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Updated: May 13, 2026

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
Published on: January 26, 2014
Photothermal model fitting in the complex plane for thermal properties determination in solids
M A Zambrano-Arjona1, F Peñuñuri, M Acosta
1Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, A.P. 150, Cordemex, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. miguel.zambrano@uady.mx
This study introduces an improved photoacoustic (PA) method for accurately determining the thermal properties of solids. By accounting for cell wall signals, the new approach enhances precision for materials like stainless steel.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Thermal Physics
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Accurate thermal property determination is crucial for material characterization.
- Traditional photoacoustic (PA) methods often neglect signal contributions from cell walls, potentially leading to inaccuracies.
- Developing precise methods for measuring thermal properties of solids is an ongoing challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present an exact complex photothermal model for analyzing photoacoustic signals.
- To derive simple closed-form expressions for amplitude and phase in all frequency ranges.
- To incorporate PA signal contributions from cell walls for enhanced accuracy in thermal property determination.
Main Methods:
- Fitting the complex photothermal model to normalized photoacoustic (PA) signals in a front configuration.
- Considering PA signal contributions from cell walls, not just the sample.
- Analyzing commercial stainless steel layers (AISI 302) to validate the methodology.
Main Results:
- Developed a method to accurately obtain thermal properties of solids using PA signals.
- Derived simplified expressions for amplitude and phase across various frequencies.
- Achieved good agreement between experimentally determined and literature values for thermal diffusivity and effusivity of stainless steel.
Conclusions:
- The proposed photoacoustic methodology accurately determines thermal properties by including cell wall signal contributions.
- The method provides reliable thermal diffusivity and effusivity values, validated with stainless steel samples.
- A detailed procedure for calculating the standard error in thermal properties is also presented, enhancing the method's utility.
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