Instruments to Measure Thermal Conductivity of Engineering Materials - A Brief Review

Abstract

Insulation materials are used in various engineering applications for improving energy efficiency and performance. Efficient thermal conductivity is one of the most important factors pertaining to the determination of the efficiency of the system, so it is important to know how the material performs under various conditions in the sense of thermal conductivity and how it can be configured for better results. The aim of this paper is to paper is to identify efficacious apparatus and techniques for determining the thermal conductivity values through steady?state methods and transient methods. The review work presented herein discusses about various apparatus/methods considered and utilised by various researchers like the guarded hot plate, hot wire, modified hot wire, laser flash diffusivity, and many more, which are based on the principles of heat transfer for the measurement of thermal conductivity of engineering materials is done. These instruments have been found effective for the measurement of thermal conductivities of various materials. Such apparatuses are examined in the sense of their suitability for specific materials, such that it is possible to determine which instrument to be selected in context to the type of material for which the thermal conductivity is to be determined. Laser flash and Guarded Hot Plate apparatus are very frequently used and their use has increased for quite some time. How to cite this article: Singh S, Sharma V, Narad S. Instruments to Measure Thermal Conductivity of Engineering Materials - A Brief Review. J Adv Res Mech Engi Tech 2020; 7(1&2): 16-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2454.8650.202001