Sap Flow Sensors Construction, Quality Control and Comparison 英文参考文献.docVIP

Sensors 2012, 12, 954-971; doi:10.3390/s120100954 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Sap Flow Sensors: Construction, Quality Control and Comparison Tyler W. Davis 1, Chen-Min Kuo 1,2, Xu Liang 1,* and Pao-Shan Yu 2 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, 3700 O’Hara Street 941 Benedum Engineering Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; E-Mails: twd2@ (T.D.); jemkuo@.tw (C.-M.K.) 2 Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan; E-Mail: yups@.tw * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: xuliang@; Tel.: +1-412-624-9872; Fax: +1-412-624-0135. Received: 1 December 2011; in revised form: 11 January 2012 / Accepted: 12 January 2012 / Published: 16 January 2012 Abstract: This work provides a design for two types of sensors, based on the thermal dissipation and heat ratio methods of sap flow calculation, for moderate to large scale deployments for the purpose of monitoring tree transpiration. These designs include a procedure for making these sensors, a quality control method for the final products, and a complete list of components with vendors and pricing information. Both sensor designs were field tested alongside a commercial sap flow sensor to assess their performance and show the importance for quality controlling the sensor outputs. Results show that for roughly 2% of the cost of commercial sensors, self-made sap flow sensors can provide acceptable estimates of the sap flow measurements compared to the commercial sensors. Keywords: environmental sensors; heat ratio method; thermal dissipation method; sap flow 1. Introduction The heat ratio [1], heat balance [2], and thermal dissipation [3] sap flow methods make up the three main sensor types that are used today for estimating plant transpiration. With respect to certain tree sizes (25 cm diameter), only the heat rat