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

Abstract

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.