Measurement Sensitivity Analysis of the Transient Hot Source Technique Applied to Flat and Cylindrical Samples

Abstract

The transient source measurement technique is a nonintrusive, nondestructive method of measuring the thermal properties of a given sample. The transient source technique has been implemented using a wide variety of sensor shapes or configurations. The modern transient plane source (TPS) sensor is a spiral-shaped sensor element which evolved from transient line and transient hot strip (THS) source techniques. Commercially available sensors employ a flat interface that works well when test samples have a smooth, flat surface. The present work provides the basis for a new, cylindrical strip (CS) sensor configuration to be applied to cylindrical surfaces. Specifically, this work uses parameter estimation theory to compare the performance of CS sensor configurations with a variety of existing flat sensor geometries, including TPS and THS. A single-parameter model for identifying thermal conductivity and a two-parameter model for identifying both thermal conductivity as well as volumetric heat capacity are considered. Results indicate that thermal property measurements may be carried out with greater measurement sensitivity using the CS sensor configuration than similar configurations for flat geometries. In addition, this paper shows how the CS sensor may be modified to adjust the characteristic time scale of the experiment, if needed.