Thermal Properties of Porcine Tissues Determined by Modified Photoacoustic Piezoelectric Technique

Using the modified photoacoustic piezoelectric (PAPE) technique, the influence of the piezoelectric transducer on the vibrations of the sample is taken into account. The modified PAPE technique is employed to determine the average thermal diffusivities of the porcine tissues, which include fresh and dry skin, fat, and muscle. The values of the thermal diffusivities of all measured porcine tissues determined by the modified PAPE technique are smaller than those of the conventional ones, especially for the dry skin and fresh fat samples. The thermal diffusivity of the fresh skin sample is the biggest, and the dry samples of different tissues have similar thermal properties with each other. These results show that the modified PAPE technique can provide thermal characterization of the porcine tissues more effectively.     

Non-destructive Imaging of Standard Cracks of Railway by Photoacoustic Piezoelectric Technology

The photoacoustic piezoelectric (PAPE) technique is an effective non-destructive testing technique for detecting defects in materials. In this paper, Chinese national standard railway cracks have been detected by thermal wave imaging based on the PAPE technique. First, the theory of the PAPE technique has been introduced and the corresponding imaging principle has been analyzed. Second, the corresponding experimental system has been setup, and the imaging tests have been carried out. Third, two kinds of standard cracks have been examined by the imaging system. The results show that thermal wave imaging based on the PAPE technique can effectively image and identify the cracks at different depths, which lays a foundation for practical application to the detection of rail cracks.     

A Modified Photoacoustic Piezoelectric Model for Thermal Diffusivity Determination of Solids

The conventional photoacoustic piezoelectric (PAPE) model did not take into account the influence of the piezoelectric transducer (PZT) on the vibrations of the sample, and this approximation brought certain error. In this article, a simple method has been proposed to investigate the vibrations of the sample–PZT combination, and the theory of the PAPE technique has been modified. By introducing an equivalent thickness parameter, the two-layered model has been simplified and an analytical expression for the phase of the PAPE output signal has been obtained. The experimental system has been set up, and the thermal diffusivities of several metal samples have been measured. The experimental results show that the modified model has a higher accuracy than the conventional model.     

Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity of Si and GaAs Wafers Using the Photothermal Displacement Technique

Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of Si and GaAs wafers were measured using the photothermal displacement technique, and the temperature dependence of these two quantities was investigated. Thermal diffusivity was obtained from the phase difference between the heating source and the signal, and thermal conductivity was determined from the maximum value of the signal amplitude in the temperature range 80 to 300 K. It was verified that an increase in doping concentration gives rise to a decrease in thermal conductivity at low temperatures. The experimental results obtained on samples with different types and doping concentrations are consistent with those expected from theoretical considerations.     

Microstructural,Structural, and Thermal Characterization of Annealed Carbon Steels

As is well known, the metallurgical microstructure of carbon steel is formed by ferrite and pearlite after the annealing heat treatment. When the cooling rate increases, the diffusive process is interrupted causing a change in the metallurgical microstructure which will affect steel properties. The aim of this work was to study thermal, structural, and microstructural properties of annealed carbon steel samples with four different carbon contents. Crystalline structure and crystalline quality were studied by the X-ray diffraction technique, where the full width at half maximum analysis showed that as the carbon content increased, the crystalline quality decreased. The metallurgical microstructure morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The thermal diffusivity and the heat capacity were determined by the photoacoustic technique and by the thermal relaxation method, respectively. The thermal diffusivity and the thermal conductivity decreased as the carbon content increased. The amplitude signal of photothermal radiometry increased as the carbon content increased, while the phase signal of photothermal radiometry did not show significant differences among studied carbon steel types. The photoacoustic technique represents an important alternative in the steel characterization field.     

Nd3+:Gd3Ga5O12晶体的热物理性能研究

提拉法生长了Nd^3＋：Gd3Ga5O12（Nd：GGG）单晶，用差示扫描量热法（DSC）和激光脉冲法分别测量了Nd：GGG激光晶体的比热和热扩散系数，计算得到晶体的导热系数，与用PPMS测量得到的导热系数相吻合．实验结果表明：Nd：GGG激光晶体具有较大的比热和导热系数，具有良好的热物理性能；Nd：GGG晶体的热扩散系数和导热系数随着温度的升高而减小；计算得到晶体的德拜温度为711K．     

Thin-Film Thermophysical Property Characterization by Scanning Laser Thermoelectric Microscope

This work presents a scanning laser-based thermal diffusivity measurement technique for thin films as well as for bulk materials. In this technique, a modulated laser beam is focused through a transparent substrate onto the film–substrate interface. The generated thermal wave is detected using a fast-responding thermocouple formed between the sample surface and the tip of a sharp probe. By scanning the laser beam around the thermocouple, the amplitude and phase distributions of the thermal wave are obtained with micrometer resolution. The thermal diffusivity of the film is determined by fitting the obtained phase signal with a three-dimensional heat conduction model. Experimental results are presented for a 150-nm gold film evaporated on a glass substrate.     

Thermal Characterization of Nanofluids with Different Solvents

Thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) and photopyroelectric (PPE) techniques were used to obtain the thermal diffusivity and effusivity of different nanofluid samples. The thermal effusivity of these samples was obtained by the PPE technique in a front detection configuration. In the case of the determination of the thermal diffusivity, TLS was used for the different solvents in the presence of gold nanoparticles (nanofluids). In this technique, an Ar⁺ laser and intensity stabilized He–Ne laser were used as the heating source and probe beam, respectively. The experimental results showed that thermal diffusivity values of the studied solvents (water, ethanol, and ethylene glycol) were enhanced by the presence of gold nanoparticles. Comparisons with literature values show good agreement with pure solvents. These techniques are applicable for all kind of liquid samples, including semitransparent ones.     

Thermal Wave Resonator Cavity Applied to the Study of the Thermal Diffusivity of Coffee Infusions

Among the photothermal methods, the photopyroelectric technique, in its several experimental configurations, has been extensively used to measure the thermal properties of liquids, mainly the thermal effusivity and diffusivity. In this paper, the use of the so-called thermal wave resonator cavity method, in the cavity-length-scan mode, to measure the thermal diffusivity of commercial coffee infusions with samples at different concentrations and degrees of degradation induced by heating cycles is reported. A linear relationship between the logarithm of the pyroelectric signal amplitude and the sample thickness was observed, in agreement with the basic theory for the experimental configuration used here, from which the thermal diffusivity values of the samples were obtained. The thermal diffusivity was found to be almost independent of the coffee concentration in water but that this parameter is sensitive to sample modifications induced by degradation. This work represents another step to demonstrate the capability of the used method for characterization of the thermal properties of liquids.     

Thermal Diffusivity of High-Density Polyethylene Samples of Different Crystallinity Evaluated by Indirect Transmission Photoacoustics

In this work, thermal diffusivity of crystalline high-density polyethylene samples of various thickness, and prepared using different procedures, was evaluated by transmission gas-microphone frequency photoacoustics. The samples’ composition analysis and their degree of crystallinity were determined from the wide-angle X-ray diffraction, which confirmed that high-density polyethylene samples, obtained by slow and fast cooling, were equivalent in composition but with different degrees of crystallinity. Structural analysis, performed by differential scanning calorimetry, demonstrated that all of the used samples had different levels of crystallinity, depending not only on the preparing procedure, but also on sample thickness. Therefore, in order to evaluate the samples’ thermal diffusivity, it was necessary to modify standard photoacoustic fitting procedures (based on the normalization of photoacoustic amplitude and phase characteristics on two thickness levels) for the interpretation of photoacoustic measurements. The calculated values of thermal diffusivity were in the range of the expected literature values. Besides that, the obtained results indicate the unexpected correlation between the values of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity with the degree of crystallinity of the investigated geometrically thin samples. The results indicate the necessity of additional investigation of energy transport in macromolecular systems, as well as the possible employment of the photoacoustic techniques in order to clarify its mechanism.     

Thermophysical Properties of Electrically Conductive SiC–(Nb,Ti–C)<Subscript>ss</Subscript>-Based Cermets

Multifunctional cermets are being developed for a range of novel applications. The present paper deals with thermophysical properties of electrically conductive SiC-based cermets. The cermets were prepared by in situ reaction using a two-step sintering process. The thermophysical properties, namely, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and heat capacity, were measured using the pulse transient technique. The microstructure and chemical composition of the samples were characterized by SEM (scanning electron microscopy), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy), and EDX (energy dispersive X-ray analysis) techniques. The observed thermophysical data were correlated with the observed microstructures and chemical nature of the SiC-based cermets.     

Measurements of the Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Diffusivity of Polymer Melts with the Short-Hot-Wire Method

In this paper, the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of four kinds of polymer melts were measured by using the transient short-hot-wire method. This method was developed from the hot-wire technique and is based on two-dimensional numerical solutions of unsteady heat conduction from a wire with the same length-to-diameter ratio and boundary conditions as those in the actual experiments. The present method is particularly suitable for measurements of molten polymers where natural convection effects can be ignored due to their high viscosities. The results have shown that the present method can be used to measure the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of molten polymers within uncertainties of 3 and 6%, respectively. Further, the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of solidified samples were also measured and discussed.     

Thermal Diffusivity of Compounds Loaded with Carbon Nanofibers

In this work, the thermal enhancement in silicone grease-based compounds as a function of carbon nanofiber (CNF) volume fraction was investigated. The thermal diffusivity of the samples was determined by a photopyroelectrical technique with a sample thickness scan. The results show that heat transport on these compounds strongly depends on the CNF volume fraction, due to the high thermal conductivity of CNF compared to the matrix; hence, a low loading percentage of the fibers produce a significant growth in the thermal diffusivity of the composite. The results show that the thermal diffusivity values of the CNF-silicone composite are comparable with commercial thermal compounds based on diamond and Ag microparticle fillers. The thermal conductivity of the samples was calculated, and its enhancement was analyzed using a modified Lewis–Nielsen model, taking into account the dependence of the maximum packing fraction and the form factor with the aspect ratio of the CNF. The influence of the Kapitza thermal resistance was discussed. These materials might find practical applications in systems in which the CNF improves the ebbing of heat away from semiconductor devices or in any other application in which heat dissipation is needed.     

Measurement and Analysis of Thermophysical Properties of Diorites in the Temperature Range from 253 to 333 K

Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity are simultaneously measured for a collection of diorite samples taken from Shewa-Shahbaz Garhi volcanic complex near Mardan, Pakistan by using the transient plane source (TPS) technique. The temperature dependence of the transport properties of these samples is studied in the temperature range from 253 to 333 K. Different relationships for the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity are tested. The samples are also characterized by their chemical composition, density, porosity, and specific gravity at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Theoretical calculation of the specific gravity parameter based on the chemical composition is in good agreement with the experimental observation. No correlation was found for the temperature dependence of the thermal transport behavior on porosity, chemical composition, and density.     

Two- and three-dimensional imaging of multicomponent systems using scanning thermal microscopy and localized thermomechanical analysis

The aim of this study was to develop a novel approach to the spatial characterization of multicomponent samples, based on the emergent technique of microthermal analysis. More specifically, we present an assessment of the use of scanning thermal microscopy as a means of component mapping via thermal conductivity; we include a new statistical approach to data handling, which allows reduction of topographic effects. We also introduce a novel three-dimensional mapping technique based on localized thermomechanical analysis. Tablets of paracetamol and hyproxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and 50:50 mixes of the two were prepared and the materials characterized in scanning and localized modes using a TA Instruments 2990 microthermal analyzer with a Thermomicroscopes Explorer AFM head and Wollaston wire thermal probe. L-TMA studies of the pure components indicated markedly differing thermal responses, with the paracetamol showing a sharp melting accompanied by a probe pull-in effect, while HPMC showed only thermal expansion over the temperature range studied. Thermal conductivity and topographic images indicated that two-dimensional differentiation between the components was possible in scanning mode. A means of delineating the relative contribution of the topographic and conductivity effects was developed based on a regression analysis of the thermal conductivity measurements on a set of terms representing the local surface curvature. The results of three-dimensional imaging using a grid of L-TMA measurements is presented. This technique utilized the distinct thermal responses of the two components to allow the probe to melt through the paracetamol down to the underlying HPMC. The advantages and limitations of this novel imaging method are discussed in the context of pharmaceutical and broader uses of the approach.     

Thermal diffusivity measurement of Zn, Ba, V, Y and Sn doped Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O ceramics superconductors by photoacoustic technique

The simple open photoacoustic cell technique is demonstrated for measuring the thermal diffusivity of the Zn, Ba, V, Y and Sn doped Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting ceramic samples. It is based upon the measurement of the photoacoustic signal as a function of the modulation frequency in the region where the sample thickness, l_s, equal to the thermal diffusion length of the sample, _s. The obtained thermal diffusivity values of Ba, V, Y and Sn doped in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system increase with the increasing dopant concentration at Ca side. However, the thermal diffusivity values of Zn doped sample decrease with the increasing of dopant concentration in the system. The measured thermal diffusivity value was found to be very dependent on the dopant atom and dopant concentration.     

Measurement of thermal diffusivity of solids using infrared thermography

We report measurement of thermal diffusivity of solid samples by using a continuous heat source and infrared thermal imaging. In this technique, a continuous heat source is used for heating the front surface of solid specimen and a thermal camera for detecting the time dependent temperature variations at the rear surface. The advantage of this technique is that it does not require an expensive thermal camera with high acquisition rate or transient heat sources like laser or flash lamp. The time dependent heat equation is solved analytically for the given experimental boundary conditions. The incorporation of heat loss correction in the solution of heat equation provides the values of thermal diffusivity for aluminum, copper and brass, in good agreement with the literature values.     

Thermal Diffusivity and Microstructure in API5L-X52 Carbon Steel

The determination of the thermal diffusivity of API5L-X52 carbon steel at room temperature, by means of the photoacoustic technique in a heat transmission configuration, is reported for the first time. Since literature values of thermal diffusivity for this low carbon steel do not exist, comparisons among our thermal diffusivity (α) results for API5L-X52 steel and those reported in the literature for steels with similar compositions are reported. Moreover, a study of the microstructure of this low carbon steel by means of scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) is presented. Paper presented at the Fifteenth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 22–27, 2003, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

A New Method to Overcome the Underestimation of the Thermal Diffusivity of Solid Samples Induced by the Coupling Fluid in Photopyroelectric Measurements

The thermal diffusivity of solid samples is systematically underestimated when using the photopyroelectric technique in the standard back configuration, due to the presence of the coupling fluid between the sample and detector. In this study, a new method is proposed to overcome this issue. It relies on the use of (a) a transparent pyroelectric sensor, (b) a transparent coupling fluid, and (c) a self-normalization procedure. In this way, the thermal diffusivity of opaque solid samples can be measured accurately.     

计量专业实验室环境振源分析及处理方案

为保证精密仪器的测量精度,阐述了研究环境振动对测量带来影响的问题的必要性。对地面振源的特征进行了分类总结,根据实验室仪器和设备的允许振动要求,从实验室防震与环境振源两个方面详细分析了实验室的总体设计中应注意的问题,提出实验室无防振措施情况下的防振距离设计方案,以及实验楼和实验室的消极隔震措施和积极隔振措施设计方案,该总结和处理方案可供计量专业实验室设计与建设领域人员参考与借鉴。