Thermophysical Analysis of Gioia Marble in Dry and Water-Saturated States by the Pulse Transient Method

Measurements of the thermophysical properties of Gioia marble in the temperature range from −20 to 60°C are presented. Thermophysical properties, namely, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and specific heat, were measured by the pulse transient technique. The data were compared for dry and water-saturated states. Despite the very low porosity of marble of about 0.6 vol%, an increase of the transport property parameters (thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity) up to 20% after water saturation was found. To verify the differences in the transport parameters, the ultrasonic pulse velocity method was employed. A detailed analysis of thermophysical property data during the freeze/thaw process for dry and water-saturated marble was carried out in the temperature range from −8 to 1°C, where an anomaly in the water freezing process was observed. In order to study artificial aging of Gioia marble, up to 60 freeze/thaw cycles were performed. No significant changes in the thermophysical properties of Gioia marble were observed during the artificial aging process. Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

Thermophysical Properties of Heterogeneous Structures Measured by Pulse Transient Method

This paper discusses differences in thermophysical parameters (thermal conductivity λ, thermal diffusivity a, and specific heat c) that can be found when experimental methods with different measuring regimes are used. Two classes of methods are compared, namely, classical methods using steady-state, equilibrium, and dynamic measuring regimes and transient methods. The data consistency formula λ = acρ gives a picture on data reliability when single-parameter methods are used. Results of analysis are verified on published, recommended, and measured data by transient methods considering homogenous materials (stainless steel A 310, BK 7, Perspex) and heterogeneous materials (composite C/C–SiC, aerated autoclaved concrete). Satisfactory agreement on data for the thermophysical parameters was found on homogenous materials only. Paper presented at the Fifteenth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 22–27, 2003, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

Simultaneous measurements of thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of liquids under microgravity conditions

A transient short-hot-wire technique is proposed and used to measure the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of liquids simultaneously. The method is based on the numerical evaluation of unsteady heat conduction from a wire with the same length diameter ratio and boundary conditions as those in the experiments. To confirm the applicability and accuracy of this method. Measurements were made for five sample liquids with known thermophysical properties and were performed under both normal gravity and microgravity conditions. The results reveal that the present method determines both the thermal conductivity and the diffusivity within 2 and 5%. respectively. The microgravity experiments clearly indicate that even under normal gravity conditions, natural-convection effects are negligible for at least l s after the start of heating. This method would be particularly suitable for a valuable and expensive liquid, and has a potential for application to electrically conducting and or corrosive liquids when the probe is effectively coated with an insulating and anticorrosive material. Paper presented at the Fourth Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference, September 5–8, 1995, Tokyo, Japan.     

Evolution of PVA gels prepared without crosslinking agents as a cell adhesive surface

Physical parameters (such as crosslinking density, crystallinity and mechanical properties) have been found to largely affect cellular behavior on polymer scaffolds. This study demonstrated that transparent pure Poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogels prepared via a freeze–thaw method can be made to support cell adhesion by controlling physical parameters such as concentration and the number of freeze–thaw cycles. For a given number of freeze–thaw cycles, (specifically 45), polymer concentration dependent structural and mechanical properties (such as tensile strength and stiffness) were correlated with cell adhesion. The maximum cell attachment occurred on the hydrogels with the greatest mechanical properties, crystallinity and crosslinking density. The hydrogel surfaces were more favorable to human dermal fibroblasts than human lens epithelial cells and retained their transparency as well as dimensional stability with only a small degree of swelling. Fibroblast laden hydrogels showed extensive alkaline phosphatase activity which confirmed their healthy proliferation and function. In this manner, this study suggests that transparent Poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogels prepared by the freeze thaw method described here should be further studied for numerous tissue engineering applications.     

Thermal Diffusivity Measurements in Fluids Containing Metallic Nanoparticles using Transient Thermal Lens

Thermal diffusivity measurements are carried out in nanofluids, solutions containing gold nanoparticles (~ 10–40 nm size), using the mode-mismatched dual-beam thermal lens technique. An Ar+ laser is used as the heating source, and an intensity stabilized He–Ne laser serves as the probe beam. This technique provides a reliable photothermal alternative for measuring thermal diffusivities of nanofluids and semitransparent samples. The characteristic time constant of the transient thermal lens was obtained by fitting the experimental data to the theoretical expression for the transient thermal lens. From this characteristic time, the fluid thermal diffusivity, which increases when the particle sizes increase was obtained. The size of the nanoparticles was obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis.Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

New Apparatus for Thermal Diffusivity and Specific Heat Measurements at Very High Temperature

The thermal characterization of a material under its conditions of use (temperature, pressure, etc.) is an essential step to check its adequacy with regard to a specific application and to predict its behavior. For needs of material characterization, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) has developed with Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d’Essais (LNE) a new apparatus to study thermophysical properties of solid materials in the range from 300 to 3300 K. This setup allows measurements of either the thermal diffusivity by the laser flash method or the specific heat by drop calorimetry. First, thermal diffusivity measurements have been performed on Armco iron and POCO AXM-5Q1 graphite. The measured values are in agreement with results obtained by other laboratories with a relative deviation of less than 6%.Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

Thermophysical Properties of Lithium Alloys for Thermal Batteries

Thermal batteries are electrochemical systems primarily used in defense applications. The long-term storage capability afforded by the electrically inert low-temperature properties of the electrolyte-separator enables the use of this technology for military purposes. The current state-of-the art for thermal batteries relies upon the Li/FeS₂ couple for power generation with the anode typically an Li–Si or Li–Al alloy. Thermal modeling of these primary battery systems is crucial to allowing the predictive capability of thermal evolution both in terms of the battery lifetime and thermal profile for the proper design of internal insulation and the surrounding environment. However, thermophysical properties for the anode alloys are not available in the literature. Thermophysical measurements of the alloys used in thermal batteries are essential for thermal modeling and simulation. The laser-flash method was used to determine the specific heat, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity for Li–Si and Li–Al alloys as a function of temperature.     

Evaluation of Thermophysical Properties of Functionally Graded Materials

In this work, by considering four-layered functionally graded material (FGM) specimens of Cu/Ni and PSZ/NiCrAlY, the transient characteristics and homogeneity of heat conduction media have been studied. The thermal diffusivities of the considered specimens have been measured by the laser flash method. As the temperature response curve of a FGM is very similar to that of a homogeneous material, it is difficult to distinguish a FGM from a homogeneous material by the shape of the temperature responses. Therefore, the thermal diffusivity obtained from the half-time method is usually taken as the corresponding value of the thermal diffusivity. The apparent thermal conductivity, obtained from the corresponding value of the thermal diffusivity and the average of the heat capacity of each layer, is different from the effective thermal conductivity, obtained from the sum of the heat resistances of each layer. As the values of the heat capacity of materials exist over a certain range, and the heat capacity distribution can be predicted when the materials in a FGM are known, the amount of error that will be caused when the effective thermal conductivity is replaced by the apparent value can be determined. Also, the heterogeneity of a FGM, based on an evaluation of thermophysical properties, has been discussed.Paper presented at the Seventh Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference, August 23–28, 2004, Hefei and Huangshan, Anhui,P. R. China.     

Thermal Diffusivity Measurements on Insulation Materials with the Laser Flash Method

An iterative approach is adopted to determine the thermal diffusivity of the xonotlite-type calcium silicate insulation material with very low thermal conductivity. The measurements were performed with a conventional laser flash apparatus by rear-face detection of the temperature response of the three-layered sample, where the insulating material is sandwiched between two iron slices. In the evaluation of the thermal conductivity, the theoretical curve is fitted to the complete temperature–time curve, instead of just using the t _1/2 point. The theoretical model is based on the thermal quadrupole method. The nonlinear parameter estimation technique is used to estimate simultaneously the thermal diffusivity, heat transfer coefficient, and absorbed energy. Based on experimental results, the optimal thickness range of the insulation material in the sample is indicated as 1.6 to 1.9 mm. The effects of the uncertainties of the thicknesses, contact resistance, and thermophysical properties of the three layers on the measurement uncertainty are estimated, giving an overall uncertainty in the thermal conductivity of approximately 7.5%.Paper presented at the Seventh Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference, August 23–28, 2004, Hefei and Huangshan, Anhui, P. R. China.     

Thermophysical Properties of U–Mo/Al Alloy Dispersion Fuel Meats

Uranium–molybdenum alloy dispersion fuel meats are being studied for utilization as a research reactor fuel. Thermophysical properties of U–Mo/Al dispersion fuel, where U–Mo was dispersed in aluminum in research reactor fuel for the study, were determined by computing the thermal conductivity through measurements of the specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity. Uranium molybdenum powder was first fabricated and utilized as U–Mo/Al dispersion fuel; the molybdenum-to-uranium ratios were 6, 8, and 10 mass% to produce the initial powder, which was then combined with aluminum (Al 1060). The volume fractions of U–Mo powder to aluminum were 10, 30, 40, and 50 vol.% to fabricate the dispersion fuel. The thermal diffusivity and specific heat capacity were measured by the laser-flash and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods, respectively. Although the thermal diffusivity showed a decreasing trend with the U–Mo volume fraction when the dispersion quantity was insignificant, the trend reversed with a higher dispersion level. The specific heat capacity increases monotonically with temperature; its value is larger for a smaller dispersion level. Additionally, the overall thermal conductivity increases with temperature. Finally, the thermal conductivity decreases with an increase in the amount of U–Mo powder in the dispersion fuel. Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids – Experimental and Theoretical

The thermal conductivity of nanofluids has been studied experimentally using the transient hot-wire method, and it is shown that a significant increase can be obtained. Existing methods for the prediction and correlation of the thermal conductivity are discussed. It is shown that a lot of work still needs to be done in this area.Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

Thermophysical Properties of Solid Phase Zirconium at High Temperatures

This paper presents experimental results on the thermophysical properties of relatively pure polycrystalline zirconium samples in the solid phase from room temperature up to near the melting point. The specific heat capacity and specific electrical resistivity were measured from 290 to 1970 K, the hemispherical total emissivity from 1400 to 2000 K, the normal spectral emissivity from 1480 to 1940 K, and the thermal diffusivity in the range from 290 to 1470 K. From these data, the thermal conductivity and Lorentz number were computed in the range from 290 to 1470 K. For necessary corrections the most recent values of the linear thermal expansion from the literature have been used. Subsecond pulse calorimetry for measuring heat capacity, specific electrical resistivity, and both emissivities and the laser flash method for measuring thermal diffusivity were applied. Samples in the form of a thin rod and in the form of a thin disk were used in the first and second methods, respectively. Measurement uncertainties were generally about 3% for heat capacity, 1.6% for specific electrical resistivity, 3–10% for the two emissivities, and from less than 1% up to 6% for thermal diffusivity. All the results are discussed in reference to available literature data.Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

On the Use of the Transient Hot-Strip Method for Measuring the Thermal Conductivity of High-Conducting Thin Bars

The thermal conductivity of thin, high-conducting ceramic bars—commonly used in mechanical tensile testing—is measured using a variant of the short transient hot-strip technique. As with similar contact transient methods, the influence from the thermal contact resistance between the sensor and the sample is accurately recorded and filtered out from the analysis—a specific advantage that enables sensitive measurements of the bulk properties of the sample material. The present concept requires sensors that are square in shape with one side having the same width as the bar to be studied. As long as this requirement is fulfilled, the particular size of the thin bar can be selected at will. This paper presents an application where the present technique is applied to study structural changes or degradation in reinforced carbon–carbon (RCC) bars exposed to thermal cycling. Simultaneously, tensile testing and monitoring of mass loss are conducted. The results indicate that the present approach may be utilized as a non-destructive quality control instrument to monitor local structural changes in RCC panels.Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

Thermophysical measurements on solid and liquid rhenium

A fast resistive heating technique was used to measure such thermophysical data of solid and liquid rhenium as enthalpy, specific heat, thermal volume expansion, and electrical resistivity. The measurements are performed with heating rates of slightly more than 10⁹ K · s ^–1 up to states of superheated liquid rhenium (7500 K).Paper presented at the Ninth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 24–27, 1985, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

Properties of Alkali Activated Aluminosilicate Material after Thermal Load

The porosity, bulk density, compressive strength, bending strength, thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity of a material based on alkali activated slag are determined at room temperature conditions for samples subjected to a thermal load up to 1200°C prior to the measurements and compared to reference material data. The results are discussed using material characterization experiments, namely, X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Experimental results show a remarkable high-temperature resistance of the studied material, which after pre-heating to 1200°C exhibits mechanical properties comparable to the reference material not exposed to any thermal load.Paper presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, September 5–8, 2005, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.     

Accurate measurement of the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of toluene andn-heptane

Accurate and simultaneous measurements of the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of toluene andn-heptane were made with an improved transient hot-wire method by using a transfer function having a feedback loop, in the temperature range of 0 to 45°C at atmospheric pressure. The accuracy of the empirical equations as a function of temperature is estimated to be 0.4 to 0.5% for the thermal conductivity and about 4% for the thermal diffusivity. Paper presented at the Fourth Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference, September 5–8, 1995, Tokyo, Japan.     

Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Diffusivity of Liquids. Part I: “Pure Conduction and an Example of a Solution”

The measurement of the thermal conductivity of liquids is rather complicated due to the nature of the fluid. To the conduction, which has to be characterized, are added the natural convection, the radiative transfer, and the perturbations caused by the presence of enclosure walls. The goal of this work, composed of two parts, is to implement an experimental bench allowing the measurement of the thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of liquids. The first part (Part I) presented here, is about pure conduction and focuses on several aspects involved in this measurement, which will lead one, based on theoretical and practical considerations, to choose a pulse method in a one-dimensional (1D) and cylindrical geometry to solve the problem. In the second section of this part, the problem of the parameters estimation is investigated with the presence of the walls of the measuring cell and this will allow us to define the characteristics of the walls (thickness and thermophysical properties). The entire problem is treated through the thermal quadrupoles method. Finally, in a last section, a setup at room temperature is described. The second part (Part II) of this work that is presented in another paper will show how it is possible to get rid of the convection by a judicious choice of the extension of the measuring cell and how the radiation effects can be taken into account to perform measurements at high temperatures (up to 500°C).Paper presented at the Seventh Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference, August 23–28, 2004, Hefei and Huangshan, Anhui, P. R. China.     

Equations for the Thermal Conductivity of R-32, R-125, R-134a,and R-143a

At present hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) such as R32, R-125, R-134a, and R-143a are widely used, and it is required to obtain accurate information of thermophysical properties, especially of the thermal conductivity of HFCs. In this paper new thermal conductivity equations for R-32, R-125, R134a, and R143a are proposed, applicable over a wide range of temperature and pressure including the critical region based on existing experimental data, and the reliability of the present equations is summarized. The problem that the thermal conductivity calculated from the thermal diffusivity in the critical region differs depending on the equation of state is also discussed. Paper presented at the Sixteenth European Conference for Thermophysical Properties, September 1–4, 2002, London, United Kingdom.     

Effect of freeze–thaw cycles on the stress–strain curves of unconfined and confined concrete

An experimental research was performed on the complete compressive stress–strain relationship for unconfined and confined concrete after exposure to freeze–thaw cycles. For the unconfined concrete, tests were carried out on three series of prisms specimens (100 mm × 100 mm × 300 mm) with water/cement ratio of 0.60, 0.54 and 0.48 respectively. While for confined concrete, two series of tied columns (150 mm × 150 mm × 450 mm prisms) with confinement index of 0.317 and 0.145 were prepared. Analytical models for the stress–strain relationship of frozen-thawed unconfined and confined concrete were empirically developed respectively. Through the regression analysis, formulations for the main parameters were established, including the compressive strength, peak strain and elastic modulus. Compared with the available experimental data, the proposed models were shown to be applicable to concrete after different numbers of freeze–thaw cycles.