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Thermal conductivity is measured by transient heating of an isotropic material with a known heating power generated from a source of known geometry and measuring the temperature change with time. The needle probe contains a heater wire and calibrated thermistor. It is assumed to be a perfect conductor because it is much more conductive than unconsolidated sediments. With this assumption, the temperature of the probe has a linear relationship with the natural logarithm of the time after initiation of heating:
T(t) = (q/4pk4πk) ln(t) + C,
where:
T = temperature,
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Process | Time (min) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
1. Obtain a whole-round core section from the core rack | 0.3 | See Preparing Sections & Samples |
2. Locate the appropriate probe for the sample type | 0.5 | |
3. Verify sample identification in software | 0.5 | See Set Measurement Parameters |
4. Configure measurement program | 0.3 | |
5. Perform drift control | 5 | See Making a Measurement |
6. Heat and measure sample | 2 | |
7. 10 minute pause between measurements | 10 | |
8. Repeat steps 5-7 for 2 additional measurements (3 total) | 34 | |
9. Upload results to LIMS | 0.2 | See Uploading Data to LIMS |
10. Check results in LIMS | 1 | |
11. Remove the section and deliver to splitting room | 0.2 | |
Total Time per sample: | 54 (max) |
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- Load ThermCon software in offline mode. Ensure that the Text_ID field is blank.
- Scan the core label using a scanner, then click Verify Sample.
- If login is requested, enter UserName and Password and then click OK.
- The folder path is shown on the screen. Do not close this window during measurement.
- Run TK04 program and choose Measuring > Configuration.
- Set configuration parameters as follows (see figure below):
- Probe Number: serial number of probe to be used in the measurement (Note: results may be wrong by several percent if the wrong serial number is entered or by a factor of ~2 if the wrong type of probe is entered),
- Root Name: six characters or less; suggest Core-Type-Section (no special characters in the root name).
- Serial Number: number of repeat measurements at each measurement point (1–99 single measurements).
- Folder: path for saving data results.
- Heating Power: for the VLQ (needle probe), set to twice the estimated thermal conductivity value of measured sediment. For example, 2–3 is good for sediment. (See the Appendix: TK04 Recommended Heating Power for power guidance.)
- Measuring Time: set to at least 80 s, or for mini HLQ 60 s.
- Click Expert Options to configure Drift Control and Pause in Minutes (see Step 7).
- Enter comments.
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