Method and apparatus for determining insulation thickness

1. A method for determining a thickness of a layer of insulation, comprising the steps of:

contacting a top surface of a portion of the layer of insulation;

compressing the portion of the layer of insulation until a predetermined compressive load is achieved, including physically moving the top surface at a location in the portion of the layer of insulation, wherein the predetermined compressive load corresponds to a strain of about 10% or less in the thickness;

measuring a distance through which the top surface is moved during the compressing step; and

calculating the thickness of the layer of insulation electronically in a programmed computer processor, based on the measured distance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined compressive load corresponds to a strain of about 5% or less in the thickness.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting step includes contacting the top surface with a sensor that is used to perform the compressing step.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the sensor is attached to a load cell.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculating step includes:

calculating a stress applied to the top surface;

determining a strain of the layer of insulation based on a predetermined relationship between the stress and the strain of a material from which the layer of insulation is made; and

calculating the thickness of the layer of insulation from the strain and the measured distance.

6. A method for determining a thickness of a layer of insulation, comprising the steps of:

contacting a top surface of a portion of the layer of insulation with a sensor that is used to perform the compressing step, wherein the sensor is attached to a load cell;

compressing the portion of the layer of insulation until a predetermined compressive load is achieved, including physically moving the top surface at a location in the portion of the layer of insulation, wherein the load cell initially outputs a signal corresponding to a weight of the sensor, and the contacting is detected when the signal output by the load cell begins to change;

measuring a distance through which the top surface is moved during the compressing step; and

calculating the thickness of the layer of insulation electronically in a programmed computer processor, based on the measured distance.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the sensor is coupled to the load cell by a threaded rod and a gear arrangement, and the method further comprises:

rotating the threaded rod to advance the sensor before the contacting step; and

advancing the sensor without rotating the rod after the contacting step.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the measuring step includes determining the distance the threaded rod is advanced after it comes in contact with the insulation by counting a number of rotations of the gear arrangement while advancing the sensor without rotating the rod.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the sensor includes a disk and a rod from which the disk is suspended, the rod being mechanically coupled to the load cell.

10. An apparatus comprising:

at least one sensor for contacting a top surface of a portion of a layer of insulation and compressing the portion of the layer of insulation, wherein the sensor includes a disk and a rod from which the disk is suspended, the rod being mechanically coupled to the load cell, at least a portion of the rod has threads, and the load cell has gears that engage the threads;

at least one load cell coupled to the sensor for measuring a compressive load due to compression of the portion of the layer of insulation by the sensor and outputting a signal representing the compressive load; and

means for measuring a distance through which the sensor is moved during compression of the portion of the layer of insulation by the sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the gears engage the threaded rod, so that the gears rotate if the rod is translated without rotating the rod.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the gears are coupled to the load cell by springs.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a processor connected to the at least one load cell, for receiving and storing the signal representing the compressive load.

14. An apparatus comprising:

at least one sensor for contacting a top surface of a portion of a layer of insulation and compressing the portion of the layer of insulation;

at least one load cell coupled to the sensor for measuring a compressive load due to compression of the portion of the layer of insulation by the sensor and outputting a signal representing the compressive load; and

means for measuring a distance through which the sensor is moved during compression of the portion of the layer of insulation by the sensor; and

a processor connected to the at least one load cell, for receiving and storing the signal representing the compressive load, wherein the processor includes means for calculating the thickness of the layer of insulation based on the measured distance, wherein the calculating means include:

means for calculating a stress applied to the top surface;

means for determining a strain of the layer of insulation based on a predetermined relationship between the stress and the strain of a material from which the layer of insulation is made; and

means for calculating the thickness of the layer of insulation from the strain and the measured distance.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the measuring means include at least one interferometer.