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  1. Temperature changes in an initially frozen wood chip pile.

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    Author(s): George R. Sampson; Jenifer H. McBeath
    Date: 1987
    Source: Res. Note PNW-RN-454. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 10 p
    Publication Series: Research Note (RN)
    Station: Pacific Northwest Research Station
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/PNW-RN-454
    PDF: View PDF  (687 KB)

    Description

    White spruce trees and tops were chipped and placed in a pile near Fairbanks, Alaska, in February 1983. The pile was 6 meters in diameter and 6 meters high in a cylindrical shape. Thermocouples were placed at 25 locations within the pile so that temperatures could be tracked over time. Gypsum blocks were placed at 10 locations to determine changes in moisture content. The first evidence that the pile was generating heat appeared at the end of May 1983. This heat accelerated the warming and thawing of the pile. By early August, all thermocouple points were above freezing. The highest temperature recorded was 61 °C near the core of the pile. The chip pile did not freeze at all points the second winter, and all points in the pile were above freezing by early July 1984. The highest temperature recorded inside the pile during the second summer was 41 °C.

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    Citation

    Sampson, George R.; McBeath, Jenifer H. 1987. Temperature changes in an initially frozen wood chip pile. Res. Note PNW-RN-454. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 10 p

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    Keywords

    Chip fuels, energy, white spruce, Alaska (interior), interior Alaska

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