Simultaneous determination of specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity at low temperature via the photopyroelectric technique

Electropyroelectric technique: A methodology free of fitting procedures for thermal effusivity determination in liquids

This paper describes an alternative methodology to determine the thermal effusivity of a liquid sample using the recently proposed electropyroelectric technique, without fitting the experimental data with a theoretical model and without having to know the pyroelectric sensor related parameters, as in most previous reported approaches. The method is not absolute, because a reference liquid with known thermal properties is needed. Experiments have been performed that demonstrate the high reliability and accuracy of the method with measurement uncertainties smaller than 3%.

Overcoming the influence of the coupling fluid in photopyroelectric measurements of solid samples

The thermal diffusivity of solid samples is systematically underestimated in a photopyroelectric technique used in the standard back configuration due to the presence of the coupling fluid between sample and detector. In this work, we propose a new method to overcome the undesired effect of the coupling fluid. It relies on the use of a transparent pyroelectric sensor and a transparent coupling fluid, together with a self-normalization procedure. In this way, we are able to measure accurately (a) the thermal diffusivity of opaque solid samples, and (b) the thermal diffusivity and the optical absorption coefficient of semitransparent solid samples.

Invited review article: Photopyroelectric calorimeter for the simultaneous thermal, optical, and structural characterization of samples over phase transitions

The study of thermophysical properties is of great importance in several scientific fields. Among them, the heat capacity, for example, is related to the microscopic structure of condensed matter and plays an important role in monitoring the changes in the energy content of a system. Calorimetric techniques are thus of fundamental importance for characterizing physical systems, particularly in the vicinity of phase transitions where energy fluctuations can play an important role. In this work, the ability of the Photopyroelctric calorimetry to study the versus temperature behaviour of the specific heat and of the other thermal parameters in the vicinity of phase transitions is outlined. The working principle, the theoretical basis, the experimental configurations, and the advantages of this technique, with respect to the more conventional ones, have been described and discussed in detail. The integrations in the calorimetric setup giving the possibility to perform, simultaneously with the calorimetric studies, complementary kind of characterizations of optical, structural, and electrical properties are also described. A review of the results obtained with this technique, in all its possible configurations, for the high temperature resolution studies of the thermal parameters over several kinds of phase transitions occurring in different systems is presented and discussed.

A travelling photothermal technique employing pyroelectric detection to measure thermal diffusivity of films and coatings

A travelling thermal wave technique employing optical excitation and pyroelectric detection of thermal waves propagating along a material film/coating on a substrate is described. The method enables direct measurement of thermal diffusivity. The technique involves measurement of the phase lag undergone by an optically excited thermal wave as it propagates along the coating. The set up has been automated for convenient and fast data acquisition and analysis. The technique has been adapted to measurement of thermal diffusivity of a commercial paint sample coated on glass and copper substrates. It is found that thermal diffusivity of the coating is independent of the thermal conductivity of the substrate. Dependence of thermal diffusivity on coating thickness shows exponential increase, with value reaching a constant at a characteristic high thickness. Measurements have been carried out on a few other samples with wide variations in thermal diffusivity, and the results compared with available reports or results obtained following other techniques. Analyses of the results show that the technique allows measurement of thermal diffusivity of coatings and films with uncertainties better than ±2.5%.

Thermal transport across incommensurate phases in potassium selenate: photo-pyroelectric and calorimetric measurements

The thermal transport properties-thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity-of potassium selenate crystal have been measured through the successive phase transitions, following the photo-pyroelectric thermal wave technique. The variation of thermal conductivity with temperature through the incommensurate (IC) phase of this crystal is measured. The enhancement in thermal conductivity in the IC phase is explained in terms of heat conduction by phase modes, and the maxima in thermal conductivity during transitions is due to enhancement in the phonon mean free path and the corresponding reduction in phonon scattering. The anisotropy in thermal conductivity and its variation with temperature are reported. The variation of the specific heat with temperature through the high temperature structural transition at 745 K is measured, following the differential scanning calorimetric method. By combining the results of photo-pyroelectric thermal wave methods and differential scanning calorimetry, the variation of the specific heat capacity with temperature through all the four phases of K(2)SeO(4) is reported. The results are discussed in terms of phonon mode softening during transitions and phonon scattering by phase modes in the IC phase.

Testing of a scanning adiabatic calorimeter with Joule effect heating of the sample

We evaluated a scanning adiabatic resistive calorimeter (SARC) developed to measure the specific enthalpy of viscous and gel-type materials. The sample is heated employing the Joule effect. The cell is constituted by a cylindrical jacket and two pistons, and the sample is contained inside the jacket between the two pistons. The upper piston can slide to allow for thermal expansion and to keep the pressure constant. The pistons also function as electrodes for the sample. While the sample is heated through the Joule effect, the electrodes and the jacket are independently heated to the same temperature of the sample using automatic control. This minimizes the heat transport between the sample and its surroundings. The energy to the sample is supplied by applying to the electrodes an ac voltage in the kilohertz range, establishing a current in the sample and inducing electric dissipation. This energy can be measured with enough exactitude to determine the heat capacity. This apparatus also allows for the quantification of the thermal conductivity by reproducing the evolution of the temperature as heat is introduced only to one of the pistons. To this end, the system was modeled using finite element calculations. This dual capability proved to be very valuable for correction in the determination of the specific enthalpy. The performance of the SARC was evaluated by comparing the heat capacity results to those obtained by differential scanning calorimetry measurements using a commercial apparatus. The analyzed samples were zeolite, bauxite, hematite, bentonite, rice flour, corn flour, and potato starch.