THASYS THIN HEATER APPARATUS FOR THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT THASYS offers measurement of the thermal conductivity or total thermal resistance of plastics, composites and electrical insulation / interface materials. THASYS works according to the ASTM 1114-98 standard; providing an accurate, fast, uncomplicated and absolute measurement. It consists of a Thin Heater Apparatus (THA01) and a Measurement and Control Unit (MCU). Employing a specially designed high accuracy thermopile sensor, THA01 can handle thin sample materials (typically 0.1 to 6 mm; 0.1 mm samples must be stacked). The method is considered superior to procedures according to ASTM D5470. Using a climate chamber a large temperature range can be covered, performing measurements at regular intervals. THASYS is fully PC controlled. For use with high thermal conductivity thin foil materials a different model, type THISYS, is available. Figure 1 THASYS consists of the Thin Heater Apparatus (THA01), (1) and a Measurement and Control Unit (MCU), (2). It is PC controlled through RS232 (4,5). The PC is not included. The measurement result appears on screen automatically. The THA01 housing contains two heat sinks in a bath of glycerol. It has a slot on top through which two equally thick samples are inserted. They are placed on either side of the thin heater. This heater also contains the hot joints of the thermopile sensor. The samples plus heater are then pressed together with the heat sinks using a screw on the side, creating a perfectly symmetrical setup. The glycerol fluid eliminates the problem of contact resistance. INTRODUCTION For determining the thermal conductivity of materials various types of measurement equipment can be used. Proven methods are described in standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). By measuring the flux φ (derived from heater power), the differential temperature across the samples, ∆Tamp, and the effective sample thickness, Heff, it is straightforward to calculate the thermal conductivity λ: λ = φ Heff / ∆Tamp ASTM C 1114-98 " Standard Test Method" for "Thin Heater Apparatus" (THA) is a relatively new standard (1998) that offers the possibility to perform fast measurements with high accuracy, across a fairly large temperature range. The THA principle relies on the fact that a thin heater has negligible lateral heat flow. With a combination of a very thin heater, two relatively thin samples of similar thickness and two heat sinks it is possible to generate a homogeneous thermal field with known heat flux through the samples. The measurements of φ, Heff and ∆Tamp are all direct measurements of power, dimensions and temperature. This is contrary to methods like the " guarded hot plate", that require reference materials or calibrated heat flux sensors. The THA provides an absolute instrument. THA01 DESIGN The technological novelties are a thin thermocouple thermopile (proprietary Hukseflux design) performing an accurate and ultra- Version 0801 (page 1 of 2) Hukseflux reserve the right to alter specifications without prior notice HUKSEFLUX™ THERMAL SENSORS . WWW.HUKSEFLUX.COM . [email protected]

THA01 DESIGN (CONTINUED) sensitive differential ∆T measurement, and the fact that the measurement is performed in a bath of glycerol. The latter reduces contact resistance and facilitates the THA operation. Commonly used methods like ASTM D 5470 – 01 have shown to be highly sensitive to contact resistance. THASYS offers a solution to this problem. The THA01 can handle samples of 0.1 to 6 mm thickness. Samples typically are sheet materials with a size of 70 by 110 mm. The measurement accuracy depends on the total thermal resistance of the samples. In case of very thin samples (0.1mm), measurement...