REFRACTORY_VDI_K

This function returns refractory thermal conductivity from tabulated VDI data for a selected material. Conductivity varies with temperature and is obtained by interpolation across the tabulated temperature points.

Conductive heat transfer is governed by Fourier’s law:

q = -k\nabla T

If temperature is not provided, the function uses the lowest tabulated-temperature value. Temperatures outside the supported range are clipped to the nearest bound.

Excel Usage

=REFRACTORY_VDI_K(ID, T)

ID (str, required): Refractory material ID (dimensionless).
T (float, optional, default: null): Temperature of the refractory material (K).

Returns (float): Thermal conductivity of the refractory material (W/m/K).

Example 1: Fused silica default temperature

Inputs:

ID	T
Fused silica

Excel formula:

=REFRACTORY_VDI_K("Fused silica", )

Expected output:

1.44

Example 2: Fused silica low temperature

Inputs:

ID	T
Fused silica	200

Excel formula:

=REFRACTORY_VDI_K("Fused silica", 200)

Expected output:

1.44

Example 3: Fused silica mid temperature

Inputs:

ID	T
Fused silica	1000

Excel formula:

=REFRACTORY_VDI_K("Fused silica", 1000)

Expected output:

1.58074

Example 4: Fused silica high temperature

Inputs:

ID	T
Fused silica	1500

Excel formula:

=REFRACTORY_VDI_K("Fused silica", 1500)

Expected output:

1.73

Python Code

Show Code

from ht.insulation import refractory_VDI_k as ht_refractory_VDI_k

def refractory_VDI_k(ID, T=None):
    """
    Return refractory thermal conductivity from VDI data.

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

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

    Args:
        ID (str): Refractory material ID (dimensionless).
        T (float, optional): Temperature of the refractory material (K). Default is None.

    Returns:
        float: Thermal conductivity of the refractory material (W/m/K).
    """
    try:
        result = ht_refractory_VDI_k(ID, T)
        return float(result)
    except Exception as e:
        return f"Error: {str(e)}"

Online Calculator

ID *

Refractory material ID (dimensionless).

Temperature of the refractory material (K).