Thermal Conductivity Measurement System for Functional and Structural Products

An automated system for measuring the thermal conductivity of functional and structural materials was developed. The main building blocks of the setup are the following: heating unit and cooling unit creating a heat flux gradient in the test sample; thermal resistances for temperature registration and control; and thermal pads for better contact between parts of the setup and the sample. The effect of the thermal conductivity of thermal pads and thermal resistances on the distribution of thermal fields in the developed setup was studied by computer modelling. A control software for the measuring setup was developed based on the hardware implementation of the steady-state Fourier’s law-based method for the determination of thermal conductivity. The stopping criterion for the setup control software is the equality of heat fluxes in the heating and cooling units, as well as the stability of the thermal conductivity coefficient readings. The testing and calibration of the device were carried out using a sample of pure aluminum (99.999 wt.% Al). It was found that the experimental value of the thermal conductivity coefficient of the aluminum sample at room temperature (T = 22 °C) is <λ> = 243 ± 3 W/m·K. This value of the thermal conductivity coefficient is consistent with the literature data and experimental values obtained by the laser flash method, which ranges within λ = 210–260 W/m·K.