K_TO_R

Converts thermal conductivity into thermal resistance for a slab of specified thickness and area. This is useful for moving between tabulated material conductivity and resistance-based design calculations.

The conversion is:

R = \frac{t}{kA}

Excel Usage

=K_TO_R(k, t, A)

k (float, required): Thermal conductivity (W/m/K).
t (float, required): Thickness (m).
A (float, optional, default: 1): Area (m^2).

Returns (float): Thermal resistance (K/W).

Example 1: Default area conversion

Inputs:

k	t
0.5	0.025

Excel formula:

=K_TO_R(0.5, 0.025)

Expected output:

0.05

Example 2: Larger area conversion

Inputs:

k	t	A
1.2	0.05	2

Excel formula:

=K_TO_R(1.2, 0.05, 2)

Expected output:

0.0208333

Example 3: Thin layer with higher conductivity

Inputs:

k	t
2	0.01

Excel formula:

=K_TO_R(2, 0.01)

Expected output:

0.005

Example 4: Thick layer with lower conductivity

Inputs:

k	t
0.2	0.1

Excel formula:

=K_TO_R(0.2, 0.1)

Expected output:

0.5

Python Code

Show Code

from ht.conduction import k_to_R as ht_k_to_R

def k_to_R(k, t, A=1):
    """
    Compute thermal resistance from thermal conductivity.

    See: https://ht.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ht.conduction.html

    This example function is provided as-is without any representation of accuracy.

    Args:
        k (float): Thermal conductivity (W/m/K).
        t (float): Thickness (m).
        A (float, optional): Area (m^2). Default is 1.

    Returns:
        float: Thermal resistance (K/W).
    """
    try:
        return ht_k_to_R(k=k, t=t, A=A)
    except Exception as e:
        return f"Error: {str(e)}"

Online Calculator

k *

Thermal conductivity (W/m/K).

t *

Thickness (m).

Area (m^2).