The hot-wire parallel technique standardized for determining the thermal conductivity of ceramic materials was employed in the determination of the thermal properties of polymers. For these materials, additional care must be taken considering the low melting point of polymers, when compared with that for ceramic materials. Samples can be prepared either in the shape of bricks or in the shape of half-cylinders. The thermal conductivity and the specific heat were simultaneously determined from the same experimental thermal transient, and the thermal diffusivity is derived from these properties. Five different polymers with different structures at room temperature were selected, and measurements were carried out from room temperature to approximately the maximum service operating temperature. A nonlinear least-squares fitting method was employed in the calculations, so that all the experimental points obtained are considered in the thermal properties' calculations. The apparatus used in this work is fully automatic. The reproducibility is very good with respect to the thermal conductivity, even with a defective experimental arrangement with respect to the theoretical model. However, deviations from the theoretical model have a severe influence on the specific heat values and, consequently, on the thermal diffusivity. Experimental results were compared with those available in the literature, showing the applicability of this technique for the determination of thermal properties of polymers. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
