Systems, methods, and software for determining spatially variable distributions of the dielectric properties of a heterogeneous material

Farrington, Stephen P.

Title: Systems, methods, and software for determining spatially variable distributions of the dielectric properties of a heterogeneous material

Patent · Tue May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2018

OSTI ID:1440762

Farrington, Stephen P.

Systems, methods, and software for measuring the spatially variable relative dielectric permittivity of materials along a linear or otherwise configured sensor element, and more specifically the spatial variability of soil moisture in one dimension as inferred from the dielectric profile of the soil matrix surrounding a linear sensor element. Various methods provided herein combine advances in the processing of time domain reflectometry data with innovations in physical sensing apparatuses. These advancements enable high temporal (and thus spatial) resolution of electrical reflectance continuously along an insulated waveguide that is permanently emplaced in contact with adjacent soils. The spatially resolved reflectance is directly related to impedance changes along the waveguide that are dominated by electrical permittivity contrast due to variations in soil moisture. Various methods described herein are thus able to monitor soil moisture in profile with high spatial resolution.

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Research Organization:: Transcend Engineering and Technology, LLC, Bethel, VT (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

DOE Contract Number:: SC0009646

Assignee:: Transcend Engineering and Technology, LLC (Bethel, VT)

Patent Number(s):: 9,970,969

Application Number:: 14/813,929

OSTI ID:: 1440762

Resource Relation:: Patent File Date: 2015 Jul 30

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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