What this workflow helps you do
Detect and review DSC thermal events using the measured heat-flow curve, including peak position and extrapolated onset/endset information where the event can be resolved. The workflow keeps heat-flow direction and baseline context visible because those choices affect interpretation.
Use this workflow when
- Reviewing endothermic or exothermic events in DSC data.
- Estimating onset, peak and endset temperatures for resolvable transitions.
- Comparing thermal behavior across samples measured under comparable conditions.
What you need before you start
- DSC data with temperature and heat-flow values.
- Knowledge of the instrument heat-flow sign convention and heating/cooling direction.
- Relevant test conditions such as heating rate, atmosphere and sample history.
Step-by-step workflow
- Import the DSC dataset and verify temperature and heat-flow columns and units.
- Confirm whether upward or downward heat-flow excursions represent endothermic or exothermic behavior for the source data.
- Inspect the baseline and run thermal-event analysis.
- Review detected events, including onset, peak, endset and integrated area where available.
- Add or correct an event manually only when the measured curve supports it and automatic detection missed the region.
- Report reviewed event temperatures and areas together with the measurement conditions and sign convention.
What to review in the result
- Detected events correspond to visible curve features.
- Onset and endset positions fall on plausible event flanks.
- Integrated area is interpreted in the context of the Y-axis units rather than automatically called enthalpy in absolute units.
- Heating/cooling direction and heat-flow convention are clear.
Before you report or export
- Report heating rate, atmosphere and sample mass/normalization when relevant.
- Do not assign glass transition, melting, crystallization or reaction identity from curve shape alone without supporting context.
- Use comparable test conditions when comparing samples.
Limitations and interpretation
- Overlapping transitions may not be separable by automatic event detection.
- Baseline choice strongly influences onset and integrated area.
- Thermal-event direction depends on instrument convention and may need interpretation before labeling endothermic or exothermic behavior.