Calorimeter

About: Calorimeter is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5878 publications have been published within this topic receiving 77157 citations.

An Absolute Method of Measuring Energy Outputs from CO2 Lasers

Abstract: In the energy meter described here the CO2 laser radiation is almost completely absorbed by an Al2O3 surface on an aluminum plate. The high absorption of the surface (≥95%) eliminates the need for calibration and the laser energy is computed by measuring the temperature rise of a plate with known thermal capacity. Experimentally we find that the calorimeter noise level corresponds to an energy density of about 2 mJ/cm2. Calculations indicate that the instrument is capable of measuring the energy of a single pulse that is 1 nsec wide, provided the pulse contains an average energy density of 10 mJ/cm2. We have estimated the radiation and convection losses and found them to be negligible. The calorimeter is good for radiation between 8.5 and 11 μ; however, with modifications the bandwidth could easily be increased.

A standard for absorbed dose rate to water in a 60Co field using a graphite calorimeter at the National Metrology Institute of Japan

Abstract: A primary standard for the absorbed dose rate to water in a ⁶⁰Co radiation field has been newly established at the National Metrology Institute of Japan. This primary standard combines the calorimetric measurements using a graphite calorimeter with the ionometric measurements using a thick-walled graphite cavity ionisation chamber. The calorimeter is operated in the constant temperature mode using AC Wheatstone bridges. The absorbed dose rate to water was determined to be 12 mGy s⁻¹ at a point of 1 m from the radiation source and at a water depth of 5 g cm⁻². The uncertainty on the calibration coefficient in terms of the absorbed dose to water of an ionisation chamber using this standard was estimated to be 0.39 % (k=1).

Development of a graphite probe calorimeter for absolute clinical dosimetry.

Abstract: The aim of this work is to present the numerical design optimization, construction, and experimental proof of concept of a graphite probe calorimeter (GPC) conceived for dose measurement in the clinical environment (U.S. provisional patent 61/652,540). A finite element method (FEM) based numerical heat transfer study was conducted using a commercial software package to explore the feasibility of the GPC and to optimize the shape, dimensions, and materials used in its design. A functioning prototype was constructed inhouse and used to perform dose to water measurements under a 6 MV photon beam at 400 and 1000 MU/min, in a thermally insulated water phantom. Heat loss correction factors were determined using FEM analysis while the radiation field perturbation and the graphite to water absorbed dose conversion factors were calculated using Monte Carlo simulations. The difference in the average measured dose to water for the 400 and 1000 MU/min runs using the TG-51 protocol and the GPC was 0.2% and 1.2%, respectively. Heat loss correction factors ranged from 1.001 to 1.002, while the product of the perturbation and dose conversion factors was calculated to be 1.130. The combined relative uncertainty was estimated to be 1.4%, with the largest contributors being the specific heat capacity of the graphite (type B, 0.8%) and the reproducibility, defined as the standard deviation of the mean measured dose (type A, 0.6%). By establishing the feasibility of using the GPC as a practical clinical absolute photon dosimeter, this work lays the foundation for further device enhancements, including the development of an isothermal mode of operation and an overall miniaturization, making it potentially suitable for use in small and composite radiation fields. It is anticipated that, through the incorporation of isothermal stabilization provided by temperature controllers, a subpercent overall uncertainty will be achieved.