This is a SBIR Phase I project to develop a new tape of probe and associated computing instrument for quickly measuring thermal properties of solid materials. The combination to be employed is based on the miniature thin-film heat flux sensor recently developed at Virginia Tech. The new probe will enable the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of solid materials specimens to be measured simply and rapidly. At the end of the probe will be a heat-flux sensor and two thin-film thermocouple, applied to it by a masked sputtering process. To measure the thermal properties of a material specimen, the probe and specimen, initially at different temperatures, will be placed abruptly in close thermal contact by mechanical registration device. The resulting flow of heat and the rapidly changing surface temperatures of the specimen will be converted to transient electrical signals. These will be measured an recorded as functions of time. A method for computing thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity from the electrical signals will be developed. The device to be developed will have application in materials manufacturing quality control, in research laboratories, and possibly in medical applications.
