average expanded (coverage factor k = 2) measurement uncertainty of 2 %. For the linear alkanes n-decane and n-hexadecane as well as the cyclic compound cyclohexane, the measured thermal conductivities agree with reference correlations in the literature, indicating the reliability of the technique used for the study of fluids with relatively low thermal conductivities and weak absorption of radiation. For the first time, experimental data are determined for the long-branched alkane squalane between (278 and 353) K, which cannot be accurately represented with estimation methods commonly used in the literature. In summary, the present measurement results confirm the existing database for representative linear and cyclic hydrocarbons and provide first experimental thermal conductivities for squalane.