Hot Hardness, Thermal Diffusivity, and Electrical Resistivity of Uranium Oxycarbides

Several predominantly single-phase uranium oxycarbide compositions were examined to determine the effect of oxygen content on the hot hardness, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and electrical resistivity. Little difference was noted in hot hardness over the low-temperature range; however, increased oxygen content appears to reduce the hardness above 700°C. Thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity are reduced by increased oxygen content. This decrease is most pronounced at lower temperatures, and the temperature dependence varies significantly with oxygen content. The thermal diffusivity of oxycarbides having small percentages of oxygen decreases with increasing temperature, whereas that of oxycarbides with greater oxygen content increases, very slightly. The thermal conductivity data are in fair agreement with those reported for the monocarbide. Electrical resistivity is increased by increased oxygen content and shows a positive temperature dependence. The data indicate that electronic conductivity at 1500°C accounts for approximately 85% of the total thermal conduction at the 2-at.%-oxygen level and approximately 95% of the total at the 16-at.%-oxygen level.     

Thermal Diffusivity/Conductivity and Specific Heat of Mullite-Zirconia-Silicon Carbide Whisker Composites

The thermal diffusivity of mullite-ZrO₂-SiC_w materials was determined from 25° to 1000°C for composites in which the ZrO₂ had different amounts of monoclinic and tetragonal phase, and varying SiC _w content. At 25°C the thermal diffusivity of the matrix materials increased with increasing amounts of monoclinic phase, and little or no anisotropy was seen. Composites with SiC _w additions showed significant increases in thermal diffusivity and anisotropy as compared with the matrix materials. With increasing temperature, thermal diffusivities of the matrices and their respective composites decreased, and at 1000°C differences were small. Specific heat was determined from 25° to 700°C and thermal conductivity values calculated. Specific heat increased with temperature and was not composition dependent, except for one sample. Thermal conductivity values as a function of temperature followed the same trends as the thermal diffusivity values.     

Preparation and Thermal Properties of Dense Polycrystalline Oxyhydroxyapatite

Solution-grown crystals of hydroxyapatite were sintered into polycrystalline oxyhydroxyapatite bodies, using the range 1050 to 1450°C. The heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity of the sintered bodies were measured by the laser flash method at 130–1000 K. The sintered bodies were 94.4 to 99.4% of theoretical density and 0.8 to 12 μm in grain size. Sintering is accompanied by grain growth and by vacancy formation and cell contraction due to thermal dehydration. Typical values of the heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity at room temperature are 0.73 J/g K, 0.0057 cm²/s and 0.013 J/s cm K, respectively. Low-temperature thermal conductivity increased with increasing temperature, similarly to that of amorphous solids. This odd behavior is discussed in terms of phonon mean free path.     

Unsteady-State Method of Measuring Thermal Diffusivity and Biot's Modulus for Alumina Between 1500° and 1800°C.

An unsteady-state method was employed for measuring values of Biot's modulus and the thermal diffusivity of pure dense alumina in the temperature range 1500° to 1800°C. Limits were established for the possible range of values of diffusivity, and corresponding values of thermal conductivity were calculated.     

Role of Interfacial Carbon layer in the Thermal Diffusivity/Conductivity of Silicon Carbide Fiber-Reinforced Reaction-Bonded Silicon Nitride Matrix Composites

The role of an interfacial carbon coating in the heat conduction behavior of a uniaxial silicon carbide nitride was investigated. For such a composite without an interfacial carbon coating the values for the thermal conductivity transverse to the fiber direction agreed very well with the values calculated from composite theory using experimental data parallel to the fiber direction, regardless of the ambient atmosphere. However, for a composite made with carbon-coated fibers the experimental values for the thermal conductivity transverse to the fiber direction under vacuum at room temperature were about a factor of 2 lower than those calculated from composite theory assuming perfect interfacial thermal contact. This discrepancy was attributed to the formation of an interfacial gap, resulting from the thermal expansion mismatch between the fibers and the matrix in combination with the low adhesive strength of the carbon coating. In nitrogen or helium the thermal conductivity was found to be higher because of the contribution of gaseous conduction across the interfacial gap. On switching from vacuum to nitrogen a transient effect in the thermal diffusivity was observed, attributed to the diffusion-limited entry of the gas phase into the interfacial gap. These effects decreased with increasing temperature, due to gap closure, to be virtually absent at 1000°C.     

Thermal properties of hydrating calcium aluminate cement pastes

As the hydration of calcium aluminate cements (CAC) is highly temperature dependent, yielding morphologically and structurally different hydration products that continuously alter material properties, a good knowledge of thermal properties at early stages of hydration is essential. Thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity during CAC hydration was investigated by a transient method with a numerical approach and a transient hot wire method, respectively. For hydration at 15 °C (formation of mainly CAH₁₀), thermal diffusivity shows a linear decrease as a function of hydration degree, while for hydration at 30 °C there is a linear increase of thermal diffusivity. Converted materials exhibited the highest values of thermal diffusivities. The results on sealed converted material indicated that thermal conductivity increased with an increase in temperature (20-80 °C), while thermal diffusivities marginally decreased with temperature. The Hashin-Shtrikman boundary conditions and a simple law of mixtures were successfully applied for estimating thermal conductivity and heat capacity, respectively, of fresh cement pastes.     

Thermal Diffusivity/Conductivity of Alumina—Silicon Carbide Composites

Thermal diffusivity and conductivity values for several Al₂O₃-SiC whisker composites were determined. The thermal diffusivity values spanned the range from 373 to 1473 K, and thermal conductivity data wre obtained between 305 and 365 K. The thermal diffusivity decreased with increasing temperature and increased with SiC-whisker content. An estimate of the thermal conductivity of the whiskers was obtained from the direct thermal conductivity measurements, but attempts to derive whisker conductivity values from the thermal diffusivity data were not successful because the laser flash method lacks the required accuracy and precision. Specimens were subjected to two different thermal quench experiments to investigate the effect of thermal history on diffusivity. In the most severe case, multiple 1073- to 373-K quenches, radial cracks were observed in the test specimens; however, there was no change in diffusivity. The lack of sensitivity to thermal cycling appears to be related to the sample size.     

Role of the Interfacial Thermal Barrier in the Effective Thermal Diffusivity/Conductivity of SiC-Fiber-Reinforced Reaction-Bonded Silicon Nitride

Experimental thermal diffusivity data transverse to the fiber direction for composites composed of a reaction bonded silicon nitride matrix reinforced with uniaxially aligned carbon-coated silicon carbide fibers indicate the existence of a significant thermal barrier at the matrix-fiber interface. Calculations of the interfacial thermal conductances indicate that at 300°C and 1-atm N₂, more than 90% of the heat conduction across the interface occurs by gaseous conduction. The magnitude of the interfacial conductance is decreased significantly under vacuum or by removal of the carbon surface layer from the fibers by selective oxidation. Good agreement is obtained between thermal conductance values for the oxidized composite at 1 atm calculated from the thermal conductivity of the N₂ gas and those inferred from the data for the effective composite thermal conductivity.     

Specimen Size Effect of the Thermal Diffusivity/Conductivity of Aluminum Nitride

It has been generally found that the thermal diffusivity/conductivity of AIN measured by the laser-flash technique decreases with decreasing specimen size. The results of this study indicate that much of this effect can be attributed to the relatively large temperature rises for thin specimens, especially for high-energy laser pulses, and results from the combination of the noninearity of the commonly used type of IR detector and the strongly negative temperature dependence of the thermal diffusivity of AIN. The experimental results indicate that for reliable data, the specimen temperature rise at thermal equilirium should be kept to less than 1°C by using specimens with a thickness near 3 mm in combination with keeping the pulse energy to a reasonable minimum by attenuation of the laser beam by passing it through an aqueous solution of CuSO₄.     

Measurements of the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of polymers

In this paper, the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of nine polymers were measured by using the transient short‐hot‐wire method. The corresponding specific heat was measured with a commercial Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The effects of temperature on the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and the product of density and specific heat are further discussed. The results show that the transient short‐hot‐wire method can be used to measure the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and the product of density and specific heat of polymers within uncertainties of 3%, 6%, and 9%, respectively.     

Crystallographic Texture and Thermal Conductivity of Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings Deposited on Different Substrates

The crystallographic texture and thermal conductivity of zirconia coatings deposited by electron beam evaporation on a variety of substrates have been measured. It was found that the thermal conductivity of coatings deposited at the same temperature was independent of whether they were deposited on polycrystalline alumina, single-crystal sapphire, single-crystal zirconia, or fused silica. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of the coatings deposited at 700°C was 0.32 W/(m·K), increasing to 1.36 W/(m·K) for coatings deposited at 1150°C. Similarly, the crystallographic texture was also independent of the substrate and had a (111) fiber texture at 700° and 900°C, switching to a (200) fiber texture by 1050°C. The exception was the coating deposited at 1150°C on (111) single-crystal zirconia which was epitaxial and exhibited a thermal conductivity of 2.46 W/(m·K). It is concluded that the properties of zirconia thermal barrier coatings are determined by the growth conditions rather than those associated with nucleation on the underlying substrate.     

Effect of Thermal History on the Thermal Diffusivity and Thermal Expansion of an Alumina–Aluminum Titanate Composite

A study was conducted of the temperature dependence of the thermal diffusivity and thermal expansion of an alumina–aluminum titanate composite heated to a range of maximum temperatures followed by cooling to room temperature. Heating to temperatures above about 600°C resulted in a hysteresis behavior in which the data on cooling differed from the data obtained during heating. For both the thermal diffusivity and thermal expansion, the degree of hysteresis increased with increasing maximum temperature. On return to room temperature, following heating to a temperature of about 1200°C, the thermal diffusivity exhibited a significant decrease, with a corresponding increase in specimen size. This effect was attributed to an increase in microcrack density over the corresponding value prior to heating. On subsequent cycles of heating and cooling for a maximum temperature of 1200°C this decrease in thermal diffusivity was partially recovered, indicative of the structural integrity of the alumina–aluminum titanate composite of this study in practical applications involving temperatures of at least 1200°C.     

Thermal properties and performance of carbon fiber-based ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites (Cf-UHTCMCs)

The thermophysical properties of carbon fiber-based ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites have been determined to aid designers who need these properties when considering using the composites in ultra-high temperature aerospace applications. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and thermal diffusivity of the composites were measured parallel and perpendicular to the ply direction; the thermal conductivity was measured using the laser-flash method and the heat capacity calculated from the relationship between the thermal diffusivity, density, and thermal conductivity. Both the CTE and thermal conductivity showed higher values across the ply and increased with increasing temperature as expected, whilst the thermal diffusivity showed higher values parallel to the ply and increased smoothly with temperature. In addition, two different but related oxyfuel torch tests, based on oxyacetylene and oxypropane, were used to evaluate the thermo-ablation behavior of the composites. The tests showed how good the composites were at withstanding the ultra-high temperatures, high heat fluxes, and gas velocities involved.     

Thermal Conductivity Characterization of Hafnium Diboride-Based Ultra-High-Temperature Ceramics

We evaluated the thermal conductivity of HfB₂-based ultra-high-temperature ceramics from laser flash diffusivity measurements in the 25°–600°C temperature range. Commercially available powders were used to prepare HfB₂ composites containing 20 vol% SiC, some including TaSi₂ (5 vol%) and Ir (0.5 or 2 vol%) additions. Samples were consolidated via conventional hot pressing or spark plasma sintering. Processing differences were shown to lead to differences in magnitude and temperature dependence of effective thermal conductivity. We compared results with measured values from heritage materials and analyzed trends using a network model of effective thermal conductivity, incorporating the effects of porosity, grain size, Kapitza resistance, and individual constituent thermal conductivities.     

Temperature dependence of effective thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of treated and untreated polymer composites

Thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat, of treated and untreated oil palm fiber–reinforced PF composites were measured simultaneously at room temperature and normal pressure using the transient plane source (TPS) technique. An increase in thermal conductivity was observed in the fiber‐treated and resin‐treated composites. Surface modifications of fibers by prealkali, potassium permanganate, and peroxide treatments increased the fiber–matrix adhesion by increasing porosity and pore size of the fiber surfaces. The increase in crosslinking enhanced the thermal conductivity of a composite of resin treated with peroxide compared to other composites. Also an attempt was made to explain the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of amorphous polymer samples using the same technique. It was observed that at the glass‐transition peak of the polymer, thermal conductivity and diffusivity were maximum. Below and above this temperature their values decreased. This has been explained on the basis of predominant scattering processes. An empirical relationship was established for the theoretical prediction of thermal conductivity and diffusivity. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1708–1714, 2003     

Inverse Problem for Composites with Imperfect Interface: Determination of Interfacial Thermal Resistance, Thermal Conductivity of Constituents, and Microstructural Parameters

An explicit method is introduced to solve inverse problems for composites with imperfect interfaces. We apply the method to determine the thermal conductivity of constituents and the interfacial thermal resistance in SiC-particulate-reinforced aluminum-matrix composites and to estimate the whisker thermal conductivity, the interfacial thermal resistance, and the whisker alignment distribution in two types of SiC-whisker-reinforced lithium aluminosilicate glass-ceramic composites from their measured effective thermal conductivity reported in the literature. Certain bounds for these three properties of both SiC-whisker-reinforced glass-ceramic composites are obtained, and reasonable estimates for their exact values from room temperature to 500°C are made. The inverse problem is quite sensitive to noise in the measurements. We also comment on existing estimates.     

掺镁碳酸熔盐液体导热特性

为克服碳酸熔盐热导率较低的不足,提出通过向三元碳酸熔盐（Li₂CO₃-Na₂CO₃-K₂CO₃）掺杂金属镁粉来改善导热性能的新思路,采用静态熔融法制备了掺杂1%、2%掺镁碳酸熔盐复合材料。采用扫描电镜-X射线能谱、阿基米德法、差示扫描量热法（DIN比热测试标准）和激光闪光法,分别观察了掺镁碳酸熔盐形貌结构,测量了熔盐和复合熔盐液体的密度、比热容、热扩散系数,最后计算获得复合熔盐液体的热导率。研究结果表明,镁粉的加入改变了纯盐（三元碳酸熔盐）的形貌结构,熔体内形成大量的2~5 μm球体颗粒,与纯盐相比,1%掺镁碳酸熔盐液体密度、热扩散系数和热导率都得到增强,液体比热容减小,复合熔盐液体的平均热导率增加了21.67%;2%掺镁碳酸熔盐液体密度、热扩散系数和热导率同样得到增强,虽然复合熔盐液体的比热容减小,但其平均热导率仍然增加了19.07%。1%掺镁碳酸熔盐具有更高的液体密度、热扩散系数和热导率,可作为传热介质在太阳能热发电传蓄热系统推广。     

Measurement of the Thermophysical Properties of a Thermoplastic Ceramic Paste Across its Solidification Range Using Power-Compensated Differential Scanning Calorimeter

The specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity of a thermoplastic ceramic paste were investigated on a power-compensated, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) using the heat capacity spectral analysis method developed by Merzlyakov and Schick for measuring these parameters on low thermal conductivity solids. The paste features an ultra-fine zinc oxide powder (a number-length mean diameter, D _1,0, of 85 nm) as the discrete phase, and a thermoplastic continuous phase comprising a blend of organic waxes with a melting range of ca. 30°–70°C. This paste is formulated with a solids loading of 50 vol% and is currently used in a novel continuous casting process to manufacture pharmaceutical products. The properties of the paste were investigated over a temperature range encompassing the melt and solid states, and for solid loadings from 0 to 70 vol%. The results compare favorably with those obtained using transient line source and transient plane methods.     

Effect of Thermal Expansion Mismatch on the Thermal Diffusivity of Glass-Ni Composites

The effect of interfacial decohesion, due to the thermal expansion mismatch, on the thermal diffusivity of a hot-pressed glass matrix with a dispersed phase of nickel was investigated by the laser-flash technique at 25° to 600°C. The interfacial gap formed on cooling acts as a barrier to heat flow and lowers the thermal diffusivity to values below those predicted from composite theory and also creates a strongly positive temperature dependence of the thermdl diffusivity. Preoxidation of the Ni spheres promotes interfacial bonding and yields values of thermal diffusivity higher than those for nonoxidized spheres and a thermal diffusivity which is relatively temperature-independent. The results of the present study also confirm the criteria for the effective thermal diffusivity of composites established by Lee and Taylor.     

Simple and Inexpensive Flash Technique for Determining Thermal Diffusivity of Ceramics

A simple technique for determining the thermal diffusivity of ceramics at room temperature is presented. The technique is a variant of the well-known flash technique, but uses an inexpensive photo flash as the energy source, a fast-response paste-on thermocouple, and a precision digital voltmeter to measure the temperature rise. A data analysis technique, which does not need any knowledge of either the initial or the maximum sample temperature, is presented. Good agreement with the laser-flash technique for ceramics with thermal diffusivities in the range 0.5 × 10⁻⁶ to 75 × 10⁻⁶ m²· s⁻¹ is obtained. Measurements of thermal diffusivity of stainless steel and graphite (standard reference materials) indicate that the method is accurate to within 3%.