Design of Two Large Coaxial Cells for Studying Physical Process Using Spatial TDR

This paper reports the design of two large coaxial cells for studying spatial distribution of state parameters during physical process using Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR). The first cell is designed to measure the spatial distribution of porosity during erosion. The main idea is to integrate in a large coaxial cell a water flow to induce erosion. The second cell is designed to study spatial distribution of water content during smouldering. The innovation here is to transform an existing smouldering reactor into a large coaxial cell for measuring the spatial distribution of the apparent dielectric permittivity. Both examples illustrate the versatility of electromagnetic measurement methods thanks to innovative cell design.