Design of an Instrumentation Unit with Datalogger for Heat Flow Measurement in Solid Metals

Abstract

An instrumentation unit that measures heat flow along the test column of solid metal samples is described. The study also describes the design of a datalogger using Arduino Mega Microcontroller. The designed instrumentation unit incorporates current and voltage sensing unit, ten thermocouple sensors and amplifiers, microSD card shield, two LCDs, four microcontrolled switching relays and a 12 V DC water pump motor. The heat flow parameters measured by the instrumentation unit includes temperature gradient, heater current and heater voltage. The designed datalogger logs the measured value of temperature, current and voltage at a time of ten minutes. An area of application for this study is in the development of a device for measurement of thermal conductivity of solid metals. It is an improvement over existing heat flow measurement techniques.