CONCEPT OF OPERATION
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CHAPTER 1
CONCEPT OF OPERATION
A HIGHLY AUTOMATED PROCEDURE
Parr proudly introduces a new Oxygen Bomb
Calorimeter, No. 6300, in which new technology is
combined with time-proven calorimetric techniques to
produce a completely automatic system for measuring
the heat of combustion of solid and liquid fuels,
combustible wastes, foods, feeds and other oxygen
combustible materials. This new approach to bomb
calorimetry results in a remarkable simplification
of the steps required for a calorimetric test without
compromising the need for complete combustion, rapid
heat flow and precise thermometry which are essential
in a combustion calorimeter.
In the 6300 Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter most of the
manual operations in conventional bomb calorimetry
have been eliminated by a new technology centered
around a semi-automatic bucket handling mechanism
and an automatic bomb filling, venting and rinsing
design. To perform a test the user simply loads a sample
into a holder, attaches a short auxiliary fuse, places
the head into the cylinder, seals with a 1/16 of a turn,
closes the cover and presses the START key to begin the
procedure.
NEW CONVENIENCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGY
The 6300 Calorimeter represents a blending of some
new unique design features with some long proven Parr
calorimetric technology to dramatically simplify the
user’s tasks during a calorimetric determination.
In this new design the bomb cylinder and bucket are
mounted in the calorimeter. The bomb is completely
surrounded by a bucket chamber, sealed co-axially
with the bomb head. After the bomb and bucket are
closed and sealed, the bomb is filled with oxygen, the
bucket chamber is filled with water, initial equilibrium
is established, the bomb is fired and the temperature
rise is monitored and recorded - all under automatic
microprocessor control. Then, at the completion of a
test, automatic control releases the residual pressure
in the bomb, rinses the bomb, cools the system and
empties the bucket.
These new mechanical features support an established
technology in which water is circulated around the
bomb to bring all inner parts of the calorimeter to a
uniform temperature rapidly, while true isoperibol
operating conditions are maintained by an outer water
jacket. Microprocessor based, real time heat leak
corrections are applied to implement the isoperibol
jacketing method and to support the Parr rapid dynamic
method for predicting the final temperature rise. Precise
temperature measurements are made with thermistor
thermometry providing 0.0001ºC resolution over the
operating range of the calorimeter.
In addition to handling all test sequence operations, the
microprocessor makes all calculations and reports and
stores all results, as provided in earlier Parr isoperibol
and adiabatic calorimeters. A bright, backlit liquid
crystal display, prompts the operator through all setup
and operating steps with on-screen menus which make
user training quite simple.
ISOPERIBOL OPERATION
In Isoperibol operation, the calorimeter jacket is held
at a constant temperature while heat from the burning
sample causes the bomb and bucket temperature to
rise. The small heat flow between the bucket and
its surroundings during a test is monitored by a
microprocessor in the calorimeter, which continuously
determines the effect of any heat leak and applies
the necessary correction automatically. This system
differs from adiabatic operation in which the jacket
temperature must be adjusted continuously to match
the bucket temperature in an attempt to maintain a zero
temperature differential with no heat leaks between the
bucket and its surroundings. Calorimetrists have long
recognized the advantages of simplification and better
precision obtainable with a well designed and executed
Isoperibol system as opposed to the rapidly changing
jacket temperature required in an adiabatic calorimeter.
DYNAMIC OPERATION
In its Dynamic Operating Mode, the calorimeter
uses a sophisticated curve matching technique to
compare the temperature rise with a known thermal
curve to extrapolate the final temperature rise without
actually waiting for it to develop. Repeated testing,
and over 20 years of routine use in fuel laboratories,
has demonstrated that this technique can cut the time
required for a test by one-half without significantly
affecting the precision of the calorimeter.