Thermal engineering design project: a

calorimeter that measures the specific heat

of aluminum
R. S. Mullisen
Mechanical Engineering Department, California Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo, California 93407, USA
E-mail: rmullise@calpoly.edu

Abstract A thermal engineering design project requiring the design, construction, and operation of a
calorimeter that measures the specific heat of aluminum was assigned to a class of third-year
mechanical engineering students. Before making the assignment, the author developed his own design,
which consisted of two individual calorimeters – each an assembly of 13 aluminum plates with electric
resistance heater wires laced between the plates. The exterior surfaces of both calorimeters and the
surrounding insulation were identical. However, the interior plates were different – one calorimeter had
solid interior plates and the other had perforated interior plates. By initially adjusting the electrical
power into each calorimeter the temperature versus time curves for each calorimeter were matched.
This curve match allowed cancellation of the unknown heat loss from each calorimeter and
cancellation of the unknown heater thermal capacity. The final result was a specific heat for the
aluminum alloy that deviated by 4.4% from a published value. A class of third-year mechanical
engineering students, working in teams, produced designs using the method of mixtures (aluminum and
water) and electrically heated aluminum samples. The 17 student groups plus the author produced 129
data points with a mean specific heat value that deviated by 19.5% from a published value.

Keywords calorimeter; specific heat; design

Notation
Symbols
c specific heat, kJ/(kg K)
E voltage, V
m mass, kg
m1 mass of a single interior plate, kg
P electrical power, W
Q heat transfer, J
R electrical resistance, W
T temperature, °F, °C, K
T temperature representing mean internal energy, °C
t time, s
U internal energy, J

Subscripts
a, b, c, d thermocouple locations
e out
ext plates exterior plates

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64 R. S. Mullisen

H2O water
Hg mercury
i in
int plates interior plates
P perforated core
S solid core
1, 2 states

Greek
r mass density, kg/m3

Historical background: Joseph Black’s experiment

Joseph Black is credited with the discovery of specific heat. Black’s Lectures on the
Elements of Chemistry [1] was published from his manuscripts. In the paragraph
cited here, Black reports on experiments that he performed in 1760:
To make this plainer by an example in numbers, let us suppose the water to be at the 100th
degree of heat, and that an equal measure of warm quicksilver at the 150th degree, is suddenly
mixed and agitated with it. We know that the middle temperature between 100 and 150 is
125, and we know that this middle temperature would be produced by mixing the cold water
at 100 with an equal measure of warm water at 150; the heat of the warm water being lowered
by 25 degrees, while that of the cold is raised just as much. But when warm quicksilver is
used in place of warm water, the temperature of the mixture turns out 120 degrees only, instead
of 125. The quicksilver, therefore, is become less warm by 30 degrees, while the water has
become warmer by 20 degrees only; and yet the quantity of heat which the water has gained
is the very same quantity which the quicksilver has lost. This shews that the same quantity
of the matter of heat has more effect in heating quicksilver than in heating an equal measure
of water, and therefore that a smaller quantity of it is sufficient for increasing the sensible
heat of quicksilver by the same number of degrees.

Black’s experiment is analyzed with the first law of thermodynamics applied to a

closed system comprised of separate but equal volumes of water and mercury (quick-
silver) starting at 100 degrees and 150 degrees, respectively. After mixing, the equi-
librium temperature is 120 degrees. The first law for this experiment is

[(mcT ) H2 O + (mcT ) Hg ] = [(mcT )

1 H2 O + (mcT ) Hg ] 2

which reduces to

cH O (T1 - T2 )Hg r Hg (150 - 120) 13530 kg/m 3

2
= = = 20.4
cHg (T2 - T1 ) H O r H O
2
(120 - 100) 996 kg/m 3
2

Although this specific heat ratio is 32% lower than the ratio computed using con-
temporary specific heat values, it is, nevertheless, a very substantial ratio. Based on
his measurements, Black drew conclusions that were insightful and correct, and
accordingly he established a new thermodynamic property: specific heat.

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Thermal engineering design project 65

The assignment
A thermal design project requiring the design, construction and operation of an appa-
ratus that measures the specific heat of aluminum was assigned to third-year mechan-
ical engineering students during winter quarter 2000. Black’s ‘method of mixtures’
was described, as well as the general arrangement of an electric heater calorimeter
(also know as a Nernst-type calorimeter). Specific design details and testing methods
were not provided because this was part of the creative design left to the students.
The author first developed a design that produced good results before the project
was assigned. However, this design was not disclosed until the last day of class. The
author’s design is given first, followed by the student’s designs, and then the
collective results.

Author’s design
The author’s design is a differential calorimeter comprised of two individual
calorimeters of identical exterior surfaces and identical surrounding insulation. The
individual calorimeter is an assembly of 13 aluminum plates with electric resistance
heater wire laced between the plates. Photographs of the unit appear in Fig. 1. A
sketch of the plates and a typical heater is given in Fig. 2. While the exterior
surfaces of both calorimeters are identical, the interior plates are different – one
calorimeter has solid interior plates and the other has perforated interior plates, as
shown in Fig. 1b. For each calorimeter one thermocouple is located at the center of
the center interior plate and one is located at the outside center of an exterior plate.
The thermocouples are 30 gage, type K and are attached with a small strip of alu-
minum adhesive tape. The heater for each calorimeter is powered by a separate DC
power supply. The electrical power into each heater was initially set such that the
interior and exterior temperature history (temperature versus time) curves for both
calorimeters match. In this way the heat loss from each calorimeter was the same
because each calorimeter has identical exterior surfaces and identical surroundings.
Furthermore, the heat capacities of the heater wire for both calorimeters are also the
same. These two facts eliminate computing heat loss (which has a large uncertainty)
and heater thermal capacity. The difference in mass between the two calorimeters
and the difference in power supplied are used to obtain the specific heat of the
aluminum.
In the sections below, the analysis follows the experiments. This out-of-ordinary
sequence is provided because of an initial discovery of a spatial temperature gradi-
ent that required accommodation and for the necessity of a temperature history curve
match required in the analysis.

Experiments
Experiment revealing spatial temperature gradient
Ideally the temperature distribution in the calorimeter should be uniform. This
allows accurate and easy calculation of the internal energy. Indeed, this uniform

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66 R. S. Mullisen

(a)

(b)

Fig. 1 The author’s differential calorimeter with the outer Styrofoam insulation removed.
(a) The assembled unit showing the two calorimeters. Each calorimeter is an assembly of
13 aluminum plates sandwiched between balsa wood and Styrofoam insulation and clamped
with plywood blocks at each end. (b) The disassembled unit showing the interior plates and
heater wires. The solid core calorimeter is on the right and the perforated core calorimeter
is on the left. All of the Styrofoam insulation is 32 mm thick, including the removed outer
insulation. The assembled calorimeters are sandwiched between balsa wood insulators
backed up with Styrofoam. Each balsa wood insulator has a dozen 5 mm by 5 mm raised pads
allowing a 4 mm air gap between the balsa wood and the outer aluminum plates. The entire
assembly is clamped in a fixture constructed from 18 mm thick plywood.

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Thermal engineering design project 67

(a) (b)

Fig. 2 The solid core calorimeter appearing in two views: (a) side view of the assembly
where the plates are numbered 1–13; and (b) end view of a single interior plate from
the solid core with electric resistance heater wire. Plates 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 contain
heater wire wraps, while the remaining plates do not. Sandwiching all of the plates
provides heater wire between each of the plates with the outer surface of the exterior plates
bare of wire. The perforated calorimeter interior plates have 16, equally spaced, 11 mm
diameter punched holes (see Fig. 1b). Each aluminum plate measures 762 mm by 762 mm.
Exterior plates 1 and 13 are 0.63 mm thick. Interior plates 2–12 are 1.54 mm thick. The
heater wire is type K, 30 gage, duplex thermocouple wire with Teflon insulation.

temperature was one objective in the author’s design, where heater wire was sand-
wiched between thin aluminum plates. However, an initial test to check for uniform
temperature revealed a spatial gradient within the core. This temperature gradient is
shown in Fig. 3. In this test the solid core calorimeter was instrumented with four
thermocouples, whose locations are shown in the figure. At time 11:02:36 the heater
was turned on, producing the temperature histories at the four locations as seen in
Fig. 3.
Within each calorimeter, thermocouples were located at the center of the center
interior plate and at the outer center of an exterior plate. The analysis (subsequently
provided) requires the calculation of the internal energy of the internal plates (plates
2–12 in Fig. 3). However, the single interior plate temperature measurement does
not represent the actual internal energy of the core due to the spatial temperature
gradient displayed in Fig. 3. Nevertheless, data from the run in Fig. 3 can be used
to approximate the average internal energy using only the single internal plate tem-
perature. Temperature Ta characterizes the energy of plates 6, 7, and 8 (see the Ta
location and plate numbering in Fig. 3). Temperature Tb characterizes the energy of
plates 4 and 5, and by symmetry plates, 9 and 10. Temperature Tc characterizes the
energy of plates 2 and 3, and by symmetry, plates 11 and 12. (Plates 1 and 13 are
classified as ‘external plates’ and are accommodated separately in the analysis
section.) The internal energy of the interior plates 2–12 is
Uint plates = 11m1cT int plates = c(3m1Ta + 4 m1Tb + 4 m1Tc ) (1)

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68 R. S. Mullisen

Fig. 3 Results of an initial experiment revealing the spatial temperature gradient within
the solid core. The heater was turned on at 11:02:36.

where m1 is the mass of a single interior plate and T int plates is the temperature that
represents the mean internal energy of the entire interior plates. Equation 1 reduces
to
T int plates = (3Ta + 4Tb + 4Tc ) 11 (2)
The temperature data in Fig. 3 combined with Equation 2 are used to find a corre-
lation between the single measured interior plate temperature, Ta, and the mean inter-
nal energy temperature for the internal plates, T int plates. This correlation is
T int plates = 0.959Ta + 0.921 (3)

Experiments to obtain matching temperature history curves

The experiments to obtain the specific heat of the aluminum required matching tem-
perature history curves for the two calorimeters. This match involved three steps.
First, an approximate voltage setting was computed for the perforated core power
supply to obtain a desired temperature rise in a given time. Second, an approximate
voltage setting was computed for the solid core power supply, based on the perfo-
rated core voltage setting, to obtain a temperature history curve match for both cores.
In practice this curve match was not attained on the first attempt. Therefore a third
step required adjusting the solid core voltage setting for successive runs until an
actual curve match was achieved.
Assuming no heat losses, constant and equal heater resistances and uniform tem-
perature, a first law of thermodynamics analysis for the perforated core indicated a
15-volt setting on the power supply would raise the temperature 58 °C in 15 minutes.

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TABLE 1 Power supply voltage settings and internal plate

temperature responses for runs 1 and 2

ES ( V) DTS (∞C)
Run EP ( V) DTP (∞C)

1 17.7 46.44
= 1.036
15.0 44.81
2 17.7 47.69
= 0.931
16.0 51.25

In order to obtain the same performance in the solid core the voltage should be 17.7
volts. However, the first run with these voltage settings produced mismatched tem-
perature history curves, with the solid core running hotter than the perforated core.
A second run was performed with an increased perforated core voltage setting and
the same solid core setting. The result was that the perforated core now ran hotter
than the solid core. With these two runs bracketing the desired temperature curve
match, a third run was performed. The voltage settings for this run were computed
using a simplified first law of thermodynamics analysis and data from the first two
runs.
Assuming no heat loss, constant heater resistance, and uniform temperature, the
first law for both cores give (E2Dt/R)S = (mcDT)S and (E2Dt/R)P = (mcDT)P. Given
DtS = DtP and RS = RP, the preceding equations reduce to
12
ES È mS DTS ˘
= (4)
EP ÍÎ mP DTP ˙˚
where mS = 0.2883 kg and mP = 0.2051 kg. For both calorimeters, the internal plate
temperature rises after 14 minutes elapsed time are given in Table 1. Also appear-
ing in this table are the corresponding voltage settings.
For the desired temperature history curve match, DTS/DTP = 1. A linear interpola-
tion using Equation 4 and the data in Table 1 indicated a curve match would occur
when ES/EP = 17.7 V/15.35 V. Accordingly, a third run was performed with these
voltage settings. The result was an excellent curve match. The run 3 results appear
in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. In both of these figures the interior and exterior plate temper-
atures for both cores, as a function of time, are plotted. Fig. 4 shows the overall tem-
perature response, starting with beginning equilibrium temperatures very close to
18.5 °C. The heaters were turned on at 10:14:06 and turned off at 10:30:46. The
cores then cooled, with the perforated core cooling quicker than the solid core. Fig.
5 is an enlargement of the heating period (10:14:06 to 10:30:46) plotted in seconds
(0 to 1000). This figure reveals very close temperature history curve matches
between the perforated and solid cores for both the interior and exterior plates.
The curve match temperatures at the start and stop states for run 3 are given in
Table 2. In this table the second column gives the measured interior plate tempera-

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70 R. S. Mullisen

Fig. 4 Curve match, run 3. The overall temperature response of both cores (interior and
exterior plates), prior to, during, and after the heating period. The heating period is
10:14:06 to 10:30:46.

Fig. 5 An enlargement of the heating period (10:14:06 to 10:30:46) plotted in seconds (0

to 1000). The solid and perforated interior and exterior plate temperatures show very
good curve matches.

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Thermal engineering design project 71

TABLE 2 Run 3: curve match temperatures at the start and

stop states using ES/EP = 17.7 V/15.35 V

Ta,S (∞ C) TS,int plate (∞ C) TS,ext plate (∞ C)

State Ta,P (∞ C) TP,int plate (∞ C) TP,ext plate (∞ C)

1 (start) 18.38 18.38 18.58

18.39 18.39 18.52
2 (stop) 74.57 72.43 68.75
74.56 72.42 68.43

tures Ta for both solid and perforated cores. The third column gives T int plates com-
puted using Equation 3. (Equation 3 only applies at state 2 – at state 1 T int plates = Ta
due to starting thermal equilibrium.) The last column in this table shows the exte-
rior plate temperatures.

Analysis and results

A complete analysis, in order to determine the specific heat of aluminum, is now
performed, starting with the first law of thermodynamics for a closed system applied
to each calorimeter
QP,i - QP,e = (U2 - U1 ) P (5)
QS,i - QS,e = (U2 - U1 )S (6)
In these equations Q is the heat transfer and U is the internal energy. The subscripts
S and P represent the solid and perforated core, i and e represent heat transfer in and
out (exit), respectively, and 1 and 2, the initial and final states. The exterior plate
temperature histories of both calorimeters match, as was shown in Fig. 5. Further-
more, the surroundings of both calorimeters are identical, therefore the heat loss
from both calorimeters is the same QP,e = QS,e. Equations 5 and 6 thus reduce to
(U2 - U1 )S - (U2 - U1 ) P = QS,i - QP,i (7)
Each calorimeter is regarded as having three components: the interior plates, the
exterior plates, and the heater wire. Accounting for these three components, the
change in internal energy of the solid and perforated calorimeters are
(U2 - U1 )S = [m c(T2 - T1 )]S,int plates + [m c(T2 - T1 )]S,ext plates + [m c(T2 - T1 )]S,heater (8)

(U2 - U1 ) P = [m c(T2 - T1 )]P,int plates + [m c(T2 - T1 )]P,ext plates + [m c(T2 - T1 )]P,heater (9)
The experiment produced matching interior plate temperature histories and match-
ing exterior plate temperature histories for the two calorimeters. Both calorimeters
have the same exterior plates and the same heaters but different interior plates (solid
and perforated). Therefore the change in internal energy for the exterior plates and

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72 R. S. Mullisen

TABLE 3 Electrical heater data

Voltage (V) Current (A) Resistance (W)

@ Tint plates (°C) @ Tint plates (°C) @ Tint plates (°C)

Perforated core 15.33 V @ 24 °C 0.81 A @ 24 °C 18.9 W @ 17.5 °C

15.33 V @ 73 °C 0.74 A @ 73 °C 20.8 W @ 79.0 °C
Solid core 17.66 V @ 24 °C 0.92 A @ 24 °C 19.0 W @ 17.8 °C
17.65 V @ 73 °C 0.86 A @ 73 °C 21.2 W @ 79.3 °C

heater are the same for both the solid and perforated calorimeters. Equations 8 and
9 reduce to
(U2 - U1 )S - (U2 - U1 ) P = [c(T2 - T1 )(mS - mP )]int plates (10)
Combining Equations 7 and 10 gives

QS,i - QP,i
c= (11)
[(T2 - T1 )(mS - mP )]int plates
Next, the heat input to each calorimeter is obtained by integrating the electrical
power over the elapsed time t1 to t2
t2

Qi = Ú P dt (12)
t1

where the electrical power P is E2/R.

The DC power supplies were set at a constant voltage and were observed to hold
the voltage very well during the experiment. However, the heater resistance
increased as the temperature increased, with a corresponding decrease in current.
These data were collected and appear in Table 3.
The resistance data in Table 3 are fitted with linear curves. For the perforated core
the resistance is RP = 18.36 + 0.0309Tint plates and for the solid core RS = 18.36 +
0.0358Tint plates. Furthermore, the heater temperature is assumed to follow the interior
plate temperature, which, for the curve match, is given in Fig. 5. A curve fit of these
data gives Tint plates = 18.42 + (6.42E - 2)t - (8.43E - 6)t2 with a correlation coeffi-
cient of 0.99999. This equation is used to express the resistance equations as func-
tions of time
RP = 18.93 + (1.98 E - 3)t - (2.60 E - 7)t 2 (13)
RS = 19.0 + (2.31E - 3)t - (3.02 E - 7)t 2 (14)
Equation 12 is written for both calorimeters using Equations 13 and 14 and the
voltage values at curve match: ES/EP = 17.7 V/15.35 V. Integrating over the elapsed
time of 1000 s gives

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Thermal engineering design project 73

1000

QP,i = EP2 Ú RP-1dt = 11, 860 J (15)

0

1000

QS,i = ES2 Ú RS-1dt = 15, 560 J (16)

0

These results (Equations 15 and 16) as well as the mass of the interior plates for the
perforated core and solid core, 0.1855 kg and 0.2597 kg, respectively are used in
Equation 11. The last requirement to complete Equation 11 is T int plates, which come
from Table 3. (Note that at curve match T S, int plates  T P, int plates at states 1 and 2.) The
final result is
c = 0.923kJ/(kg K)
This is a mean specific heat value spanning the temperature range 18–72 °C (mean
temperature 318 K). Comparison with published specific heat values was imprecise
because the exact aluminum alloy used in the construction of the calorimeters was
unknown. The aluminum was obtained from a scrap bin with no markings evident.
One common aluminum alloy used for sheets is 2024. The specific heat for this alu-
minum alloy is 0.884 kJ/(kg K). For pure aluminum c = 0.911 kJ/(kg K). Both of these
specific heat values are at 318 K. Using the 2024 alloy as a reference, the experi-
mental result is 4.4% high.

Students’ designs
Two sections of third-year mechanical engineering students were assigned into 17
groups with four students per group. Nine groups designed equipment using the
method of mixtures and eight groups used electrically heated aluminum samples.
All of the designs and data reduction analysis accounted for heat loss. This was the
major challenge of the design project – to properly account for heat loss. The stu-
dents recorded the temperatures during heating or mixing and during cooling. Then
they used this cooling curve in a variety of ways to account for heat loss. One group,
using the method of mixtures, used two Styrofoam cups – one with heated aluminum
and cold water and the other with a mixture of hot and cold water. The hot and cold
water quantities were adjusted to provide the same cooling curve as the hot alu-
minum and cold water mixture. Another group, using an electrically heated alu-
minum sample, adjusted the power and recorded the steady state aluminum
temperature over a range of power inputs. A heat loss versus temperature curve was
produced which was used to account for the heat loss during heating. Other groups
used the cooling curve to determine an instantaneous cooling rate by taking the
derivative or they evaluated the heat loss over an interval by integration.

Collective results
Most of the 17 student groups made multiple runs once they got their equipment
operational. There were 129 data points, including the author’s. All of the data are

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74 R. S. Mullisen

Fig. 6 Specific heat of aluminum. Collective results from 17 student groups plus the
author. The author’s single datum point is the last one on the right.

shown in Fig. 6. The symbols in this figure distinguish between the method of mix-
tures and the method using electric heater calorimeters. The data from each group
were averaged and then a mean value of these averages produced a specific heat
value of 1.056 kJ/(kg K). Most of the aluminum used was of an unknown alloy. Two
reference lines are plotted in Fig. 6: pure aluminum and aluminum alloy 2024. With
reference to the alloy the final collective result is 19.5% high.

Conclusions
This project is one in a series developed over the past six years in the area of hands-
on, thermal engineering design [2]. An important part of this project is that the final
result can be qualitatively compared with the published specific heat of aluminum,
which provides a benchmark. There was friendly competition between the groups
as well as a desire by the students to outperform the instructor’s design. Indeed,
some groups did have better results. During the last class meeting the author pre-
sented his design and results along with the collective results shown in Fig. 6.
Enlarged copies of this figure were distributed to the class, allowing students to iden-
tify their data in the field.

Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank the 70 students in both sections of ME 344 Thermal
Engineering, winter quarter 2000, for their enthusiasm, energy, and productivity,
which resulted in a successful assignment.

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References
[1] J. Black, Lectures on the Elements of Chemistry, J. Robinson (ed.), Vol. I (Longman and Rees,
London, and William Creech, Edinburgh, 1803).
[2] R. S. Mullisen, ‘Thermal engineering design project: a linear thermal expansion apparatus’, IJMEE,
29(3) (2001), 245–256.

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