A method of determining a thermal state or a thermal state transition of a substance based on how much liquid phase is available is disclosed. The method includes: (a) determining a current thermal state of the substance when the internal combustion engine is switched on based on a tank temperature and on a time interval during which the engine is switched off; and (b) calculating a percentage of the liquid phase in case the thermal state is a mixture of solid phase and liquid phase based on a total mass of the substance in the tank, a heat amount supplied to the tank, a heat exchange of the tank with an external environment; and (c) detecting the thermal state transitions based on said tank temperature and its time derivative and on said percentage of the liquid phase.

A measuring arrangement for a thermal analysis of a sample, having a crucible for storing a sample in the crucible, as well as a sensor for measuring a sample temperature of the sample when the crucible is arranged on the sensor. To reduce the risk of damages to or even the destruction of used components as a result of chemical or physical reactions, it is provided according to the invention that the measuring arrangement further has a washer arrangement, which is inserted between the crucible and the sensor and which has a first layer, which contacts the crucible, of a first material and a second layer, which contacts the sensor, of a second material, which differs from the first material. The invention further includes a method for the thermal analysis of a sample, which is performed by using such a measuring arrangement.

In order to determine a volume thermal expansion coefficient of a liquid, a sample of the liquid is placed inside a cell of a calorimeter followed by an incremental increase of pressure inside the cell containing the liquid. After each pressure increase heat flow into the cell and volume of the liquid are measured. Based on results of the measurements of the heat flow and accounting for initially evaluated cell volume, the volume thermal expansion of the liquid is determined.

A detection device for detecting a marker in a liquid, comprising a reaction chamber, provided with a thermosensitive sensor, wherein said reaction chamber comprises an photopolymer capable of releasing or generating a chemical species that is capable of undergoing or initiating an exothermic or endothermic chemical reaction with a marker present in the liquid.

A method for dissolved gas analysis is presented. The method includes the steps of irradiating a fluid with electromagnetic radiation; and determining a concentration of a gas as a function of a temperature change of the fluid in response to the irradiation. A device for such an analysis of dissolved gases in a fluid, and a system having such device are also described.

Provided are a gas sensor, a gas detection device, a gas detection method and a device provided with the gas detection device, capable of improving gas detection performance. The gas detection device is provided with a gas sensor comprising a thermosensitive resistance element and a porous gas molecule adsorptive material thermally bonded to the thermosensitive resistance element that releases specified gas molecules due to heating and cooling, and a power supply control unit that heats and cools the thermosensitive resistance element by controlling the supply of power thereto. The gas detection method comprises a heating step for putting the porous gas molecule adsorptive material in a heated state and a detecting step for detecting a specific gas due to the temperature change in the thermosensitive resistance element by heating.

Provided are a gas sensor, a gas detection device, a gas detection method and a device provided with the gas detection device, capable of improving gas detection performance. The gas detection device is provided with a gas sensor comprising a thermosensitive resistance element and a porous gas molecule adsorptive material thermally bonded to the thermosensitive resistance element that releases specified gas molecules due to heating and cooling, and a power supply control unit that heats and cools the thermosensitive resistance element by controlling the supply of power thereto. The gas detection method comprises a heating step for putting the porous gas molecule adsorptive material in a heated state and a detecting step for detecting a specific gas due to the temperature change in the thermosensitive resistance element by heating.

Modified thermoplastic hydrocarbon thermoplastic resins are provided, as well as methods of their manufacture and uses thereof in rubber compositions. The modified thermoplastic resins are modified by decreasing the relative quantity of the dimer, trimer, tetramer, and pentamer oligomers as compared to the corresponding unmodified thermoplastic resin polymers, resulting in a product that exhibits a greater shift in the glass transition temperature of the elastomer(s) used in tire formulations. This translates to better viscoelastic predictors of tire tread performance, such as wet grip and rolling resistance. The modified thermoplastic resins impart remarkable properties on various rubber compositions, such as tires, belts, hoses, brakes, and the like. Automobile tires incorporating the modified thermoplastic resins are shown to possess excellent results in balancing the properties of rolling resistance, tire wear, snow performance, and wet braking performance.

A sensor device for determining at least one heat transfer parameter of a gas comprises a sensor unit (10) comprising at least one heater element and at least one temperature sensor. A first (inner) housing (20) receives the sensor unit. The first housing comprises a first membrane (22) allowing a diffusive gas exchange between the exterior and the interior of the first housing. The first housing is received in a second (outer) housing (30). The second housing comprises a second membrane (32) allowing a diffusive gas exchange between the exterior of the second housing and the exterior of the first housing. Thereby temperature gradients inside the first housing are reduced. The second housing can be made of metal and can be disposed on a support plate (40), taking the form of a cap. An auxiliary sensor (50) can be arranged in the space between the first and second housings.

The present disclosure provides a method of determining a relative decrease in catalytic efficacy of a catalyst in a test sample of a catalyst solution with unknown catalytic activity. The method includes (a) mixing the test sample with a test solvent to form a test mixture and (b) measuring the increase in the temperature of the test mixture at predetermined time intervals immediately after forming the test mixture. A predetermined feature is used to determine both a test value in the increase in temperature measured in (b) and a control value in a known increase in temperature of a control mixture of the test solvent with a control sample of a control catalyst solution. The relative decrease in catalytic efficacy of the catalyst in the test sample having the unknown catalytic activity is then determined from: Relative Decrease in Catalytic Efficacy=Control Value−Test Value/Control Value.