Specific Heat - ASTM C351 Plastic Test Standard

Specific Heat - ASTM C351

The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a material one degree. The heat capacity per unit mass of a material.

Testing is performed by measuring the temperature change of a known quantity of water (or other suitable calorimetric fluid) after the introduction of a heated test specimen. The test chamber is insulated to minimize heat loss.

The specific heat of the test material is calculated using:
c_s = (m_w * c_w * ΔT_w) / (m_s * ΔT_s)
where m_w is the mass of the water,
c_w is the specific heat of water,
ΔT_w is the temperature change of the water,
m_s is the mass of the specimen,
and ΔT_s is the temperature change of the specimen.

NOTE: Property information for specific grades of resin are available in Prospector Plastics Database.