SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENTS OF THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY AND THERMAL-DIFFUSIVITY OF INSULATORS, FLUIDS AND CONDUCTORS USING THE TRANSIENT PLANE SOURCE (TPS) TECHNIQUE

Simultaneous measurements of thermal conductivity and thermal diffusiv ity of composite red-sand bricks, glycerine and mercury have been made at room temperature by the recently developed transient plane source (TPS) technique. This paper describes, in brief, the theory and the ex perimental conditions for the simultaneous measurements of thermal con ductivity and thermal diffusivity of insulators, fluids and metals. Th e source of heat is a hot disc made out of bifilar spirals. The disc a lso serves as a sensor of temperature increase in the sample. The meas ured values of the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the se samples are in agreement with the values reported earlier using oth er methods. The advantage of the TPS technique is the simplicity of th e equipment, simultaneous information on thermal conductivity and ther mal diffusivity, and also the applicability of the technique to insula tors, fluids and metals.