Measurements of the thermal conductivities of solid and liquid unbranched alkanes in the C16-to-C19 range during phase transition

This paper presents thermal conductivities for both solid and liquid unbranched alkanes ranging from C-16 to C-19. The thermal conductivities are measured with a method which gives both liquid and solid thermal conductivities at the temperature of phase transition. An assessment of the error of the method has been performed. The measurements of solid conductivities are in accordance with measurements reported previously and confirm the applicability of the method. Experimental liquid conductivities are higher than extrapolated values from the literature, but this is believed to be caused by structural changes which occur close to the melting-point temperature.