A Thermal Conductivity Experimental Method Based on the Peltier Effect

The objective of this work was to test a novel experimental technique to determine the thermal conductivity of low-thermal conductivity materials and tropical foods. The experimental method was based on the Peltier effect and its application to the thermoelectric heat pump. This device became practical recently with the development of semiconductor thermocouple materials. The module assembly used in this work had 127 thermocouples connected in series electrically and in parallel thermally. The heat transfer area of the module was 3.96x3.96 cm2. The equipment was calibrated using standard materials of known thermal conductivity: Plexiglas and Bakelite. Then the K values were easily computed from a steady-state energy balance equation.