engleski

The role of researchers in kinetical calculations

According to the current recommendations of the International Association for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, ICTAC (International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry) [1], kinetic analysis deals with measurement and parameterization of the process rates and it is carried out for practical or theoretical purposes. In order to get reliable and comparable data it is necessary to follow ICTAC recommendations. However, the published results of the kinetic analysis of the thermal decomposition process for the same polymer materials differ significantly. The question is why - because of non-compliance to ICTAC recommendation or there might be other reasons? The aim of this presentation is to investigate whether the researchers themselves affect the results of kinetic analysis during the computations. For that purpose, four polymers having different degrees of complexity of the thermal decomposition process were analyzed. The kinetic analysis was performed by three researchers: one scientific advisor with tenure, one research associate and one doctoral student. All of them used the same experimental thermogravimetric data and the same software, Netzsch Thermokinetics Professional software. The results indicate that researchers themselves might have a significant influence on the results of kinetic analysis.

kinetic analysis, non-isothermal thermogravimetry, influence of researcher

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