Specific Heat (Cp) Calculator
Calculate specific heat capacity for common oilfield fluids at various temperatures. Preset correlations for water, crude oil, natural gas, and steam.
Fluid Selection & Temperature
Cp = f(T) using empirical correlation
Specific Heat (BTU/lb·°F)
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Specific Heat (J/kg·K)
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kJ/kg·K
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cal/g·°C
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kcal/kg·°C
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BTU/lb·°R
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Reference: Cp at 150°F (65.6°C)
| Fluid | BTU/lb·°F | J/kg·K |
|---|
Cp vs Temperature
How this was calculated
Water: Cp(T) ≈ 1.0 − 3.5e-5×(T−60)² + 1.5e-4×(T−60). Simplified polynomial fit to NIST data.
Crude oil: Cp ≈ (0.388 + 0.00045×T) / sqrt(SG). Light oil uses SG=0.85, heavy uses SG=0.95.
Natural gas: Cp ≈ 0.52 + 0.00025×(T−60). Approximate for typical sweet gas.
Steam: Cp ≈ 0.445 + 0.00015×(T−212). Valid for low-pressure superheated steam.
Unit conversion: 1 BTU/lb·°F = 4186.8 J/kg·K
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Book a free strategy call →Specific Heat in Oil and Gas Operations
Specific heat capacity (Cp) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one unit mass of a substance by one degree. In petroleum engineering, accurate Cp values are essential for heat exchanger design, wellbore heat loss calculations, thermal recovery (steamflood, SAGD), pipeline flow assurance, and process facility design.
Water has one of the highest specific heats of any common fluid (~1.0 BTU/lb·°F), making it an excellent heat transfer medium. Crude oils typically have Cp values between 0.4 and 0.6 BTU/lb·°F, increasing with temperature and decreasing with specific gravity. Natural gas Cp varies with composition but is typically 0.5-0.6 BTU/lb·°F at oilfield conditions.
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