Chapter 1: Introducing The Discovery Xenon Flash; Overview - TA Instruments DISCOVERY XENON FLASH Getting Started Manual

Chapter 1:
Introducing the Discovery Xenon Flash

Overview

Thermal diffusivity (α) is the thermophysical property defined as a ratio of thermal conductivity and volu-
metric heat capacity. The thermal diffusivity is measured in cm
used for measuring thermal diffusivity is the flash method. It has the advantage of being fast while provid-
ing values with excellent accuracy and reproducibility. The flash diffusivity method involves uniform irra-
diation of a small, disc-shaped specimen over its front face with a very short pulse of energy. The time-
temperature history of the rear face is recorded through high-speed data acquisition from a solid-state pins
sensor with very fast thermal response, and thermal diffusivity is determined from the time-dependent ther-
mogram of the rear face. Thermal conductivity can be calculated as a product of the thermal diffusivity, the
specific heat, and the density of the material. A Discovery Xenon Flash (DXF) system automatically deter-
mines the thermal conductivity using the measured (or separately entered) specific heat capacity and ther-
mal diffusivity, with separately-entered density data.
The DXF system is comprised of a DXF Pulse Source, Environmental Module, Solid State (Pins) Detector
Assembly, and associated software.
Figure 1 DXF system with EM-200 and Solid State (Pins) Detector Assembly.
DXF-200 Getting Started Guide
2
/s (SI units). The most popular method
Solid State (Pins) Detector
Assembly
Environmental Module
DXF
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