The Uncertainty in SCHF-DT Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Lotus-Type Porous Copper

Abstract

Lotus-type porous metals with many straight pores are attractive for use as heat-sinks because a large heat-transfer capacity can be obtained, due to the small diameter of the pores. In order to use lotus-type porous copper effectively as a heat sink, it is important to know the effective thermal conductivity considering the effect of pores on heat conduction in the material. Since these metals have anisotropic pores, a steady-state comparative longitudinal heat-flow method for measuring thermal conductivity, referring to an ASTM standard, is better than other methods. So far, the effective thermal conductivity of lotus-type porous copper has been measured by using specimens of different thickness (the SCHF-DT method). In this paper, the uncertainty in the effective thermal conductivity of a specimen measured using this method was evaluated by comparison between numerical analysis and current experimental data. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The uncertainty showed good agreement with the uncertainty analysis; 2) The contribution of the thermal grease thickness was large, based on a combined standard uncertainty analysis; and, 3) The effective thermal conductivity perpendicular to the pores of lotus copper can be measured within 10% uncertainty by this method.