On the use of heated needle probes for measuring snow thermal conductivity

Heated needle probes provide the most convenient method to measure snow thermal conductivity. Recent studies have suggested that this method underestimates snow thermal conductivity; however the reasons for this discrepancy have not been elucidated. We show that it originates from the fact that, while the theory behind the method assumes that the measurements reach a logarithmic regime, this regime is not reached within the standard measurement procedure. Using the needle probe without this logarithmic regime leads to thermal conductivity underestimations of tens of percents. Moreover, we show that the poor thermal contact between the probe and the snow due to insertion damages results in a further underestimation. Thus, we encourage the use of fixed needle probes, set up before the snow season and buried under snowfalls, rather than hand-inserted probes. Finally, we propose a method to correct the measurements performed with such fixed needle probes buried in snow. This correction is based on a lookup table, derived specifically for the Hukseflux TP02 needle probe model, frequently used in snow studies. Comparison between corrected measurements and independent estimations of snow thermal conductivity obtained with numerical simulations shows an overall improvement of the needle probe values after application of the correction.

Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT) for Characterization of Additively Manufactured Lattice Structures (AMLS) in Gas-Liquid Systems

Against the background of current and future global challenges, such as climate change, process engineering requires increasingly specific solutions adapted to the respective problem or application, especially in gas–liquid contact apparatuses. One possibility to adjust the conditions in this kind of apparatuses is an intelligent and customized structuring, which leads to consistent fluid properties and flow characteristics within the reactor. In the course of this, the interfacial area for mass transfer, as well as residence times, have to be adjusted and optimized specifically for the respective application. In order to better understand and advance the research on intelligent customized additively manufactured lattice structures (AMLS), the phase distributions and local gas holdups that are essential for mass transfer are investigated for different structures and flow conditions. For the first time a tomographic measurement technique is used, the Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT), and validated with the volume expansion method and a fiber optical needle probe (A2PS-B-POP) for an air-water system for different modes of operation (with or without co-current liquid flow in empty or packed state). The ECVT proved to be particularly useful for both in the empty tube and the packed state and provided new insights into the phase distributions occurring within structured packings, which would have led to significantly underestimated results based on the visual reference measurements, especially for a densely packed additively manufactured lattice structure (5 mm cubic on the tip). Particularly for the modified structures, which were supposed to show local targeted differences, the ECVT was able to resolve the changes locally. The additional use of a pump for co-current flow operation resulted in slightly higher fluctuations within the ECVT data, although local events could still be resolved sufficiently. The final comparison of the empty tube at rest data with a fiber optical needle probe showed that the results were in good agreement and that the local deviations were due to general differences in the respective measurement techniques.

Evaluation of the influence of the degree of saturation, measuring time and use of a conductive paste on the determination of thermal conductivity of normal and lightweight concrete using the hot-wire method

The determination of thermal conductivity of cement-based materials is relevant from the perspective of buildings’ energy efficiency. The absence of unified tests for its measurement in mortars and concrete results in a heterogeneity of the data available in the literature. This work’s purpose is to determine the relevant influence from a a statistical viewpoint that three factors; degree of saturation, measuring time and use of a conductive paste, have in the measurement of the conductivity using the hot-wire needle probe method in two concretes with different thermal behavior: standard-weight concrete and lightweight concrete. The results obtained allow for the establishment of recommendations for future researchers on the minimum information to be included in their reports of thermal conductivity of cement-based materials by the needle probe method, the need to treat outliers, the most favorable saturation conditions and measuring times, as well as the possible benefits of using conductive pastes.

A novel optical needle probe for deep learning-based tissue elasticity characterization

The distinction between malignant and benign tumors is essential to the treatment of cancer. The tissue's elasticity can be used as an indicator for the required tissue characterization. Optical coherence elastography (OCE) probes have been proposed for needle insertions but have so far lacked the necessary load sensing capabilities. We present a novel OCE needle probe that provides simultaneous optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and load sensing at the needle tip. We demonstrate the application of the needle probe in indentation experiments on gelatin phantoms with varying gelatin concentrations. We further implement two deep learning methods for the end-toend sample characterization from the acquired OCT data. We report the estimation of gelatin sample weight ratios [wt%] in unseen samples with a mean error of 1.21 ± 0.91 wt%. Both evaluated deep learning models successfully provide sample characterization with different advantages regarding the accuracy and inference time.

Soil thermal conductivity dataset

<p>Soil thermal conductivity (STC) is required parameter for coupled water and heat transport for land surface models. However, unlike soil hydraulic properties, no global dataset is available for STC. The objective of this study was to collate literature data and to take new measurements in order to establish a big STC dataset that would facilitate the evaluation and development of STC models. We collected over 8000 STC measurements made on over 400 soil types around the world following rigid filtering criteria and processes. All the STC data in the dataset were based on transient-heat-flow methods (e.g., non-steady-state method, line-heat source, needle probe, thermal probe, dual and single probe heat pulse method, thermo-time domain reflectometry). Each soil contains at least five water contents in addition to known soil physical properties such as texture and bulk density. This presentation will give a brief introduction about the STC dataset as well as call for contributions to it.</p>