An inexpensive portable freezer for in situ freezing in the field

Autor: Jean Dubuc, Yves Dubuc, Francine J. Bigras
Rok vydání: 2002
Předmět:
Zdroj: Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 32:2160-2168
ISSN: 1208-6037
0045-5067
DOI: 10.1139/x02-137
Popis: A portable freezer was developed to apply frost to branches of large trees to study their growth and recuperation after frost application under natural conditions. The freezer measures 37.5 × 63.5 × 31.5 cm and weighs approximately 3 kg. It consists of two compartments, a freezing compartment and a dry ice compartment. The portable freezer provides a ramp-and-soak freezing pattern using a programmable controller. The nonfreezing temperature plateaus can be set from 1 to 6°C and maintained for 0 to 12 h. The cooling and warming rates can be programmed from 1 to 12°C·h–1. Test temperatures can be maintained for a period of time ranging from 0 to 12 h at set temperatures. Freezers were tested without samples under controlled conditions at ambient temperatures of 0, –5, –10, 5, 15, 20, and 25°C. Under these conditions, the cooling and warming rates showed a deviation of less than ±1°C·h–1 at a set rate of 2°C·h–1. The freezer provides test temperatures as low as –38°C and –47°C at ambient temperatures of 20 and –10°C, respectively. Freezers were also tested under field conditions on attached branches in mature white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) trees under hardening conditions.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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