Material property testing system and method

Abstract

Systems, methods, devices, and circuitries are provided for determining a material property. In one embodiment, a method includes applying non-thermal energy to a first side of a material sample; sensing, a response of the material sample to the non-thermal energy; generating non-thermal data indicative of the response; and determining a thermal property of the material sample based on the non-thermal data.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 applying non-thermal energy to a first side of a material sample;   sensing, a response of the material sample to the non-thermal energy;   generating non-thermal data indicative of the response; and   determining a thermal property of the material sample based on the non-thermal data.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining an environmental characteristic;   determining a suitability of the material sample based on the thermal property and the environmental characteristic; and   displaying information related to the suitability.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  comprising determining the environmental characteristic by measuring the characteristic of the environment. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  comprising determining the environmental characteristic by receiving data indicative of the environmental characteristic. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 applying thermal energy to the material sample;   sensing a temperature of the material sample;   generating thermal data indicative of the temperature; and   determining the thermal property based on the non-thermal data and the thermal data.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 emitting electromagnetic radiation toward the first side of the material sample; and   measuring an amount of electromagnetic radiation on a second side of the material sample; and   generating the non-thermal data indicative of the amount of electromagnetic radiation.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation comprises non-visible light having a peak wavelength ranging between approximately 750 nm to 1100 nm. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  comprising emitting the electromagnetic radiation with varying levels of power. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6  comprising:
 capturing an image of a second side of the material sample opposite the first side; and 
 determining the thermal property by analyzing the image. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 emitting sound toward the first side of the material sample;   sensing sound passing through a second side of the material sample opposite the first side; and   generating the non-thermal data indicative of the sensed sound.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , comprising emitting sound at approximately 2 kHz. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 contacting the first side of the material sample with a vibrating source element;   sensing a mechanical response of the material sample; and   generating the non-thermal data indicative of the mechanical response.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , comprising performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis on a spectra of the non-thermal data to determine the thermal property. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising determining compressibility of the material sample to generate the non-thermal data. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , comprising determining compressibility by:
 contacting the first side of the material sample with a spring-loaded wide-area contact element;   measuring a displacement of the spring-loaded wide-area contact element; and   generating the non-thermal data indicative of the displacement.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 contacting the first side of the material sample with a first electrode and a second electrode spaced from the first electrode;   measuring a resistance or capacitance of the material sample between the first electrode and the second electrode; and   determining a suitability of the material sample based on the resistance or capacitance.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 contacting a surface of the material sample with a durometer mechanism comprising a spring having a predetermined spring constant and a probe disposed at a distal end of the spring;   measuring a compression of the spring;   determining durometer data based on the compression of the spring;   determining a surface suitability based on the durometer data; and   communicating information related to the surface suitability.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a material identifier characterizing the material sample based on the non-thermal data. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further combining the thermal property with a second thermal property determined for another material sample.