A new approach for non-contact calorimetry: system identification using pseudo-white noise perturbation

This paper presents a new technique for non-contact calorimetry measurement of specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Based on pseudo-white noise modulation and system identification, commonly used in electronics and communication engineering, this procedure can be used to measure the transfer function of the sample temperature variation due to heating power variation. The heat capacity and internal heat transfer coefficient are then determined using the equivalence between the identified transfer functions of the temperatures measured at two locations and the analytical model proposed by Fecht and Johnson (Rev Sci Instrum 62:1299–1303, 1991) and Wunderlich and Fecht (Measur Sci Technol 16:402–416, 2005). This inverse problem is solved numerically using a Gauss–Seidel algorithm. A numerical simulation of a non-contact modulated calorimetry experiment is used to demonstrate the relevance of this new technique for indirect measurement of the heat capacity and heat transfer coefficients of solid samples presenting large Biot numbers (Bi > 0.4).