RP-121 -- The Determination of the Specific Heat of Building Material PDF

As part of an overall programme to revise the ASHRAE book of fundamentals one of the areas requiring attention concerned tabulated data for specific heat in Table III Physical Properties of Materials. Many of the materials included in the existing table were no longer being used in the building industry while a number of newer materials were not included. Furthermore some of the existing values were possibly not valid for newer forms of the materials presently available.

In order to revise and upgrade the values in the table it was decided to carry out determinations of heat capacity of some eighty widely used building materials including a broad range of thermal insulations materials and composites in various forms, A single method was chosen as a continuous project for all as opposed to selecting values for different materials which were obtained using various methods and techniques by different workers.