Resolved Temperature Measurements Research Articles

Distributed optical fiber sensors for real-time tracking of fouling buildup for tubular continuous polymerization reactors

Early online fouling detection is expected to be a real step forward in the operation of continuous tubular reactors. As an online technology, the Rayleigh backscatter based Distributed Optical Fiber Sensor (DOFS) technology was evaluated with respect to temperature measurement resolution, reproducibility and the best online calibration method. Different coatings and terminations were characterized for emulsion polymerization reactors. Commercially available sensors with acrylate primary coatings, dual acrylate coatings, and polyimide coatings were all compared with each other. It is shown that the presence of a secondary coating significantly alters sensor behaviour. Sensors with only a primary coating showed a temperature resolution of 0.1 °C. Online calibration for temperature readout was carried out and validation tested on segments of fiber integrated in a 3D-printed reactor channel (diameter 1.5 mm). Acrylate coated sensors showed a deviation of 20 % for the calibration coefficients when inside the reactor channel compared to the online calibration, leading to errors in temperature measurement. Polyimide coated sensors showed a deviation of just 0.6 % in this validation test, demonstrating good capabilities for online calibration with accurate temperature measurements. The possibility of spatial and temporal monitoring of fouling buildup through a heat exchanging wall equipped with DOFS was evaluated.

A comparative study of Fibre Bragg Grating for spatially and temporally resolved gas temperature measurements in cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets

Abstract Cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets (CAP-Jet) are successfully used in medical ther-apy for healing of chronic wounds and are widely researched in inactivation of patho-gens and in assisting in cancer therapy. A crucial parameter for these plasma applica-tions is that CAP-Jets operate at temperatures that are tolerable for biological tissues. While tools characterizing the plasma's gas temperature are well developed, there are only a few methods that work with an agreeable limit of uncertainty, complexity and limited perturbation properties to accurately determine that the studied plasma jet operates at tissue tolerable temperatures at all times. In the current work, time resolved measurements of the gas temperature in the effluent of a CAP-Jet are performed using the innovative technique of a Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG), in which the temperature dynamics is measured by a shift of the FBGs resonant wavelength through its thermo-optic coefficient. Comparing with other temporal and spatial diagnostic tools such as thermocouple measurement, Schlieren imaging, and optical emission spectroscopy, we demonstrate reliable calorimetric measurements at different plasma duty cycles. The plasma source maintains tissue tolerable temperatures inside the plasma active zone with values below 35°C at 1 cm distance from the jet nozzle. The calorimetric measure-ments have revealed that the heat power dissipation in comparison to electric energy of our plasma source is at least 50%.

Shear Coaxial Methane–Oxygen Injector Mixing and Combustion Examined by Laser Absorption Tomography

Mixing length scales for methane–oxygen shear-coaxial single-element rocket injectors were experimentally assessed using laser absorption tomography. The laser spectroscopy technique enables quantitative and spatially resolved measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and temperature within the near-field region, probing rovibrational absorption lines of CO near 5 μm. Multiple injector designs were examined with differing oxidizer post recess depths to compare mixing characteristics. All tests were performed at an oxidizer-to-fuel ratio of 3 with a total propellant flow rate of 0.350 g/s. Planar measurements were taken at 16 axial positions, which collectively captured the first 57 mm of each flame. A tomographic inversion method was applied to obtain radially resolved distributions of temperature and CO mole fraction for each axial position, from which two-dimensional images of the thermochemical structure were generated. Characteristic mixing parameters are defined and extracted from features within the species and temperature profiles to visualize the spatial evolution of CO production. Increasing oxidizer post recess improved mixing due to enhanced shear-induced turbulence and associated radial diffusion of species and temperature; however, the enhancement was nonlinear. This work establishes the first use of laser absorption tomography to directly measure mixing length scales associated with temperature and species profiles in coaxial flames.

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Planetary and cometary atmospheres.

The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is fundamental for understanding the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets. Compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets provide a foundation for understanding the nature of the most commonly observed exoplanets, while spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide insights into the past and present-day habitability of planetary environments, and the availability of the chemical ingredients for life. While prior and existing (sub)millimeter observations have led to major advances in these areas, progress is hindered by limitations in the dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity of existing telescopes and interferometers. Here, we summarize some of the key planetary science use cases that factor into the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-m class single dish facility: (1) to more fully characterize planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, (2) to measure the compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, (3) to obtain detections of new, astrobiologically relevant gases and perform isotopic surveys of comets, and (4) to perform synergistic, temporally-resolved measurements in support of dedicated interplanetary space missions. The improved spatial coverage (several arcminutes), resolution (~ 1.2'' - 12''), bandwidth (several tens of GHz), dynamic range (~ 10 5) and sensitivity (~ 1 mK km s -1) required by these science cases would enable new insights into the chemistry and physics of planetary environments, the origins of prebiotic molecules and the habitability of planetary systems in general.

Solution-Processed Flexible Temperature Sensor Array for Highly Resolved Spatial Temperature and Tactile Mapping Using ESN-Based Data Interpolation.

High-performance flexible temperature sensors are crucial in various technological applications, such as monitoring environmental conditions and human healthcare. The ideal characteristics of these sensors for stable temperature monitoring include scalability, mechanical flexibility, and high sensitivity. Moreover, simplicity and low power consumption will be essential for temperature sensor arrays in future integrated systems. This study introduces a solution-based approach for creating a V2O5 nanowire network temperature sensor on a flexible film. Through optimization of the fabrication conditions, the sensor exhibits remarkable performance, sustaining long-term stability (>110 h) with minimal hysteresis and excellent sensitivity (∼-1.5%/°C). In addition, this study employs machine learning techniques for data interpolation among sensors, thereby enhancing the spatial resolution of temperature measurements and adding tactile mapping without increasing the sensor count. Introducing this methodology results in an improved understanding of temperature variations, advancing the capabilities of flexible-sensor arrays for various applications.

Acoustic propagation modeling using sound velocity profiles estimated from high resolution temperature data

An accurate sound velocity profile (SVP) is an important input for underwater acoustic propagation modeling. The SVP is largely driven by the temperature of the water column, especially at shallower depths. Measuring the SVP in high spatial and temporal resolution is challenging with traditional instrumentation, however techniques exist to produce high resolution temperature measurements that can be used to derive estimates of the SVP. Fiber optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) offers an improvement of several orders of magnitude over traditional singular point measurement devices and has the ability to measure temperature over large range and depth scales in an efficient manner. A DTS system was towed for 172 nm off the coast of New England over several days. The measured temperature data was used to estimate the SVP across the range and depth and will be compared to traditional environmental data sets, such as HYCOM. A comparison of modeled acoustic propagation using different resolution SVPs will be presented.

QEchemMEMS – A working electrode with high-resolution temperature sensing for studying electrochemical heat management systems

Electrochemical heat pumps are a new and interesting concept for efficient thermal energy management at the micro- and macro-scale. The development of new solutions for electrochemical heat pumps requires reliable and high-resolution measurements of the temperature changes resulting from redox reactions. A device for measuring such temperature variations, manufactured using microelectromechanical system technology, is presented and characterized in this study. The device contains a platinum working electrode suspended on a thin SixNy membrane for the electrochemical cell; this electrode also serves as a resistive thermal device (RTD). The device and temperature readout electronic implementations of the Anderson loop are characterized. The temperature coefficient of resistance is 2736 ppm/K. The theoretical noise performance is predicted and verified in practice. The voltage noise of the RTD is 28 nV, which results in a temperature measurement resolution of 1.3 mK despite a very small RTD bias current of 40 µA.

Gas heating by nanosecond repetitively pulsed glow discharges applied to a methane–air flame

In this work, the thermal effect induced by non-equilibrium plasma produced by nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) glow discharges applied across a lean premixed methane–air flame is investigated. The flame is laminar, stationary, and axis-symmetric. The discharges are applied on the symmetry axis of the flame, crossing the fresh reactants, flame front, and burned gases. The obtained plasma-assisted flame is stable and reproducible, allowing phase-locked averaged diagnostics. The thermal effect is investigated by acquiring spatially and temporally resolved temperature measurements in the plasma discharges using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) of the second positive system of nitrogen. The results show that for an applied voltage of 10 kV, NRP glow discharges increased the gas temperature by up to 130 K within 10 ns. However, this heating was location-dependent, i.e., high near the anode tip and not detectable 0.5 mm above the anode. It was also shown that reducing the applied voltage down to 9 kV caused this ultra-fast heating to disappear. On the other hand, the reactants near the anode tip had a constant temperature of 480 K, between discharges, while the reactants were injected at 293 K. The reason for this slow heating could be due to (1) heating by the flame which is pulled down to the anode when NRP discharges are applied, (2) slow gas heating induced by relaxation of vibrational excited states of nitrogen, or (3) post-discharge oxidation chemistry. Based on temperature measurements performed on NRP corona discharges, heating by the flame could be ruled out. Zero-dimensional numerical simulations’ results suggest that post-discharge oxidation chemistry can heat the gas by 110–130 K, indicating that this is an important heating mechanism. Further investigation will be necessary to assess the significance of the vibrational–translational relaxation of nitrogen.

Electrical, thermal and noise properties of platinum-carbon free-standing nanowires designed as nanoscale resistive thermal devices

Platinum-carbon (PtC) composite nanowires were fabricated using focused electron beam induced deposition and postprocessed, and their performance as a nanoscale resistive thermal device (RTD) was evaluated. Nanowires were free-standing and deposited on a dedicated substrate to eliminate the influence of the substrate itself and of the halo effect on the results. The PtC free-standing nanowires were postprocessed to lower their electrical resistance using electron beam irradiation and thermal annealing using Joule heat both separately and combined. Postprocessed PtC free-standing nanowires were characterized to evaluate their noise figure (NF) and thermal coefficients at the temperature range from 30 K to 80 °C. The thermal sensitivity of RTD was lowered with the reduced resistance but simultaneously the NF improved, especially with electron-beam irradiation. The temperature measurement resolution achievable with the PtC free-standing nanowires was 0.1 K in 1 kHz bandwidth.

Integrating Fiber Sensing for Spatially Resolved Temperature Measurement in Fuel Cells

Fiber optic sensors integrated into fuel cell stacks have the potential to significantly enhance the temperature control and health monitoring of fuel cells. Inhomogeneous loading, both within individual cells and across different cells in a stack, leads to the formation of local hotspots that accelerate aging and degrade performance. This study investigates the behavior and feasibility of incorporating polyimide-coated optical fiber sensors into bipolar plates for precise and spatially resolved temperature monitoring. The sensor is successfully integrated into a single cell of a fuel cell stack, positioned on the bipolar plate in direct contact with the membrane. Pre-tests are conducted to thoroughly evaluate the technical properties of the fiber in relation to specific cell requirements. Additionally, a physical prototype featuring the sensor is developed and employed to validate its effectiveness under realistic operating conditions. The temperature measurement obtained via the fiber exhibits a continuous profile throughout the entire length, covering both the active area and distributor region of the cell. Throughout the entire 60 min test period, the measuring system provided continuous and uninterrupted temperature measurements, encompassing the start of the stack, the heating phase, the subsequent stable operating point, and the cooling phase. However, some technical challenges are identified, as mechanical pressure exerted on the fiber influences the measured temperature. While this work demonstrates promising results, further advancements are necessary to address inhomogeneous loading within fuel cells and hotspot mitigation. The precise monitoring of temperature distribution enables early detection of potential damage, facilitating timely interventions to improve the service life and overall performance of fuel cells.

Multidimensional high-temperature field measurement method for flame based on near infrared radiation spectrum of water vapor

The temperature distribution is an important parameter in the design and optimization of :various engine types, and this paper begins by analyzing the temperature sensitivities of different waveband combinations. Based on an evaluation of the effects of self-absorption phenomena on the temperature measurement accuracy, a multidimensional temperature measurement method based on the integrated ratio of the intensity of the water vapor broadband radiation spectra is proposed. To address the multidimensional temperature inversion problem, the practicality of a nonlinear reconstruction approach is evaluated, and a multiple linear iteration algorithm is proposed. In addition, validation experiments are performed in the form of methane/oxygen laminar flame temperature measurements in combination with parallel rotating beam spectroscopy, and the results show that the method exhibits temperature measurement resolution of 10 K. The method proposed and developed in this work provides a new experimental concept for high-temperature measurements and is expected to provide reliable multidimensional temperature data for combustion chambers and plumes in engine ground experiments.

Experimental Characterization of a Novel Foam Burner Design for the Low-Excess-Enthalpy Combustion of Very Lean Syngas Mixtures

In the present work, a novel foam burner design is proposed and experimentally evaluated for operation with highly diluted syngas mixtures. The lab-scale burner consists of a purpose-built, square-shaped, high-temperature-grade stainless steel tubular reactor filled with square-sectioned siliconized silico carbide (SiSiC) foams. The assembly was installed in an electrical furnace. Spatially resolved temperature measurements were obtained along the reactor axis, while simultaneous measurements of CO, CO2, H2, O2, and N2 were taken at the burner exit and the water levels were recorded upstream and downstream of the reactor. The results clearly show that flames can be stabilized along the reactor for a range of foam characteristics and operating conditions. Hydrogen conversion efficiencies in excess of 98%, and overall thermal efficiencies close to 95% were achieved for the selected operating conditions. Overall, the denser 10 ppi foam demonstrated superior combustion characteristics in terms of stability, lower enthalpy rises, and a wider operating range at the expense of a very modest pressure drop penalty. Finally, scanning electron microscopy, coupled with energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and Raman spectroscopy analyses, was used to determine the morphological and compositional characteristics of the pristine and aged foams. After more than 100 h of operation, no significant performance degradation was observed, even though the burner design was subjected to considerable thermal stress.

Assessment of the Spatial Resolution and Accuracy of Temperature Measurements in Radiothermometry of the Breast

Assessment of the Spatial Resolution and Accuracy of Temperature Measurements in Radiothermometry of the Breast

Tactile Sensor Structure Optimized for Sliding Motion With High Resolution Recording of Surface Topography

The demand for tactile devices with human-like exquisiteness has recently been increasing in various fields. Among the various parameters that humans feel through the tactile system, temperature and surface topography are the most important parameters to achieve artificial tactile devices with human level precision. Here, we present a new tactile sensor with high resolution surface topography recording and temperature measurement. Our tactile sensor was designed to have a surface topography sensing part driven by P(VDF-TrFE) and a thermistor part for temperature sensing. Even though the sensor touched the same temperature object, the sliding condition showed different resistance change values. Therefore, the correlation factors of the sliding velocity to temperature were defined with a simple relation function. To achieve high resolution recording, ‘zig-zag’ arrayed tactile sensor can overcome the limitations of simple matrix cell design. The design eliminates empty spaces between sensor cells. By using these systems, a resolution of ~500μm to x-direction was achieved. This tactile sensor has linear sensitivity to pressure with a superior response time of 10ms for dynamic sensing. By integrating the dynamic piezoelectric signals during the sliding motion, we can reconstruct the surface topography of various objects.

Demodulation of temperature with high spatial resolution based on RDTS system

Measurement of temperature along the fiber based on Raman distributed temperature sensing (RDTS) system has been studied and applied broadly. However, the minimum fiber length and temperature change required to correctly obtain the actual temperature variation in periodic regions (PRs) are limited by the systematic spatial resolution of the order of meters. To improve the spatial resolution of temperature measurement, we propose a novel signal processing scheme that firstly associates the position of each region with the relevant sampling points in the temperature rise curve, then combines the theoretically and experimentally derived relation that different intensities can be obtained by sensing temperature with the luminous flux at different locations within the pulsed light, and finally separates the Raman intensity generated by each region from the temperature rise curve of PRs. The experimental results show that the temperature demodulation of five PRs with a length of 0.5 m can be achieved with an average accuracy of ±2.3 °C. The proposed scheme improves the spatial resolution of the conventional RDTS system from 4 m to 0.5 m and provides a new solution for the temperature monitoring of PRs.

Integrating MODIS LST and Sentinel-1 InSAR to monitor frozen soil deformation in the Qumalai-Zhiduo area, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

ABSTRACT Owing to continuous global warming, frozen soil degradation has become a universal phenomenon, leading to large-scale ground deformation that affects engineering construction and the fragile ecological balance. Geodetic observations, especially temporal InSAR, can quantify ground deformation. However, the accuracy of InSAR modelling in capturing the spatial–temporal variability of the freeze–thaw process depends on the spatial resolution of temperature measurements. This paper proposes a freeze–thaw amplitude model incorporating MODIS LST based on a single-master InSAR time-series deformation to calculate frozen soil deformation. We applied this model to the Qumalai-Zhiduo area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and compared its results with those of the model using weather station temperature in terms of frozen soil deformation parameters, RSME, and characteristic targets. Our study found that the model incorporating MODIS LST performed better in areas far from weather stations, while both models produced similar results in areas of close proximity. Finally, we evaluated another commonly used method for calculating frozen soil deformation parameters and found that the method incorporating MODIS LST based on a single-master time-series deformation is more accurate and precise than the method based on a multi-master SBAS network.

Comparison of different spatial temperature data sources and resolutions for use in understanding intra-urban heat variation

In this study, we investigate the compatibility of specific vulnerability indicators and heat exposure data and the suitability of spatial temperature-related data at a range of resolutions, to represent spatial temperature variations within cities using data from Atlanta, Georgia. For this purpose, we include various types of known and theoretically based vulnerability indicators such as specific street-level landscape features and urban form metrics, population-based and zone-based variables as predictors, and different measures of temperature, including air temperature (as vector-based data), land surface temperature (at resolution ranges from 30 m to 305 m), and mean radiant temperature (at resolution ranges from 1 m to 39 m) as dependent variables. Using regression analysis, we examine how different sets of predictors and spatial resolutions can explain spatial heat variation. Our findings suggest that the lower resolution of land surface temperature data, up to 152 m, and mean radiant temperature data, up to 15 m, may still satisfactorily represent spatial urban temperature variation caused by landscape elements. The results of this study have important implications for heat-related policies and planning by providing insights into the appropriate sets of data and relevant resolution of temperature measurements for representing spatial urban heat variations.

Wet-Spun Porous Carbon Microfibers for Enhanced Electrochemical Detection.

We present a novel copolymer-based, uniform porous carbon microfiber (PCMF) formed via wet-spinning for significantly improved electrochemical detection. Carbon fiber (CF), fabricated from a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor, is commonly used in batteries or for electrochemical detection of neurochemicals due to its biplanar geometry and desirable edge plane sites with high surface free energy and defects for enhanced analyte interactions. Recently, the presence of pores within carbon materials has presented interesting electrochemistry leading to detection improvements; however, there is currently no method to uniformly create pores on a carbon microfiber surface impacting a broad range of electrochemical applications. Here, we synthesized controllable porous carbon fibers from a spinning dope of the copolymers PAN and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in dimethylformamide via wet spinning for the first time. PMMA serves as a sacrificial block introducing macropores of increased edge-plane character on the fiber. Methods were optimized to produce porous CFs at similar dimensions to traditional CF. We prove that an increase in porosity enhances the degree of disorder on the surface, resulting in significantly improved detection capabilities with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Local trapping of analytes at porous geometries enables electrochemical reversibility with improved sensitivity, linear range of detection, and measurement temporal resolution. Overall, we demonstrate the utility of a copolymer synthetic method for PCMF fabrication, providing a stable, controlled macroporous fiber framework with enhanced edge plane character. This work will significantly advance fundamental investigations of how pores and edge plane sites influence electrochemical detection.

2D in situ determination of soot optical band gaps in flames using hyperspectral absorption tomography

During the formation of soot, the particles undergo a fine structural transformation, akin to graphitization, from “young” to “mature” soot. This ageing process is accompanied by a change in optical properties, which manifests in the soot optical band gap and dispersion exponent, Eg and ζ. Although both quantities are regularly determined via broadband extinction measurements, they have a nonlinear relationship to the local extinction spectrum, so line-of-sight integrated measurements introduce errors into estimates of Eg and ζ. We report the development of an absorption tomography sensor that enables 2D in situ mapping of Eg and ζ. Our sensor employs broadband back-illumination, fiber-coupled collection optics, and an imaging spectrograph to simultaneously acquire 24 spectrally-resolved absorption signals, suitable for tomographic reconstruction. We perform proof-of-concept experiments to characterize soot formation in non-premixed steady flames from a Gülder burner, using ethylene and propane as fuels. Reconstructions based on axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric absorption tomography are compared, and we explore how our sensor can be adapted to perform temporally-resolved measurements in a turbulent flame.

Fiber Optic Temperature Sensor System Using Air-Filled Fabry-Pérot Cavity with Variable Pressure.

We report a high-resolution fiber optic temperature sensor system based on an air-filled Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity, whose spectral fringes shift due to a precise pressure variation in the cavity. The absolute temperature can be deduced from the spectral shift and the pressure variation. For fabrication, a fused-silica tube is spliced with a single-mode fiber at one end and a side-hole fiber at the other to form the FP cavity. The pressure in the cavity can be changed by passing air through the side-hole fiber, causing the spectral shift. We analyzed the effect of sensor wavelength resolution and pressure fluctuation on the temperature measurement resolution. A computer-controlled pressure system and sensor interrogation system were developed with miniaturized instruments for the system operation. Experimental results show that the sensor had a high wavelength resolution (<0.2 pm) with minimal pressure fluctuation (~0.015 kPa), resulting in high-resolution (±0.32 ℃) temperature measurement. It shows good stability from the thermal cycle testing with the maximum testing temperature reaching 800 ℃.