Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Method for Measuring the Thermal Diffusivity of Intermediate Thickness Surface Absorbing Samples and Obtaining the Ratio of Anisotropy by the Converging Wave Flash Method

  • Published:
International Journal of Thermophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The converging thermal wave, flash technique for measuring thermal diffusivity is suitable for use on samples that are sufficiently thick or thin in comparison to the annular heat source, to be described by a three-dimensional or two-dimensional approximation of the heat conduction equation, and sufficiently absorbing to ensure generation of a heat source at the surface. However, samples of intermediate thickness, which lie between these regimes, cannot be analyzed. In this article, heat diffusion in the samples of varying thicknesses is modeled, and a semi-analytic expression is used to describe the dimensionality of any thickness, allowing the converging wave method to be extended to intermediate thickness samples. Applying the analysis to anisotropic samples, a method is proposed to find the anisotropy ratio of the in-plane to perpendicular-to-plane diffusivity using the converging wave method.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

A :

Ratio of sample thickness to detection distance

I 0 :

Modified Bessel function of order zero

l :

Sample thickness

N :

Number of spatial dimensions

p :

Dimensional parameter

Q :

Heat source strength

r :

Distance from center of the heat source

R :

Radius of the heat source

t :

Time

t max :

Time at which thermal signal reaches maximum

T :

Temperature

α :

Thermal diffusivity

α r :

Thermal diffusivity parallel to the surface

α z :

Thermal diffusivity perpendicular to the surface

ν :

Coefficient of heat loss

τ max :

The minimum value of t max

References

  1. Cielo P., Utracki L.A., Lamontagne M.: Can. J. Phys. 64, 1172 (1986)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. H.S. Carslaw, J.C. Jaeger, Conduction of Heat in Solids, 2nd ed., ch. 10 (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1959), p. 258

  3. Murphy F., Kehoe T., Pietralla M., Winfield R., Floyd L.: Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 48, 1395 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lu G., Swann W.T.: Appl. Phys. Lett. 59, 1556 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Chae H.B., Park H., Hong J.S., Han Y.J., Joo Y., Baik Y.J., Lee J.K., Lee S.W.: Int. J. Thermophys. 22, 645 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kim J.C., Kim D.J., Kim D.S., Kim S.W., Troitsky O.Yu.: Int. J. Thermophys. 22, 933 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Enguehard F., Boscher D., Deom A., Balageas D.: Mater. Sci. Eng. B5, 127 (1990)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Lide, D.R. (eds): CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Parker W.J., Jenkins R.J., Butler C.P., Abbott G.L.: J. Appl. Phys. 32, 1679 (1961)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tyndall National Institute, Lee Maltings, Prospect Row, Cork, Ireland

    Timothy Kehoe & Frank Murphy

  2. Technology Transfer Office, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    Patrick V. Kelly

Authors
  1. Timothy Kehoe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frank Murphy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Patrick V. Kelly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Timothy Kehoe.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kehoe, T., Murphy, F. & Kelly, P.V. A Method for Measuring the Thermal Diffusivity of Intermediate Thickness Surface Absorbing Samples and Obtaining the Ratio of Anisotropy by the Converging Wave Flash Method. Int J Thermophys 30, 987–1000 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-009-0574-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-009-0574-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation