International Comparison on Thermal-Diffusivity Measurements for Iron and Isotropic Graphite Using the Laser Flash Method in CCT-WG9

Abstract

The first international pilot study of thermal-diffusivity measurements using the laser flash (LF) method was organized by the working group 9 (WG9) of the Consultative Committee for Thermometry (CCT) of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Four National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) participated in this comparison. Thermal-diffusivity measurements on the Armco iron and the isotropic graphite IG-110 were carried out from room temperature to about 1200 K. The sample sets consist of five disk-shaped specimens of 10 mm in diameter and (1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, and 4.0) mm in thickness, each cut from the same block of material. These sample sets were specifically prepared for the comparison and sent to the participants. In the pilot comparison, the thermal diffusivity of each sample was estimated using the LF method with a specific extrapolating procedure. This procedure has the advantage of determining the inherent thermal diffusivity of the material. The extrapolated value in a plot of measured apparent thermal-diffusivity values versus the amplitude of the output signal corresponding to the temperature rise during each measurement is defined as the inherent thermal diffusivity. The overall results showed good agreement between independent laboratories, measurement equipment, and specimen thicknesses. The thermal diffusivities of the materials were determined using our measured results. A quantitative evaluation of the variability of the data obtained by the participants has been done, by evaluating the deviations from the reference value, the Z-value, and the En-number. Some data showed a large deviation from the reference value. It was concluded that these are caused by an insufficient time response of the measurement equipment and some difficulties with changing the pulsed heating energy. The effect of the thermal expansion on the thermal diffusivity was checked. It was found that the thermal-expansion effect was very small and negligible in this case.