No abstract

The thermal conductivity (λ) of soils may vary by a factor of about 4 for a range of field soil water contents. Measurement of soil heat flux (G) using a heat flux plate with a fixed λ distorts heat flow through the plates and in the adjacent soil. The objectives of this research were to quantify heat flow distortion errors for soil heat flux plates of widely contrasting designs and to evaluate the accuracy of a previously reported correction. Six types of commercially available heat flux plates with varying thickness, face area, and thermal conductivity (λ m ) were evaluated. Steady-state laboratory experiments at flux densities from 20 to 175 W m −2 were completed in a large box filled with dry or saturated sand having λ of 0.36 and 2.25 W m −1 K −1 A field experiment compared G measured with pairs of four plate types buried at 6 cm in a clay soil with G determined using the gradient technique. The flux plates underestimated G in the dry sand by 2.4 to 38.5% and by 13.1 to 73.2% in saturated sand while in moist clay plate performance ranged from a 6.2% overestimate to a 71.4% underestimate. Application of the correction generally improved agreement between plate estimates and independent Gmeasurements, especially when λ > λ m , although most plate estimates were still significantly lower than the actual G Limitations of the correction procedure indicate that renewed effort should be placed on innovative sensor designs that avoid or minimize heat flow distortion and/or provide direct, in situ calibration capability. The thermal conductivity () of soils may vary by a factor of about

No abstract

The thermal conductivity (λ) of soils may vary by a factor of about 4 for a range of field soil water contents. Measurement of soil heat flux (G) using a heat flux plate with a fixed λ distorts heat flow through the plates and in the adjacent soil. The objectives of this research were to quantify heat flow distortion errors for soil heat flux plates of widely contrasting designs and to evaluate the accuracy of a previously reported correction. Six types of commercially available heat flux plates with varying thickness, face area, and thermal conductivity (λ m ) were evaluated. Steady-state laboratory experiments at flux densities from 20 to 175 W m −2 were completed in a large box filled with dry or saturated sand having λ of 0.36 and 2.25 W m −1 K −1 A field experiment compared G measured with pairs of four plate types buried at 6 cm in a clay soil with G determined using the gradient technique. The flux plates underestimated G in the dry sand by 2.4 to 38.5% and by 13.1 to 73.2% in saturated sand while in moist clay plate performance ranged from a 6.2% overestimate to a 71.4% underestimate. Application of the correction generally improved agreement between plate estimates and independent Gmeasurements, especially when λ > λ m , although most plate estimates were still significantly lower than the actual G Limitations of the correction procedure indicate that renewed effort should be placed on innovative sensor designs that avoid or minimize heat flow distortion and/or provide direct, in situ calibration capability. The thermal conductivity () of soils may vary by a factor of about

The paper will review the feasibility of adapting the Modified Transient Plane Source (MTPS) method as a screening tool for early-detection of explosives and hazardous materials. Materials can be distinguished from others based on their inherent thermal properties (e.g. thermal effusivity) in testing through different types of barrier materials. A complimentary advantage to this technique relative to other traditional detection technologies is that it can penetrate reflective barrier materials, such as aluminum, easily. A strong proof-of-principle is presented on application of the MTPS transient thermal property measuring in the early-screening of liquid explosives. The work demonstrates a significant sensitivity to distinguishing a wide range of fluids based on their thermal properties through a barrier material. The work covers various complicating factors to the longer-term adoption of such a method including the impact of carbonization and viscosity. While some technical challenges remain, the technique offers significant advantages in complimenting existing detection methods in being able to penetrate reflective metal containers (e.g. aluminum soft drinkscans) with ease.