Application of the thermal wave resonator to the measurement of the thermal diffusivity of gas mixtures

Abstract

A gas analyzer device based on thermal wave interference in a cavity is presented. The thermal diffusivity of CO2:air mixtures as a function of the relative concentration is measured. It is demonstrated that different concentrations of CO2 in air can be detected with accuracy using the described experimental device. The results presented here open the possibility to perform routine measurements of thermal diffusivity of binary gas mixtures and using this parameter to monitor the relative gas concentration.