Energy in a steam autoclave
Energy in a steam autoclave
(OP)
In a steam autoclave (pressure cooker)at a set pressure/temperature, for a set length of time, will the same amount of energy transfer to say 6 objects vs 3 objects, all of same size, mass, materials, etc... Basically can I "heat" something quicker if there is more steam vs mass to heat?





RE: Energy in a steam autoclave
Raising an object's temperature depends on the material's "heat capacity" property, which is a measure of how much heat Btu or Calories are required to raise the temperature of a material of an object by 1 degree. If using English System, the units for heat capacity of a material will be Btu/Pound/ºF.
A typical steel has a heat capacity of 26 Btu/lb-F.
Therefore, if you have 10 lbs of steel, It will take 26 x 10 x 1ºF = 260 Btu to heat the 10 lbs of steel by 1 ºF, or 26 x 10 x 100 = 26,000 Btu to heat the objects by 100 ºF
Heating objects also depends on a few other factors, such as how the heat is actually transferred to the object, ie, by convection, conduction or radiation, ie, immersing in hot water, contact with another hot surface, or by blowing hot air on it, or by sitting it in the sun, etc. or a combination of all three, as well as the amount of surface area exposed or available that the applied heat can actually cross the material interfaces and be absorbed or transferred to your objects, but all of that involves quite a bit of more complex calculations. The above method will give you an approximate solution. If you need a more detailed solution, you will have to grab a good thermodynamics textbook... or a consultant.
Going the Big Inch!![[worm] worm](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/worm.gif)
http://virtualpipeline.spaces.msn.com
RE: Energy in a steam autoclave
If heating capacity is such that you can maintain the same pressure and temperature of steam, then there ought to be little difference in the heating time, whether you have one object or a dozen being heated.
If heating capacity is such that pressure and temperature drop with the additional items, then yes, it's going to take longer.
To apply it to a home pressure cooker, if you're heating grains of corn, it won't matter if you have 1 grain or 5, time will essentially be the same. If you are heating 5 cans of corn, then you should see a slower heat-up time for the additional mass.
RE: Energy in a steam autoclave
Going the Big Inch!![[worm] worm](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/worm.gif)
http://virtualpipeline.spaces.msn.com
RE: Energy in a steam autoclave
RE: Energy in a steam autoclave