San Francisco State University School of Engineering

ENGR 302: Experimental Analysis Prof. Ed Cheng, Spring 2010

Measurement of Fuel Heating Value using a Bomb Calorimeter OBJECTIVE The objective of this experiment is to measure the heat of combustion of diesel fuel using a device known as a bomb calorimeter (refer to your pre-lab assignment for figures of the apparatus). A correlation equation provided by the bomb calorimeter manufacturer is used to calculate the heat of combustion We will analyze the heat released by the combustion of 1 g of diesel fuel using the first law of thermodynamics, and compare our result to the higher heating value (HHV) calculated using the manufacturers correlation equation. Your instructor will direct and assist you in conducting the experiment. The main data you will collect is a history of the temperature inside the calorimeter as a function of time. First, for the first law analysis, we will choose our system to be made up of the bomb, the bucket, the water inside the bucket, the air inside the calorimeter, and the oxygen inside the bomb (the oxygen that remains after the combustion process). The first law can be written as:

Qcomb Wstir U mss css mwcw mair cv ,air mO 2 cv ,O 2 T Qcomb Wstir U

where:

m c T
i i

mss combined mass of stainless steel bomb and bucket mw mass of water = 2000 g mair mass of air inside calorimeter mO 2 mass of oxygen inside bomb (after combustion) ci ' s specific heats (for gases, constant volume specific heats) T T2 T1 T1 temperature at time fuse is ignited T2 temperature after steady-state conditions are reached W W t t
stir stir 2 1

San Francisco State University School of Engineering

ENGR 302: Experimental Analysis Prof. Ed Cheng, Spring 2010

Assignment The of the following analyses/results should be discussed and presented in your technical memo/ laboratory report: 1. Report the mass of the bomb and bucket based upon your experimental data. This is the term mss in the first law equation. 2. Calculate the mass of air inside the calorimeter assuming atmospheric pressure and the initial temperature T1. The air inside the calorimeter takes up a volume of 3090 cm3. Report your result, which is the term mair in the first law equation. 3. Calculate the mass of oxygen (O2) initially inside the bomb based upon the charged pressure of 30 atm and initial temperature T1. The volume inside the bomb is 360 cm3. Now subtract from this amount 3.35 g, which is the exact amount of mass of O2 required to fully combust 1 g of diesel fuel. Report the result, which is the amount of O2 remaining after combustion and the term mO2 in the first law equation. 4. Determine the values of the specific heats in the first law equation using appropriate references. The specific heats for the two gases (air and oxygen) may be assumed to be constant, but should be determined at the average temperature. Be sure to cite the reference(s) that were used to obtain the specific heats. 5. Based upon the temperature data collected before igniting the fuse, determine whether or not the work transferred into the system by the stirrer is observed to increase the temperature of the system. If so, calculate the increase in temperature per unit time due to work input from the stirrer. Note that this term is equivalent to:

6. Plot the temperature data as a function of time, and estimate the time constant . 7. Determine the heat released by the combustion process using the first law equation. Comment on the relative importance of the various terms in the equation (the various components of your thermodynamic system). 8. Calculate the HHV using the manufacturers equation:

How does this value compare to the value of Qcomb you calculated? Compare also to a value obtained from a textbook or other reference source. Discuss any reasons the values may differ.

Bomb Calorimeter Assignment