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1.1 This practice covers the measurement of steady state thermal transmission properties of the small flat slab thermal insulation specimen using a heat-flow-meter apparatus.

1.2 This practice provides a supplemental procedure for use in conjunction with Test Method C518 for testing a small specimen. This practice is limited to only small specimens and, in all other particulars, the requirements of Test Method C518 apply.

1.3 This practice characterizes small specimens having lateral dimensions less than the lateral dimensions of the heat flux transducer used to measure the heat flow. The procedure in Test Method C518 shall be used for specimens having lateral dimensions equal to or larger than the lateral dimensions of the heat flux transducer.

1.4 This practice is intended only for research purposes, in particular, when larger specimens are unavailable. This practice shall not be used in conjunction with Test Method C518 for certification testing of products; compliance with ASTM Specifications; or compliance with regulatory or building code requirements.

1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. No other units of measurement are included in this practice.

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.7 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

5.1 Thermal conductivity measurements on small insulation specimens are important during new product development processes or when larger specimens cannot be collected during forensic investigation (that is, failure analysis) (1, 2).

5.2 Numerous research projects have recently been initiated to develop insulation materials that have very high thermal resistivities (greater than 83 (m K)/W). Projects ranging from coatings to improve the thermal performance of single pane/layer glazing systems to the development of novel insulation products for building envelopes are being undertaken (1-4). All these projects have struggled in the development of new material technologies due to the difficulty associated with the measurement of thermal conductivity of small sections (approximately 0.025 m by 0.025 m) of high thermal resistance materials. As new materials are being developed, the size of each test specimen impacts the cost of development. Most of the existing test equipment and the methods do not align with the researcher’s need; the equipment requires a large specimen size is time consuming, and expensive to produce.

5.3 This practice provides a standardized procedure to enable the thermal characterization of small specimens of insulation materials. Accurate, and reliable thermal metrology to assess thermal properties of new insulation materials, such as novel very low thermal conductivity (< 0.01 W/ (m K)) nanomaterials or bio-based foam insulations, in small material sample sections, and minimal data analysis requirements is the desired outcome of this practice.

5.4 The ratio of the area of the specimen and the heat flux transducer has a significant impact on the uncertainty of the results obtained from this practice. As the specimen area decreases this ratio decreases, a smaller percentage of the total heat flow is associated with the unknown specimen. Information from the literature (4) shows that some heat-flow-meter apparatus, generally not available commercially and used by the research laboratories only, can be modified to change out the heat flux transducer so that transducers of varying sizes can be deployed. The observations presented in Fig. 2 were obtained from the measurements done by such a heat-flow-meter apparatus that was modified to change out the heat flux transducer. Fig. 2 demonstrates the significance of the ratio of the area of the specimen and the heat flux transducer on the accuracy of the thermal conductivity measurement using this Practice. This exercise is not a required part of this Practice and Fig. 2 is for information only.

FIG. 2 Example of a data set obtained from 0.010 m² (that is, 0.10 m × 0.10 m) heat flux transducer (heat flow) exploring the uncertainty (that is, difference between full size XPS specimen and smaller XPS specimen placed inside the mask) of varying thicknesses, 0.005 m, 0.010 m, and 0.020 m