Temperature and Heat Flow Rate Calibration of a Calvet Calorimeter from $$0\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ 0 ∘ C to $$190 \,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ 190 ∘ C

Abstract

This study describes the temperature and heat flow rate calibrations of a Calvet calorimeter (SETARAM, BT2.15) in the temperature range of 0–190 $${^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ . Temperature calibration is carried out using three reference materials, namely water, gallium, and indium, as specified in the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90). The sample temperature of the Calvet calorimeter is corrected by the obtained mean value, $$-0.489 \,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ , of the measured extrapolated peak onset temperature ( $$T_{e})$$ when the heating rate ( $$\upbeta )$$ is zero ( $$\Delta T_\mathrm{corr }(\upbeta ~=~0$$ )). The heat flow rate is calibrated using a reference material with a known heat capacity, namely SRM 720 $$\alpha $$ - $$\hbox {Al}_{2}\hbox {O}_{3}$$ (synthetic sapphire), which is traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. From the heat flow rate measurements of the blank baseline and SRM 720, the proportional calibration factor, $$\hbox {K}_{\Phi }$$ , in the 0–190 $$ \,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ temperature range was determined. The specific heat capacity of copper was measured with the obtained calibration values, and the measured data show consistency with the reference value.