A new transient hot-wire thermal conductivity apparatus and measurements of helium at temperatures from 20 K to 300 K

In this study, an apparatus based on the transient hot-wire method (THW) was designed to measure the thermal conductivity of cryogenic fluid within the temperature range of 20–300 K and the pressure range of 0–20 MPa, with a relative expanded uncertainty U_r(λ) of 0.0284 (k = 2, 95 %). The experimental data of methane, ethane, and carbon dioxide showed good consistency with the ECS model, validating the reliability of the apparatus. In addition to the linear temperature dependence of hot-wire resistance above 70 K, the nonlinear temperature dependence below 70 K is calibrated, and the feasibility of the THW method for measurements in the temperature range of 20–70 K is validated. Subsequently, the thermal conductivity data for helium are presented from 20 to 300 K. The temperature rises of hot-wire during the measurement agreed well with the simulation calculation results. Furthermore, a thermal conductivity model for helium gas up to 600 K was developed. The presented data in this work, as well as previously published data, demonstrated good agreement with the model calculation results, with an average absolute relative deviation (AARD) of 1.46 %.