A sensor for measuring thermal conductivity includes an insulator, a test material over the insulator, a conductor over the test material, and a gas within an open volume adjacent the test material and the conductor. An electrical source is configured to provide an alternating current through the conductor to heat the test material. Leads are connected to the conductor and configured to connect to a voltmeter. A method of measuring thermal conductivity includes disposing the sensor in a reactor core in which a nuclear fuel undergoes irradiation and radioactive decay. An alternating current is provided from the electrical source through the conductor to heat the test material. A voltage is measured as a function of time at the leads connected to the conductor. A thermal conductivity of the test material is calculated based on the voltage measured as a function of time. Methods of forming a sensor are also disclosed.

A specimen heating apparatus includes a heater unit configured to heat a test specimen held in a material testing machine, a heater holding unit configured to hold the heater unit in a set position relative to the test specimen for heating, a specimen temperature measurement unit attached to the heater unit and configured to measure temperature of the test specimen when the heater unit is in the set position, a temperature controller configured to control heating of the heater unit in response to a temperature measured by the specimen temperature measurement unit, and a thermal insulation unit configured to cover the heater unit, wherein the heater holding unit holds the heater unit in such a way that the heater unit is allowed to be brought to and removed from the set position while the test specimen is being held in the material testing machine.

A gas sensor (100) extending in an axial direction AX including: a gas sensor element (120) which detects the concentration of a specific gas in a gas under measurement; a tubular metallic shell (110) having a polygonal tool engagement portion (110B) surrounding the gas sensor element (120); a tubular outer tube (103) which extends rearward from the metallic shell (110), surrounds the gas sensor element (120), and has an opening (103E) at a rear end thereof; a sealing member (191) which seals the opening (103E); and a tubular heat dissipating member (104) which surrounds the outer tube (103) and reduces the amount of heat transferred from the forward end side of the gas sensor (100) through the outer tube (103) to the sealing member (191). The maximum diameter D1 of the heat dissipating member (104) is equal to or less than the opposite side dimension D2 of the tool engagement portion (110B).

A method for assessing a thermal path associated with an integrated circuit includes identifying a heat application mode based on a design type of the integrated circuit. The method also includes measuring a first temperature of at least one thermal sensing device associated with the integrated circuit. The method also includes applying heat to at least a portion of the integrated circuit according to the heat application mode. The method also includes measuring a second temperature of the at least one thermal sensing device. The method also includes determining a difference between the first temperature and the second temperature. The method also includes determining whether a thermal path between the integrated circuit and an associated substrate is sufficient based on a comparison of the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature with a predetermined difference between an initial temperature and a subsequent temperature of the at least one thermal sensing device.

Tools, processes, and systems for in-situ fluid characterization based on a thermal response of a fluid are provided. The thermal response of a downhole fluid may be measured using a downhole thermal response tool and compared with thermal responses associated with known fluids. The properties of the downhole fluid, such as heat capacity, diffusivity, and thermal conductivity, may be determined by matching the thermal response of the downhole fluid with a thermal response of a known fluid and using the properties associated with the known fluid. The composition of the downhole fluid may be determined by matching the viscosity of the downhole fluid to the viscosity of known fluid. A downhole thermal response tool for cased wellbores or wellbore sections and a downhole thermal response tool for openhole wellbores or wellbore sections are provided.

A material transport property measurement system includes an ellipsometry system, a heat capacity measurement system, and a controller. The ellipsometry system has a light source to generate a light which passes through a polarizer and shines on a sample. The sample reflects the light to an integrated polarization analyzer, which includes multiple polarizers with different polarization angles distributed from 0 to 180 degrees. A detector assembly includes multiple detectors corresponding to the multiple polarizers to detect light passing through the respective polarizers and generate multiple first electrical signals. The heat capacity measurement system measures a temperature parameter of the sample using a non-contact method, and outputs a second electrical signal. The controller analyzes the second and the multiple first electrical signals to obtain the transport properties of the material. A material transport property measurement method is also provided.

Thermal methods and systems are described for the batch and/or continuous monitoring of films and/or membranes and/or electrodes produced in large-scale manufacturing lines. Some of the methods described include providing an energy input into a film, measuring a thermal response of the film, and correlating these to one or more physical properties and/or characteristics of the film.

A thermal barrier coating is provided. The thermal barrier coating is configured to remain adherent to the substrate under high strains, thus allowing the use of non-contacting strain measurement systems, such as digital image correlation. The thermal barrier coating may include a first layer of a partially metallic material configured to adhere to a metallic substrate, and a second layer of a partially ceramic material configured to adhere to the first layer. A successful configuration has a top layer thickness that is approximately two-thirds of the first layer thickness.

The invention relates to a flow measurement system for determining a flow of a medium, comprising a Coriolis flow sensor, a thermal flow sensor and a processing unit connected thereto. According to the invention, the processing unit is arranged for determining, based on the output signals of both the Coriolis flow sensor and the thermal sensor, at least one of the thermal conductivity and the specific heat capacity of a medium in the flow measurement system. The invention further relates to a method of determining at least one of the thermal conductivity and the specific heat capacity of a medium.

A Process of determining at least one thermal property of a fluid under investigation with a thermal sensor. The thermal sensor has at least a first sensor element that is heated to provide heat to the fluid under investigation. The first or a second sensor that can sense the temperature of the fluid under investigation, wherein the process is characterized by the following steps: a) Providing a calibrated reduced order model which is calibrated with one or more thermal properties of at least a second and a third fluid; b) (Applying an amount of heat to the fluid under investigation by the first sensor element and) measuring the temperature T.sub.sens at the first and/or second sensor element said fluid under investigation; and c) Extracting one or more thermal property of the fluid under investigation by applying the said temperature T.sub.sens to said calibrated reduced order model.