Performance characteristics of an apparatus based on the curve-fitting method for measuring thermal properties at cryogenic temperatures

This paper describes the performance characteristics of a new test apparatus and the measured results using the apparatus. It has been developed on the basis of Harmathy's curve-fitting method to measure, in a short time, the physical properties of the nonmetallic materials for a cryogenic storage tank. The apparatus has been used to measure the heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity of the materials at the same time in the temperature range of approximately ?180°C to +50°C.With this apparatus the thermal conductivity can be measured over a wide range of approximately 0.01 kcal m^?1 h^?1°C^?1 to 10 kcal m^?1 h^?1°C^?1 in the range of ?180°C to +50°C. The materials investigated were structural materials such as concrete, wood, frozen soil, and autoclaved lightweight concrete (ALC) and such insulation materials as calcium silicate, phenolic foam, and polyurethane foam.