Application of the transient hot-wire technique to the measurement of the thermal conductivity of solids

A novel application of the transient hot-wire technique for thermal conductivity measurements is described. The new application is intended to provide an accurate means of implementation of the method to the determination of the thermal conductivity of solids exemplified by a standard reference ceramic material. The methodology makes use of a soft-solid material between the hot wires of the technique and the solid of interest. Measurements of the transient temperature rise of the wires in response to an electrical heating step in the wires over a period of 20 mus to 10 s allows an absolute determination of the thermal conductivity of the solid. The method is based on a full theoretical model with equations solved by finite-element method applied to the exact geometry. The uncertainty achieved for the thermal conductivity is better than +/-1%, and for the product (rhoC(p)) about +/-3%. The whole measurement involves a temperature rise less than 4 K.