In situ measurement of high-temperature thermal diffusivity in a combustion-synthesized ceramic

A simple method to calculate thermal diffusivity in situ after a combustion synthesis reaction is presented. The combustion reaction was analyzed via time-resolved X-ray diffraction analysis and infrared thermography. Thermal diffusivity was estimated and used to calculate temperature profiles based on temperature profiles one second earlier. For a sample of TiC formed from Ti and C, a value of 2.00×10-6±0.20×10-6 m2 s-1 was calculated for temperatures between 1000 and 1900 K. This method is rapid and can avoid some problems associated with furnace-based measurements of thermal diffusivity, such as recrystallization and destruction of non-equilibrium phases.