Automated thermal conductivity apparatus

The importance of reducing the time required for taking thermal conductivity measurements has increased due to the need to conserve energy. A method is described that reduces man-hours to a minimum while getting the maximum information from the measurements.The equipment uses a microprocessor to automatically scan the temperature, a data logger to make the required temperature measurements, and a computer to plot the results of the thermal conductivity values obtained. Early experiments produced values accurate to within 5%. With further refinements this can be improved to 1%.Already, the effect of curing thermosetting materials has been seen in measurements. Future applications can include tailoring materials to provide specific thermal conductivity properties and make it possible for some of the differences between a priori calculations and experiments to be better understood.