Measuring the thermal diffusivity in a student laboratory

TL;DR

This paper presents a simple, low-cost method for undergraduate laboratories to measure thermal diffusivity using a recurrence numerical approach and basic temperature measurements.

Contribution

It introduces an accessible experimental setup combined with a numerical method to determine thermal diffusivity in high-conductivity materials.

Findings

The method accurately measures thermal diffusivity with minimal equipment.

It is suitable for educational settings with limited resources.

The approach simplifies the experimental process for students.

Abstract

The paper describes a method for measuring the thermal diffusivity of materials having a high thermal conductivity. The apparatus is rather simple and low-cost, being therefore suitable in a laboratory for undergraduate students of engineering schools, where several set-ups are often required. A recurrence numerical approach solves the thermal field in the specimen, which is depending on the thermal diffusivity of its material. The numerical method requires the temperature data from two different positions in the specimen, measured by two thermocouples connected to a temperature logger.