Investigating Resistance and Resistivity of

Aluminum on Different Temperatures

Dublin, Niño
Padayon, John Paul
Romulo, Norman Digma
Zafra, Christian James
September 12, 2023

Abstract
This experiment investigated the resistance and resistivity of aluminum on different
temperatures. MATLAB software was used for the experimentation. Results showed that
the resistivity and resistance of a conductor increase as the temperature increases, thus
the two variables are directly proportional to one another.

1 Introduction
Aluminum is one of the most common conductors available at the market, with an electrical
resistivity of around 26.5 nΩ-m. It has a variety of technical applications such as in the creation
of long-distance power lines, which are more ductile compared to copper. As an introductory
concept to power systems analysis, it is indispensable to learn the resistivity of aluminum and
other conductors to acquire a solid foundation in the analysis of the other parameters as well
as the proper design and specifications of transmission lines [1].

The relationship between the change ofa conductor’s

 resistivity to the change of tempera-
T +t2
ture is defined by the equation ρ2 = ρ1 T +t1 , where t1 and t2 denotes the initial and final
temperature of a conductor, respectively. Intuitively, the resistivity of a conductor varies lin-
early with respect to the change of temperature by just scrutinizing the equation. In order to
verify this assumption, this study aims to determine the relationship between the conductor
resistivity and temperature. Our hypothesis for this study will be as follows:

1. H0 : If the temperature increases, then the resistivity of a conductor decreases.

2. Ha : If the temperature increases, then the resistivity of a conductor increases.

2 Experimental Setup
2.1 Functions and Commands Used
MATLAB software was utilized for the experimentation as it is capable of plotting mathematical
models given a certain input. The following functions and commands were used during the
experimentation:

1
• plot()

• subplot()

• semilogx()

• linspace()

• grid on

• title()

• xlabel()

• ylabel()

2.2 The Procedure

In this subsection, the procedure of the experimentation was presented starting from the prepa-
ration of the variables required up to the extraction of the necessary data. Here are the steps
that the group followed in accomplishing the experimentation:

1. The group set the necessary variables along with their respective values. We note that the
temperature limit is a row vector from 0 to 150. Also, ρ2 is a function of the temperature
parameters of the conductor.

2. After having all the necessary variables, we used the subplot function to display the three
plots (i.e., Cartesian Plot for Resistivity, Semilog Plot for Resistivity, and Cartesian Plot
for Resistance) in one frame. We adjusted the third plot by moving it towards the center
to have a cleaner look of the plots.

3. We then extracted the necessary data by saving the plot in a PNG file format to the local
storage of the computer. This image will be used to display the data and the results of
this experiment.

3 Data and Results

2
 The three plots shown above are the visualized data acquired from the experimentation. All
three plots have temperature values (in Celsius) ranging from 0 to 150 which are all situated in
the x-axis. Likewise, the resistivity and resistance of Aluminum are all situated in the y-axis.
The independent variable is the temperature, while the dependent variable is the resistivity
and resistance.

4 Analysis
It was observed from all three plots that the resistivity/resistance of a conductor is directly
proportional to a given temperature. The resistivity/resistance increases as the temperature
increases. This observation makes sense considering the fact that in theory, the resistivity of a
certain conductor increases if its final temperature also increases, given by the equation:
 
t2 + T
ρ2 = ρ1
t1 + T

Furthermore, the results acquired can lead to an inference that temperature affects the resis-
tance of a conductor. If another experiment is conducted that investigates the behavior of the
resistance and resistivity with respect to a decreasing final temperature, then we are sufficiently
confident to infer that the resulting values of the resistance and resistivity will also decrease.
Temperature is one of the factors that can significantly determine the value of a conductor’s
resistance and resistivity.

5 Conclusion
The resistance and resistivity of Aluminum had increased with respect to the increasing tem-
perature presented in this experiment. Technical individuals especially those in the field of
electrical engineering should take into consideration the temperature threshold that is suitable
for Aluminum application for various materials and devices. Moreover, this experimentation
is not limited to Aluminum only, but it is applicable to all types of conductors. Investigating
how the resistance and resistivity of a conductor react with a change in temperature is vital in
the decision-making process in the field of engineering and technology.

References
[1] ”The Top 4 Uses of Aluminum - thyssen Materials (UK),” [Online]. Available:
https://www.thyssenkrupp-materials.co.uk/uses-of-aluminium.html. [Accessed 12 Septem-
ber 2023].

[2] J. Tatum, ”Resistance and Temperature - Physics LibreTexts,” [Online]. Available:

https://phys.libretexts.org/. [Accessed 12 September 2023].

[3] ”Relation Between Temperature And Resistances,” [Online]. Available:

https://unacademy.com/. [Accessed 12 September 2023].

[4] ”Temperature Dependence Resistance,” [Online]. Available: https://www.vedantu.com/.

[Accessed 12 September 2023].

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Appendices
%Parameters for Aluminum
t_1 = 20;
t_2 = 150;
T = 236.41;
L = 1;
temp_lim = linspace(0,t_2,151);
r_1 = 2.65e-8;
r_2 = r_1*((temp_lim + T)/(t_1 + T));
R = r_2/L;

subplot(2,2,1)
plot(temp_lim, r_2)
grid on
title(’Cartesian Plot: Resistivity’)
xlabel(’Temperature (Celsius)’)
ylabel(’Resistivity of Aluminum (\Omega-m)’)

subplot(2,2,2)
semilogx(temp_lim,r_2)
grid on
title(’Semilog Plot: Resistivity’)
xlabel(’Temperature (Celsius)’)
ylabel(’Resistivity of Aluminum (\Omega-m)’)

subplot(2,2,3.5)
plot(temp_lim, R)
grid on
title(’Cartesian Plot: Resistance’)
xlabel(’Temperature (Celsius)’)
ylabel(’Resistance of Aluminum (\Omega)’)