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Oxsensis develop Heat Flux prototype for ETH ZurichOxsensis have been contracted by the ETH University in Zurich to further develop the capability around the Wave-Phire optical based transducer in order to allow heat flux measurements to be made.
A group within the Mechanical Engineering Department of the ETH University Zurich, are working as part of a Swiss Government backed project to develop a novel “Hydrothermal Spallation Rock Drilling” technique, for use in the establishment of geothermal power stations. According to research from the ETH, 70% of the cost for geothermal power stations is incurred during the drilling phase. One of the main aims of the spallation drilling project therefore is to reduce the initial infrastructure costs for geothermal power stations. The ETH technique relies on inducing fractures in the rock by applying an intense flame torch to the drilling surface.
As part of the project the team want to calibrate the flame torch and therefore will employ a heat flux measurement. Oxsensis will provide a standard version of their Wave-Phire sensor but through an alternative interrogation scheme, will extract temperature measurements from two optical cavities, separated by a short distance. By using the temperature difference between these two measurement locations within the sensor, ETH expect to derive a heat flux measurement which allows them to calibrate the flame.
If you would like to know more about this particular heat flux sensing application please contact Oxsensis for further details.
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