Design of an Electronic Flash Thermal Measurement System for Biological and Organic Materials

Date of Graduation

Spring 2014

Degree

Master of Science in Materials Science

Department

Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science

Committee Chair

Ryan Giedd

Abstract

The electronic flash technique is a promising approach for finding the thermal conductivities of highly conductive materials with smaller than average dimensions. If a material can display desirable characteristics, it may pave the way for promising applications in any field of science and/or technology. I have successfully designed an electronic thermal measuring device to measure temperature changes in both biological and organic materials using the method of electronic flash. This method is an original idea and is patentable. Electronic flash method employs the measuring of the specific heat of samples in order to better learn the characteristics and the behaviors of these materials for use in many applications ranging from biomedical to electrical, for example. Not only does this technique offer an effective way of measuring the thermal conductivity of highly conductive materials of small dimensions, but it is a valuable technique because it precisely measures the specific heat of any given material and, when the specific heat and density of a material are known, the thermal conductivity can then be determined. This thesis explains in detail how the findings of thermal conductivities in materials are determined by use of a uniquely designed low mass thermal couple, heater and circuit device. This thesis also introduces a similar method Laser Flash and its similar technique.

Keywords

electronic flash, thermal conductivity, effective thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat, laser flash, regenerative devices

Subject Categories

Materials Science and Engineering

Copyright

© La Shawn Antoinette Johnson

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

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