In the present work, thermal diffusivity measurements have been carried out on industrial samples of CMSX-4 nickel-base superalloy using the laser-flash method with emphasis on studying the effect of temperature and microstructure on the thermal diffusivity. The measurements were performed in the temperature range from 298 to 1623 K covering both solid as well as liquid ranges. Below 1253 K, the thermal-diffusivity values were found to increase with increasing temperature. Microstructural investigations of quenched samples revealed that below 1253 K, an ordered phase, usually referred to as the -phase was present together with the disordered fcc phase, often referred to as the γ phase. Between 1253 K and the solidus temperature, the phase was found to dissolve in the matrix alloy causing an increase in the disordering of the alloy, and thereby a small decrease in the thermal-diffusivity values. The thermal-diffusivity values of samples pre-annealed at 1573 K exhibited constancy in the temperature range from 1277 to 1513 K, which is attributed to the attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium. These equilibrium values were found to be lower than the results for samples not subjected to annealing. The thermal-diffusivity values of the alloy in the liquid state were found to be independent of temperature.

In the present work, thermal diffusivity measurements of three industrially significant alloys, viz. 90Ti.6Al.4V, stainless steel with 25Cr and 6Ni as well as plain carbon steel with 0.7 % carbon have been carried out as a function of temperature. The aim of this work is to study the effect of temperature and microstructure on the thermal diffusivities of these alloys. For the 90Ti.6Al.4V alloy, thermal diffusivity increases with temperature below 1225 K. Above this temperature, the values started decreasing probably due to the dissolution of Ti3Al intermediate phase in the matrix, which would result in an increase in the disorder of the structure. For 25Cr: 6Ni stainless steel, the thermal diffusivity is nearly constant up to about 700 K. Above this, there is an increase in the thermal diffusivities with temperature during the heating cycle, which was reproducible during thermal cycling. On the other hand, the slope of the curve increases above 950 K.

In the case of the 0.7 % carbon steel, the thermal diffusivity shows a decreasing trend with temperature below the Curie point for the alloy, where the alloy consists of bcc + fcc phases. Above this point, only the fcc phase is prevalent and the thermal diffusivity was found to increase with temperature. Heat transfer is carried out by lattice vibration (phonons) as well as electrons. The contribution of electrons varies depending upon the type of alloy. In this study, the highest electron contribution was found in 0.7 % carbon steel, while the lowest was in stainless steel. The thermal conductivity values of these alloys are in good agreement with the calculated values using the model proposed by Mills.

Thermal diffusivity measurements were carried out as a function of temperature on sintered AISI 304 stainless steel-alumina composites having various compositions (0.001, 0.01, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10 wt pct Al₂O₃). The measurements were carried out between room temperature and 1473 K. The thermal diffusivity and the thermal conductivity were found to increase with temperature in all the composite specimens. The thermal diffusivity was found to decrease with increasing weight fraction of alumina. This tendency can clearly be seen at temperatures above 755 K. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simple rule of mixture, the Eucken equation, and the Ohm’s law model developed by Hayashi et al. at weight fractions of alumina below 5 wt pct. Beyond this composition, the thermal diffusivity/conductivity shows a large discrepancy from the models. This could probably be attributed to the accumulation of alumina particles during cooled pressing and sintering.

The thermal diffusivities of mould flux having the glassy and crystalline states were measured as a function of temperature by the laser flash method to obtain the relationship between the thermal diffusivity and the degree of crystallization. The thermal diffusivities of the liquid mould flux were also measured to compare the data with those of the solid samples. The thermal diffusivity increases roughly linearly with an increase in the degree of crystallization. The thermal diffusivities of glassy and liquid samples having the ratios of NBO/T=1.48, 1.65 and 2.11 exhibit roughly the same values of 4.6*10-7 m2 s-1 and 4.0*10-7 m2 s-1, respectively. It is considered that because the silicate network is largely broken down, there is not a significant change of the structure for these samples.

High temperature XRD and thermal diffusivity experiments were employed to investigate the degree of graphitisation in blast furnace coke. The experiments were conducted between room temperature and 1473 K. X-ray diffraction studies were carried out in order to monitor the degree of graphitisation in the coke samples from the same campaign. In these cases, the degree of graphitisation was followed by the changes in the vertical dimension. The degree of graphitisation was found to be dependent on temperature. On the other hand, the graphitisation at each temperature was instantaneous, even at as low a temperature as 973 K and no dependency on time could be noticed. The thermal diffusivities of the coke samples taken from deeper level of the experimental blast furnace were measured using the laser-flash technique. The results from these measurements showed that thermal diffusivities increased with the degree of graphitisation, which in turn, can be affected by the level in the blast furnace at which the coke sample was taken. The present results indicate that the degree of graphitisation as followed by X-ray diffraction analysis as well as thermal diffusivities can be used to trace the thermal history of coke. DSC measurements show that the heat capacity of the coke increases with temperature towards the heat capacity of graphite, which could be due to the increasing the graphitisation degree of the coke.