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Calibration of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for thermal properties analysis of phase change material

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Abstract

Phase change material (PCM) selection for particular applications mainly depends on its phase change temperature and latent heat, which were commonly measured by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). However, the DSC instruments are not absolute measuring devices and calibration is extremely important to ensure the accuracy of determined data. Meanwhile, the PCM with melting temperature between 0 and 65 °C is the most common interest for energy saving in buildings. This study, therefore, calibrated the DSC produce (NanoTechnology Inc.) by the high-purity metals with various regression methods for low melting temperature PCM thermal properties analysis. In the end, the paraffin n-eicosane was introduced to evaluate the accuracy of the temperature and latent heat measurements of the DSC. The experimental results showed that the accuracy of calibration could be improved by higher-order and more reference materials in a broad temperature range. However, the measurement results of n-eicosane proved that the 0-order regression method could offer good accuracy with only one suitable calibrant in a particular temperature range. Therefore, this research suggests the selection of reference materials for DSC calibration should consider the target of measurement temperature range as well as the thermal stabilities of calibrants.

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Abbreviations

a0, a1, a2, a3:

The correlation coefficient

H :

Latent heat/mJ mg−1

∆H :

Inaccuracy of latent heat/%

K :

Measured value of heat/mJ mg−1

K(T):

Literature value of heat/mJ mg−1

S :

DSC span value used in measurement/mW

T :

Measured value of temperature/°C

∆T m :

The inaccuracy of melting temperature/°C

x :

Measured temperature/°C

y :

Corrected temperature/°C

PCM:

Phase change material

DSC:

Differential scanning calorimetry

Ga:

Gallium

In:

Indium

Sn:

Tin

cal:

Measured value

lit:

Literature value

m:

Melting

M:

Measured

S:

Standard

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Acknowledgements

The author is thankful for the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2017LEE017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan, China

    Weiguang Su, Liying Gao, Li Wang & Hui Zhi

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Correspondence to Weiguang Su.

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Su, W., Gao, L., Wang, L. et al. Calibration of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for thermal properties analysis of phase change material. J Therm Anal Calorim 143, 2995–3002 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-09470-9

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