Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.
Accurate measurement of thermophysical properties (thermal conductivity and diffusivity and specific heat capacity) of micro- to nano-scale thin wires or films is a very difficult process; consequently, there are very few methods available to do so. Besides the optical setups in which thermal diffusivity is possible to be measured, the determination of thermal properties of fine fibres is limited to two major methods: the 3-omega method or the Transient/Generalized Electrothermal Technique. A comparative analysis of the two techniques using conductive platinum wires has taken place to determine the benefits and drawbacks of both. Variables such as accuracy, measurement theory, time to measure, and difficulty of measurement are all taken into account. The results for both methods were compared to theoretical and literature values. Trends and values indicate that both methods can yield reliable results with respect to diffusivity and conductivity and for specific heat capacity with 3-omega. The measurement process and results indicate that the ideal method is application specific.
