Laser flash thermal conductivity studies of porous metal fiber materials

The laser flash method has been used to measure thermal conductivities in a porous metal fiber material at room and elevated temperatures. The anisotropy of heat conduction in this material is reported and a novel technique using a focused laser beam is described to access directly the off-diagonal components of the conductivity tensor. A simulation study shows the anisotropy to be determined by the layered structure of the material. Enhanced conductivities are reported at elevated temperatures and are shown to be due to radiation heat transfer within the porous structure.