Thermal conduction in three-dimensional printed porous samples by high resolution infrared thermography

Abstract

The thermal conductivity (κ) is a key parameter that defines many of the technological uses of three-dimensional (3D) porous architectures. Despite the variety of methods for determining κ, problems generally arise when researchers try to apply them to cellular materials and 3D structures. The present work proposes an affordable lab-made device for analysing anisotropic heat flow in 3D porous architectures via high resolution infrared thermography. The method is validated using dense materials of known thermal conductivity. Temperature gradients measured for porous specimens have been correlated to the thermal conductivity estimated from a simple resistors model, assessing the main factors that affect the experimental measurements. The porous specimens of SiC, MAX-phase and graphene-based nanostructures are in-house manufactured by direct ink writing (robocasting).