Thermal transport properties of synthetic porous solids as a function of applied pressure

• Published in: Journal of physics. D, Applied physics Applied physics, 1999-09, Vol.32 (18), p.2442-2447
• Main Authors: Anis-ur-Rehman, Muhammad, Rasool, Azra, Maqsood, Asghari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Heat capacities of solids; Nonelectronic thermal conduction and heat-pulse propagation in solids; thermal waves; Physics; Thermal properties of condensed matter; Thermal properties of crystalline solids; Transport properties of condensed matter (nonelectronic)
• ISSN: 0022-3727; 1361-6463
• DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/32/18/317

The thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat per unit volume of three types of porous insulating solids were measured, simultaneously, by the transient plane source (TPS) technique. The samples, namely, fiberglass, a nitrile rubber closed-cell foam and foam insulation, were subjected to external pressure, taking into consideration the compressibility of the samples and the requirements of the TPS technique. These materials are used for insulation for temperature control of air-conditioned space and therefore are helpful in reducing energy losses. Although all three samples are good insulators, having very small thermal conductivity values (approx =0.03-0.05 W m exp - 1 K exp -1 ), closed-cell foam insulation shows insignificant changes in thermal conductivity for the selected pressure range (8-15 kPa). Therefore it is a better choice for thermal isolation. For the other materials investigated, the thermal conductivity value increases slightly with external pressure.