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 hydrogen peroxide sterilization sensor and method of use. The sensor includes: at least one thermal indicator component independently selected from an electronic thermal sensor, an irreversible temperature indicator, and a heat-shrinkable film; a reactant-functional porous sorbent in thermal contact (which may or may not be direct physical contact) with the at least one thermal indicator component; and a reactant comprising a material that reacts exothermically with hydrogen peroxide. The reactant is impregnated in the porous sorbent. The method includes: providing a hydrogen peroxide sterilization sensor; allowing hydrogen peroxide to contact the reactant to generate thermal energy sufficient to cause a response from the at least one thermal indicator component; and detecting that conditions for the hydrogen peroxide sterilization have been met.

The present invention discloses a multi-screen supporting device in a high-temperature adiabatic calorimeter, and belongs to a calorimeter device in calorimetry. The multi-screen supporting device comprises a vacuum tank, three layers of protecting screens, two layers of thermal insulation screens, a protecting screen supporter for supporting and fixing the protecting screens, a thermal insulation screen supporter for supporting and fixing the thermal insulation screens, and a connecting piece for connecting and fixing the protecting screen supporter and the thermal insulation screen supporter. The multi-screen supporting mode in the high-temperature calorimeter solves the problems of time consumption for disassembling and assembling, low multi-screen assembling coaxiality and reduced experimental repeatability caused by many parts moved in each disassembling and assembling in the existing high-temperature calorimeter. The multi-screen supporting mode is easy in part processing, high in disassembling and assembling efficiency and convenient in operation, and effectively improves the experimental repeatability.

Described is a zone box for a differential scanning calorimeter. The zone box includes sheets of thermocouple alloy disposed between thermally conductive electrical insulator layers. A thermocouple alloy wire is electrically coupled to each one of the thermocouple alloy sheets. In addition, a pure metal wire is electrically coupled to each one of the thermocouple alloy sheets to enable remote measurement of voltage differences between the different thermocouple alloy sheets. The high thermal conductivity of the electrical insulator layers substantially reduces any thermal gradients across the sheets and maintains the connections of the thermocouple alloy wires and pure metal wires to the sheets to be at substantially the same temperature. The zone box reduces temperature difference measurement errors that result from inhomogeneity in the thermocouple alloy wires and variable temperature distributions along the length of the wires.

A gas monitor apparatus includes a sorbent material that adsorbs a target gas based on a concentration of the target gas in a monitored environment and a reference material that does not respond to the target gas. The gas monitor also includes a first thermistor disposed within the sorbent material and a second thermistor disposed within the reference material, the first thermistor to provide a first indication of a first temperature of the sorbent material and the second thermistor to provide a second indication of a second temperature of the reference material. A processing device determines a concentration of the target gas based at least in part on a differential measurement between the first temperature and the second temperature.

A method of identifying a gas is provided. The method includes providing a gas sensor device comprising at least two stacked metal oxide layers, wherein a change in conductance of the gas sensor device in a presence of a gas varies with a temperature of the stacked metal oxide layers. The method includes bringing the gas into proximity with the stacked metal oxide layers. The method also includes measuring the conductance of the gas sensor device when the gas is in proximity with the stacked layers at multiple temperatures to generate a temperature-conductance profile. The method also includes identifying a gas of interest based on the temperature-conductance profile.

There is provided a calorimeter. Heat flows in and out of the sample via a thermoelectric module. The thermoelectric module is so constituted that a pair of a P-type thermoelectric element and an N-type thermoelectric element is disposed between substrates, and the pair of the thermoelectric elements are connected in n pairs so that the P-type thermoelectric elements and the N-type thermoelectric element are arranged alternately in π-shape; a calorimetric sensitivity of the thermoelectric module of a thermal conductance surrounding thermoelectric module and a thermal conductance between substrates of the thermoelectric modules and a noise based on an electric resistance of the thermoelectric module depend on an L/A ratio of the thermoelectric element constituting the thermoelectric module and the number n of the pairs of the thermoelectric elements, where the L/A ratio is 6 mm.sup.−1 or more, and the number n of the pairs is 4 or more.

The invention relates to detecting a composition of a sample or contamination in liquids by detecting corresponding changes in their thermal properties. In a disclosed arrangement, an apparatus is provided comprising a first probe element configured to provide a first surface in direct contact with the sample and a second surface that is not in direct contact with the sample. A measurement system measures a rate of heat transfer through the first surface. A processing unit analyses the measured rate of heat transfer in order to detect a heat transfer characteristic of the sample that is indicative of a composition of the sample.

The present invention relates to a method for early detection of carbonization during the drying of an organic material. The method of the present invention measures temperature variation per unit time of exhaust gas containing water (H.sub.2O), carbon monoxide (CO), or carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2), which are to be generated by the pyrolysis of an organic material, and the concentration of carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide of the exhaust gas, so as to determine the occurrence of carbonization therethrough, thereby enabling early detection of carbonization within a dryer.

A MEMS-based calorimeter includes a reference channel, a sample channel, and a thermopile configured to measure a temperature differential between the reference channel and a sample channel. The reference channel and the sample channel each include a passive mixer such as a splitting-and-recombination micromixer. The passive mixer can be formed by a first set of channels in a first layer and a second set of channels in a second layer. Methods for fabricating the MEMS-based calorimeter and methods of using the calorimeter to measure thermodynamic properties of chemical reactions are also provided.