The use of microcomputers in thermal analysis

Abstract

As with other fields, thermal analysis has been greatly influenced by the microcomputer revolution [1]. Wunderlich [2] has dealt with some of the more historical aspects of this impact. It is of interest that only just over ten years ago Wendlandt [3] reviewed the applications of digital and analogue computers in thermal analysis. Since that time analogue computers have faded from the scene and changes have been so rapid that equipment described in papers published even a few years ago can easily be obsolete. In dealing with obsolescence, one is, of course, referring to the on-line use of computers for direct data capture and interactive control of the instrument, as distinct from the more established offline uses in data processing (Fig. 12.1).