A time-domain technique for measurement of the dielectric properties of oil shale during processing

Frequently, the dielectric properties of oil shale is measured using the point-by-point frequency domain methods [1]-[4]. Such procedures have significantly limited the adequacy of the measurements to track fast (or abrupt) chemical changes occurring during the rapid heating of the shale. This communication describes a time-domain technique which provides the permittivity behavior over a broad frequency band from a single measurement. Preliminary results clearly illustrate the feasibility of the method.