9. Summary
In summary, several methods have been presented and discussed for the experimental determination of the thermal conductivity of a bulk solid-state material. Much care must be taken in the experimental design of the apparatus and the evaluation of the resulting data. Issues relating to understanding loss terms such as radiation or heat conduction were discussed along with issues related to appropriate heat sinking of the sample and corresponding measurement lead wires. Several techniques were discussed and one must then determine which technique is most appropriate for the specific sample geometry and the specific measurement equipment and apparatus available. However, the determination of the thermal conductivity of a material to within less than 5% uncertainty may be quite formidable, and most often a serious limiting factor may be the accurate determination of the overall sample dimensions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
10. References
See, for example, Thermal Conductivity of Solids, J. E. Parrott and A. D. Stuckes (Pion Limited Press, 1975), T. C. Harman and J. M. Honig, Thermoelectric and Thermomagnetic Effcts and Applications (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1967).
D. G. Cahill, Thermal Conductivity Measurement from 30 to 750 K: The 3ω Method Rev. Sci. Instrum.61, 802 (2001).
See, for example, S. E. Gustafsson and E. Karawacki, Transient hot-strip probe for measuring thermal properties of insulating solids and liquids Rev. Sci. Instrum. 54, 744 (1983) and references therein.
T. Borca-Tasciuc and Gang ChenExperimental Techniques for Thin Film Thermal Conductivity Characterization Chapter 2.2 of this book.
O. MaldonadoPulse Method for Simultaneous Measurement of Electric Thermopower and Heat Conductivity at Low Temperatures Cryogenics 32, 908 (1992).
B. M. Zawilski, R. T. Littleton IV, and Terry M. TrittDescription of the Parallel Thermal Conductance Technique for the Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity of Small Diameter Samples Rev. Sci. Instrum. 72, 1770 (2001).
G. A. Slack, Solid State Physics (Academic Press, New York, 1979).
R. P. Tye, ed. Thermal Conductivity Vol. I and Vol. II Academic Press, New York, 1969.
R. Berman, Thermal Conduction in Solids Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1976.
Methods of Experimental Physics: Solid State Physics, Vol. 6, editor: L. Marton, Academic Press, New York, 1959.
Amy L. Pope, B. M. Zawilski, and Terry M. TrittThermal Conductivity Measurements on Removable Sample Mounts Cryogenics 41, 725 (2001)
J. Kopp and G. A. SlackThermal Contact Problems in Low Temperature Thermocouple Thermometry Cryogenics, p 22, Feb. 1971.
See for example (a.) Thermoelectric Materials: Structure, Properties and Applications. Terry M. Tritt Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology, Volume 10, pp 1–11, K. H. J. Buschow, R. W. Cahn, M. C. Flemings, B. Ilschner, E. J. Kramer, S. Mahajan, (eds) Elsevier Press LTD, Oxford, Major Reference Works, London, UK (b) Thermoelectrics: Basic Principles and New Materials Developments, G. S. Nolas, J. Sharp and H. J. Goldsmid, Springer Series in Materials Science Volume 45, 2002.
Terry M. TrittMeasurement and Characterization of Thermoelectric MaterialsT. M. Tritt, M. Kanatzidis, G. Mahan and H. B. Lyons Jr. (Editors), 1997 Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Volume 478: Thermoelectric Materials, New Directions and Approaches p 25, 1997.
C. UherThermoelectric Property Measurements Naval Research Reviews, Thermoelectric Materials, Vol. XLVIII, p 44, 1996.
M. J. Laubitz in Thermal Conductivity edited by R. P. Tye, vol. 1, Chap. 3 (Academic Press, London; 1969), p. 111.
The crossover temperature of the low temperature phonon peak is the peak or “hump” in the thermal conductivity where there is a gradual change in the dominant scattering effct, such as from phononsphonon interactions at high temperatures to boundary scattering at low temperatures. See for example: Figure 3.1, R. Berman, Thermal Conduction in Solids, Oxford University Press, (1976) New York
P. G. Klemens Chapter 1, p.1 Thermal Conductivity Vol.1, edited by R. P. Tye, Academic Press, New York, 1969.
NIST website: http://www.nist.gov
Chapter 4 (1969) Thermal Conductivity Vol. I and Vol. II, edited by R. P. Tye Academic Press, New York, 1969.
Chapter 1, pg. 186, Fig. 1, 1969 Thermal Conductivity Vol. I and Vol. II edited by R. P. Tye, Academic Press, New York, 1969.
Glen A. Slack, and C. GlassbrennerThermal Conductivity of Germanium from 3K to 1020K, Physical Review, Volume 120, No 3, Nov 1, 1960.
H. S. Carslaw and J. C. JaegerConduction of Heat in Solids Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1959.
C. J. Glassbrenner and Glen A. SlackThermal Conductivity of Silicon and Germanium from 3°K to the Melting Point Physical Review, V 134, N 4A, 18 May 1964.
J. Khedari, P. Benigni, J. Rogez, and J. C. MathieuNew Apparatus for Thermal Diffsivity Measurements of Refractory Solid Materials by the Periodic Stationary Method Rev. Sci. Instrum. 66(1), January, 1995.
P. Benigni and J. RogezHigh Temperature Thermal Diffsivity Measurement by the Periodic Cylindrical Method: The problem of Contact Thermocouple Thermometry, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68(3), July, 1997.
David Cahill, Henry E. Fischer, Tom Klitsner, E. T. Swartz, and R. O. PohlThermal Conductivity of Thin Films: Measurements and Understanding J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 7, 1260, 1989.
F. I. Chu, R. E. Taylor and A. B. Donaldson, Thermal diffsivity measurements at high temperatures by a flash method Jour. of Appl. Phys. 51, 336, 1980.
See for example: (a) A. B. Donaldson and R. E. Taylor Thermal diffsivity measurement by a radial heat flow method J. Appl. Phys. 46, 4584, 1975. J. W. Vandersande and R. O. Pohl Simple Apparatus for the Measurement of Thermal Diffsivity between 80–500 K using the Modified Angstrom Method, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 51, 1694, 1980. J. Gembarovic and R. E. Taylor A New Data Reduction Procedure in the Flash Method of Measuring Thermal Diffsivity Rev. Sci. Instrum 65, 3535, 1994.
Thermal Transport Option for the Physical property Measurement system, Quantum Design Corp, San Diego CA. See also Physical Properties Measurement System: Hardware and Operation Manual.
L. Piraux, J.-P. Issi, and P. Coopmans Measurement 52, (1987).
B. M. Zawilski, R. T. Littleton IV, and Terry T. TrittInvestigation of the Thermal Conductivity of the Mixed Pentatellurides Hf1−X ZrXTe5, Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 2319 (2000).
T. C. HarmanSpecial Techniques for Measurement of Thermoelectric Properties. J. Appl. Phys. 30, 1373, 1959.
T. C. Harman, J. H. Cahn and M. J. LoganMeasurement of Thermal Conductivity by Utilization of the Peltier Effct J. Appl. Phys. 30, 1351, 1959.
A. W. PennThe Corrections Used in the Adiabatic Measurement of Thermal Conductivity using the Peltier Effct. J. Sci. Instrum. 41, 626, 1964.
A. E. Bowley, L. E. J. Cowles, G. J. Williams, and H. J. GoldsmidMeasurementof the Figure of Merit of a Thermoelectric Material J. Sci. Instrum. 38, 433, 1961.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tritt, T.M., Weston, D. (2004). Measurement Techniques and Considerations for Determining Thermal Conductivity of Bulk Materials. In: Tritt, T.M. (eds) Thermal Conductivity. Physics of Solids and Liquids. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26017-X_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26017-X_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-48327-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-26017-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive