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1. Equilibrate core sections to room temperature for at least 4 hr in the core rack before bringing a target section to the thermal conductivity workstationbefore measurement.
2. Select measuring points in the core and record offset in cm (measured from the top - blue endcap).
   – Intact core: On intact cores, select the middle of section.
   – Cracked core: On cracked cores, choose a place with no fractures, just above/below the middle.
3. If measuring a whole-round section, use the cordless drill to drill a ~2 mm hole into the core liner on the line between the working and archive halves. If the sediment is semi-consolidated, drill a small hole in the sediment for the needle probe as well.
4. Optional - Apply thermal joint compound to the probe unless the sample is very soft and/or moist.
5. Carefully insert a clean full-space needle into the sediment. Avoid twisting the needle into the core (Figure 1a).
6. If measuring a section-half, place the puck or mini-puck on a smooth place, avoiding cracks (Figure 1b). . Ensure puck to be completely in contact with the sample.
7. Secure the puck to the sample with velcro or a rubber band.

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B) Hard-Rock Samples

1. Place hard rock samples in an ambient temperature seawater bath to equilibrate and saturate (4–12 hr). Keep sample saturated until measurement. A bell jar/vacuum pump can aid in saturation.

   NOTE: Seawater bath is not necessary when using the mini-puck.

2. If the surface of the split core is excessively rough, use a lap plate and grit from the Thin Section Lab to prepare a smooth surface on a split-core piece. Pieces must be at least 10 cm long.
3. Equilibrate the sample and sensor together in an insulated seawater bath for at least 15 min prior to measurement. NOTE: Do not submerge the puck – let the water level rise to half the depth of the puck or less.
4. Secure the puck to the sample with velcro or a rubber band (Figure 2).
5. Optional - Apply thermal joint compound to the side of the probe where the line source is located.

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• Making a Measurement

1. Place the section-half or the whole-round section on the TCON insulating box and close it (Figure 3). NOTE: If you are using a needle be sure that it is on vertical position to prevent it from being crushed when the door is close.

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A) ThermCon Program

1. Double-click the ThermCon icon (Figure 4a1) on the desktop and login using ship credentials. ThermCon window will open (Figure 4b2). Ensure that the Text_ID field is blank.

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Figure 41.- (a) ThermCon icon. (b) From left to right: ThermCon icon, TK04 icon, TCON File Converter icon and TKGraph icon.

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Figure 2.- ThermCon window.

2. Scan the section label. SampleText_ID automatically fills.

3. Click Verify Sample.

4. Write down the measurement offset.

45. Click Verify Sample.5. Text_ID of the sample will be generated. A folder with the same Text_ID will be also generatedMake Folder. This folder will contain the measurement files.

NOTE: The folder path is shown on the screen. Do not close this window during measurement.

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1. Double-click the TK04 icon on the desktop (Figure 5a1). TK04 window will open (Figure 5b3).

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Figure 53.- (a) TK04 Icon. (b) TK04 Main TK04 window.

2. Select Measuring > Configuration, or click the blue button at topcenter-right of the window. The Measuring Configuration window will open (Figure 4). 

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Figure 4.- Left side: Measuring Configuration window. Right side: Expert Options window.

3. Set configuration parameters as follows:

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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: 6 characters or less; suggest Allows up to six characters. Suggest Core-Type-Section (no special characters), e.g. 1H3.

Serial NumberNo: Number of repeat single measurements at each point (1–99 single measurements). Three measurements will be made, usually. Usually, three measurements are made (e.g. 1 to 3).

Folder: Path for saving data results. Select the folder that was generated when verifying the sample (Step 5 of the section above).

Heating Power: For the VLQ (needle probe), set to twice the estimated thermal conductivity value of measured sediment. For example, 2–3 W/m is good for sediment.

For HLQ (large puck and mini puck), set equal to the estimated thermal conductivity value of the measured sediment. 

Measuring Time: Set to 80 s for needle probe needles and to 60 s for pucks.

CommentsComment: Enter comments if needed.

4. If default drift or pause time needed to be changed, click Expert Options. Expert Options window will open.

Drift Control (DCL): Limit for the range of temperature drift allowed prior to heating and measuring. A larger number allows quicker but less accurate measurement. Default (unchecked) DCL = 10; Recommended DCL = . 10-20.

Pause in Minutes(min): Insert a pause between single measurements; recommended = 10 min.

Click OK to save changes or Default to return to default values.

5. Click OK to confirm configuration settings.

C) Measuring Samples

1. Click Start Measuring on main TK04 window (Figure 3) to start the measurement procedure.

Measuring Samples

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