sap flow sensors construction, quality control and comparison液流传感器结构、质量控制和比较.pdfVIP

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