FBG-based measurement systems for density, specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity assessment for liquids

This paper presents the development of a thermal measurement system for density, specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity in fluids. Due to toxic and flammable environment often found in oil industry, Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) were used in the sensor development, which consists in a diaphragm-embedded FBG, to estimate density, and a FBG temperature sensor, to estimate specific heat and thermal conductivity. The diaphragm system, with sensitivity of 0.025 nm/kPa, was employed for density measurements in water, diesel and crude oil, becoming a feasible option for density estimation in fluids. The temperature sensor, with sensitivity of 11.5 pm/°C, was used to propose a method to estimate specific heat and thermal conductivity. The method uses the quantity of heat equation to estimate specific heat, then, density and specific heat to estimate thermal conductivity. To validate the method, it was presented three setups based in an acrylic tank, a Becker and a test tube. The tests were performed with water, mineral oil and kryo 51 oil. In addition the proposed system can be integrated in order to realize simultaneous measurements of density, specific heat and thermal conductivity with the same structure.