Laboratory , Engineering Design Practice Example

Laboratory , Engineering Design Practice Example Laboratory , Engineering Design Practice â€" Assignment Example > AbstractCalorimetry is the measure of the heat evolved during a chemical process or heat required to sustain a chemical process. Calorimeter is a device used to measure the heat in a quantitative manner within control conditions. The same principle is applied in cone calorimeter. Cone calorimeter is an important laboratory device used to measure the characteristics of fire of small samples of various materials. Cone calorimeter measures the various aspects of combustion of substances utilising the principle of oxygen combustion calorimetry. Cone calorimeter has been specifically made to use the oxygen consumption calorimetry principle. (Mouritz, A. Gibson, 2007). The most important element in any combustion is the availability of oxygen. The overall heat produced during the combustion of an organic material has a direct correlation to the quantitative aspect of oxygen. There are various basic aspects of heat that provide much information when doing experiments concerning heat. Hea t capacity can be quantified in terms of molar heat capacity which is the heat capacity of a particular compound divided by the number of moles of that compound. Another quantitative aspect of heat capacity is specific heat which is the heat of an element divided by its mass. It is also important to note that heat capacity of any substance always has a positive value. Other aspects of fire and combustion in general that need consideration when working with a cone calorimeter include: the cumulative quantity of heat released, the rate of heat released per unit area, the time of ignition, the effective heat of the combustion, the total loss of mass, the rate of the loss of the mass and the smoke obstruction. These are important aspects during an experiment because they may lead to variable results for the same material if at all they are not considered during the experiment. (Taylor and Francis, 2006). IntroductionThe cone calorimeter works by measuring the heat produced by a sample burned in a closed oxygen atmosphere, enclosed by water and in control experimental conditions. The basic principle behind the functioning of cone calorimeter still remains the same. The instrument is made from the understanding of the engineering aspects of fire. Aim of the ExperimentThe aim of the experiment is familiarization of the operations of the cone calorimeter by using it to quantitatively analyse various samples. The samples include blue carpets, green carpets and experiments on various underlay. Objective of the experimentThe objective of the experiment is to analyse the various properties of fire which include: the cumulative quantity of heat released, the rate of heat released per unit area, the time of ignition, the effective heat of the combustion, the total loss of mass, the rate of the loss of the mass and the smoke obstruction. The blue carpets, the green carpets and the underlay will both be analysed by doing each of the experiments three times in order to find a more reliable average of the results. BackgroundThe cone calorimeter has been used for many years for the analysis of combustion properties of various substances; therefore the results from the experiment should be able to provide a credible source of information about the different substances. (Haines, B. 2006).