Introduction

The TeKa Thermal Conductivity Meter (TK04) system determines thermal conductivity based on a transient heat flow method. A line source is heated with constant power, while source temperature is recorded simultaneously. Thermal conductivity is calculated from the resulting heating curve.

Both, whole-round sections and section halves could be measured. 

Procedures

• Preparing Samples

A) Soft-Sediment Samples

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 workstation.
2. Select measuring points in the core and record offset in cm (measured from the top - blue endcap).
   – Intact core: middle of section.
   – Cracked core: 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). 
7. Secure the puck to the sample with velcro or a rubber band.

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Figure 1.- Correct sensor position: (a) Needle on whole-round section, (b) Puck on section-half.

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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Figure 2.- Correct sensor position for measuring hard rock samples.

• 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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Figure 3.- Correct position of a whole round section on the insulating box.

A) ThermCon Program

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

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Figure 4.- (a) ThermCon icon. (b) ThermCon window.

2. Scan the section label. Sample_ID automatically fills.

3. Write down the measurement offset.

4. Click Verify Sample.

5. Text_ID of the sample will be generated. A folder with the same Text_ID will be also generated.

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

B) TK04 Program

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

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Figure 5.- (a) TK04 Icon. (b) TK04 window.

2. Select Measuring > Configuration, or click the blue button at top-right of the window.

3. Set configuration parameters as follows:

Probe Number: Serial number of the probe being used.

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 Core-Type-Section (no special characters).

Serial Number: Number of repeat measurements at each point (1–99 single measurements). Three measurements will be made, usually.

Folder: Path for saving data results. Select the folder that was generated when verifying the sample.

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.

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

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

Comments: Enter comments if needed.

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

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: Insert a pause between single measurements; recommended = 10 min.

Measuring Samples

Uploading and Verifying Data in LIMS

Verifying Data in LIVE (LIMS Viewer)

Run LIVE from the ship application page to check thermal conductivity data:

1. Select the PHYS_PROPS_Summary template.
2. Select the Site/Hole/Interval to be queried.
3. Click View Data.

Retrieving Data from LIMS Reports

After Verifying Data Upload

Credits

V368X (T. Cobb, B. Novak) ;V371T – 7/11/17 (T. Cobb); V1.1; M. Hastedt 8/15/2011 reviewed |S. Frazier March 2018

Archived Versions

• TK04 Quick Start Guide 2020 (*.pdf)