Heat Flux Sensor Technology
greenteg offers a wide range of sensors for measuring heat flux in many applications from building insulation evaluation, and wearable technologies to battery calorimetry measurement.
What is heat flux?
Heat Flux is the rate of heat energy that passes through a surface. Depending on its exact definition, its unit can be expressed as either W/mgt or W. Temperature gradient in a given environment results in the creation of a heat that flows from the hot to the cold side of the given system. The thermal transfer coefficient of the given system is also important. Heat flux can be estimated with two different methods:
- Directly with Heat Flux Sensors
- Indirectly using Temperature Sensors.
A Heat Flux Sensor is a Seebeck sensor: When heat passes through the sensor, the sensor generates a voltage signal. This voltage signal is proportional to the heat passing through the sensor. Thus, they can be used for many industrial or research applications implying a temperature gradient throughout a surface.
How does it work?
Our Heat Flux Sensor is a highly sensitive Seebeck Sensor.
The sensitivity of a Seebeck Sensor depends on the thermocouple material quality used in the sensor and the number of thermocouples used.
A thermocouple consists of two separate thermopiles (n-type and p-type). These thermopiles are highly integrated in the sensor substrate, which leads to high sensitivity sensor modules.
The following situations imply the presence of heat flux:
- Getting cold feet from standing on a cold floor: since the floor has a lower temperature than the feet, heat flows from the feet to the floor.
- Standing close to a fire feels hot: the temperature of a fire is much higher than the surrounding air. Therefore, heat radiates from the fire to the surroundings.
- Feeling hot in a sauna: since the air temperature in a sauna is higher than the body’s temperature, heat flows from the air into the body.
Curious about our heat flux sensing solutions ? Explore our product line here.