Method of Images direct mapping of one-dimensional heat flow patterns in an arbitrarily layered solid

A new method for direct analysis and visualization of one-dimensional heat flow patterns in an arbitrarily layered impulse-heated solid is presented. This analysis is based on the Method of Images in which the surface tempera ture/time response is described as the superposition of a free medium tempe rature field and additional image field contributions which account for the effects of thermal reflection and damping at subsurface interfaces. Throug h the introduction of a simple set of constraint rules, all sequences of th ermal reflection and transmission at sample interfaces which return signifi cant energy to the material surface in a given observation time may be syst ematically mapped and directly visualized.