Improvement of the photoacoustic response in thermal diffusivity measurements

Abstract

An alternative photoacoustic cell configuration for the determination of the thermal diffusivity (α), at room temperature, for solid materials is presented. The method is based on the use of two identical photoacoustic chambers, inside both of them, a metallic foil thermally thin is used to transform the light energy to heat energy. A Reference material placed parallel to a study material allows to relate the thermal properties of the materials used as support in the photoacoustic chambers of the experimental arrangement presented here. The ratio between experimental and theoretical photoacoustic amplitudes is realized to validate a proposed mathematical model.