Microscale thermal characteristics of cold-rolled aluminum alloy using a thermoreflectance method

Abstract

In this study, the microscale thermal propagation behavior of cold-rolled aluminum alloy sheets was characterized using a thermoreflectance (TR) method from the micro and macro perspectives, and the relationship between the crystallite sizes of cold-rolled aluminum sheets with different rolling reduction rates and their thermal propagation characteristics was described. The crystallite sizes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction using Scherrer’s equation. The microscale thermal propagation characteristics of these specimens were measured using a TR method with a high spatial resolution of several micrometers through a focused laser beam and by controlling the thermal diffusion length. The macroscale thermal propagation characteristics of these specimens were then measured using two methods: the spot periodic heating method and the electrical resistance measurement method with the Wiedemann–Franz law. Experimental results showed that the microscale thermal propagation correlated with a change in the crystallite size. However, the macroscale thermal conductivity decreased with an increase in the rolling reduction rate regardless of the crystallite size. It is expected that the thermal propagation characteristics at the microscale can be controlled by a change in the crystallite size.