Fax: (803) 714.2222 tions | Training Resources. | Cont ii International site for Spirax Sarco Te. (¢00)575.0304 SPA nn to me | AboutUs Products & Services. Industries & Appl You are i Home Resources b Steam Engineering Tutorials Steam Engineering Punciples and Heat Transfer Engin Engineering Units ‘An ovorviow of the units of measurement used In The printable version of this page has the Steam and Condensate Loop including now been replaced by temperature, pressure, density, volume, heat, work ‘The Steam and Condensate Loop Book and energy. = View the complete collection of Steam Use the quick links below to take you to the main Engineering Tutorials sections of this tutorial Contact Us ring Units Throughout the engineering industries, many different definitions and units have been proposed and used for mechanical and thermal properties. ‘The problems this caused led to the development of an agreed international system of units (or St units Systeme International dUnités). In the SI system there are seven well-defined base units ftom which the Units of other properties can be derived, and these wil be used throughout the Steam Engineering Tutorials The SI base units include length (in metres), mass (in kilograms), time (in seconds) and temperature (in kein). The frst three will hopefully need no further explanation, while the latter will be discussed in more detai later. ‘The other SI base units are electic current (in amperes), amount of substance (in moles) and luminous Intensity (in candela). These may be familiar to readers with a background in electronics, chemistry and Physics respectively, but have litle relevance to steam engineering nor the contents ofthese tutorials Table 2.1.1 shows the derived units that are relevant to this subject, all of which should be familiar to those wih any general engineering background. Some of these quantiles have been assigned special names after famous pioneers in the development of science and engineering Name ‘Symbol Stbase unit Derived unit square mate A m : Related Content cuble metre v ™ : Unit Converters metre per secordd u m/s A comprehensive Ist of metre per sacond squered a m/s? : conversion unt. cam y enle iim ‘Steam Tables jlo J ame Nm A comprehensive set of pascal Pa kgs Name Staal ave vate Ww gris We Table 2.4.1 Named quantitios in derived SI units Foature There are many other quantities that have been derived from SI base units, which will also be of significance to anyone involved in steam engineering. These are prowded in Table 2.1.2. ndensale Loop Book ‘A comprehensive best practice gue to saving ‘energy and optinsing plant performance, hs book covers all aspects of ‘steamand condensate systems.‘Orser your copy today, [Quantity ‘Sibaseunit Derived unit IMassdensity gin kg/m Specific volume iv mig mig [Spesiicenthalpy(h) m/s weg [Spesiicheat capacity (e) mejetk kg k mne/stk kg k meals! sow kgims Nsimt Table 2.1.2 Other quantities in derived SI units This convention is used to identify a compound unit incorporating rate, for example: m= Mass (e.g. kg) rh= Mass flow per time unit e.g. kgih) = Mass flowrate Multiples and submultiples Table 2.1.3 gives the SI prefixes that are used to form decimal multiples and submuliples of SI units. They allow very large or very small numerical values to be avoided. Aprefixattaches direclyto the name ofa unt, and a prefixsymbol ataches directly o the symbol fora unit In summary: one thousand metres maybe shown as 1 km, 1000 m or 10*m ‘Muttites Subrutiples Factor Poet Symbol Factor Prefix ‘Symbol 108 ‘ere 1 108 il n 1 io 6 108 rire x i ‘moga mM | ano a ie kilo k io# Fico P Table 21.3 ‘Mutiples and submuttipies used with SI units Special abbreviations used in steam flowmetering applications For historical reasons, Intemational Standard ISO 5167 (supersedes BS 1042) which refers to owmetering, use the following abbreviations in Table 2.1 4 Symbol Definition Unit Ga Mass fowrate kg/sorkg/t ® Volume wate m/s a Lig forate iin & Gas flowrate at STP min a Gas orate ects imi @ Equivalent woterfloweate I iin Ds Dorsity of ges at STP igi a Density of gas actual I gine Pe Standard prossur (1.013 bar bere i Actual fow pressure bere Te Standard temperature I c 1 ‘Actual flow tamperatura ° Table 2.4.4 ‘Symbols used In flowmotering applications STP - Standard temperature and pressure These are the standard conditions for measurement ofthe properties of mater. The standard temperature is the freezing point of pure water, 0°C or 273.16°K. The standard pressure is the pressure exerted by acolumn of mercury (symbol Hg) 760 mm high, often designated 760 mm Hg. This pressure is also called one atmosphere and is eau: to 1.01325 x 10° dynes per square centimetre, or approximately 14.7 Ib per ‘square inch. The density (mass per volume) of a gas is usually reported as its value at STP. Properties that cannot be measured at STP are measured under other conditions; usually the values obtained are then mathematcally extrapolated to their values at STP. Symbols ‘Table 21.5 shows the symbols and typical units used in the Steam Engineering Tutorials Symbol Definition Unit A Cross sectional area of a conduit, for the operating candition im? orm? or Specific heat capacity at constant pressure b/g °C or ki/kg K cy Specific heat capacity at constant volume kd/m?2C or ki/mm? K Diameter ofthe circular cross section of a conduit mormm Oritice diameter mormm Q Acceleration due to gravity 981 mist He ‘The unit of freauency (numberof eycies per second) zor kite J Joule, the unit of eneray orks L Length m M Molar mass ofa tuid g/mol N Newton, the unit of force NorkN Pa Unit of prossuro (Pascal) Pa or kPa P Static pressure ofa fuid bar or KPa ap Differential pressure bar or KPa m Fundamental unit of length (metre) m m Mass ig th Mass flowrate ka/sor ko/h ‘ty Steam mass flowrate ka/s or ka/h a Guantity of heat ks 4 Heat transfer rate s/s (KW) R Radius orm Reo Reynolds number referred to diameter D Dimensionless 3 Fundamental unit of time (second) Sr Strovhal number Dimensionless © Stress N/m Ts ‘Steam temperature Kort in Liquid (or product) temperature Kort at ‘Ternperature difference or change Kort t Time sorh u Velocity ofa fluid mis Hu Dynamic viscosity ofa fluid Pas orcP v matic viscosity ost Pp Density of a fluid kg/m? v Volume flowrate m?/som3/h w Unit of energy flow (Watt) Ww/s) Viva) ‘Volume (Specific volume) im (me /ka) Hol Enthalpy (Specific enthalpy) ks tk /ko) Sisa) Entropy (Specific entropy) EA/K Uh /kg KD) Vis! Internal energy (specific internal energy) ks (ki/kg) Table 2.1.5,‘Symbols and units of measure used in the Steam Engineering Tutorials Subscripts used with properties When using enthalpy, entropy and internal energy, subscripts as shown below are used to identify the phase, for example: Subscript = Fluid or iquid state for example hy: quid enthalpy Subscript fg = Change of state liquid to gas, for example hig enthalpy of evaporation Subscript ‘Total, for example hg total enthalpy Note that. by convention, the total heat in superheated steam Is signified by h Itis also usual, by convention, to signify sample quantities in capital letters, whilst unit quantties are signified in lower ease letters. For example: Total enthalpyin a sample of superheated steam -H kd Specific enthalpy of superheated steam - klkg Temperature The temperature scale fs used as an indicator of hermal equlbvum, in he sense that any wo systems in contact each other with the same value are in thermal equim The Celsius (°C) scale This is the scale most commonly used by the engineer, as it has a convenient (but arbitrary) zero temperature, corresponding to the temperature at which water will freeze, The absolute or K (kelvin) scale This scale has the same increments as the Celsius scale, but has @ zero corresponding to the minimum possible temperature when all molecular and atomic mation has ceased. This temperature is often feferred to as absolute zero (0 K) and is equivalent o -273.16°C. ‘The two scales of temperature are interchangeable, as shown in Figure 2.1.1 and expressed in Equation aad 373k roo Absolute tempore 273 | degrees Kein (K) OC Temperature reatve to the freezing point of water degroce Celsius (0) ox—_ ave Fig.2.4-4 ‘Comparison of kelvin and Celsius temperatures T(K) = Temperature (C) + 273.16 Equation 2.1.1 ‘The SI unit of temperature is the Kelvin, which is defined as 1 + 273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of pure water atts triple point 0°C). An explanation of triple point is given in Tutorial 2.2. Most thermodynamic equations require the temperature to be expressed in kelvin. However, temperature diference, as used in many heat transfer calculations, may be expressed in either °C or K. Since both scales have the same increments, a temperature diference of 1°C has the same value as a temperature diference of 1K Pressure‘The SI unit of pressure is the pascal (Pa), defined as 1 newton of force per square metre (1 Nim*).As Pa is such a small unit the kPa (1 kilonewtonim!) or MPa (1 Meganewlonim4) tend to be more appropriate to steam engineering However, probably the mast commonly used metric unt for pressure measurement in steam engineering is the bar. This is equal to 108 Nim’, and approximates to 1 atmosphere, This unitis used throughout these tutorials Other units ofen used include bf? (psi, Kgfem*, atm, in HO and mm Hg. Conversion factors are readily available fom many sources. funsseud ennen, ‘einssod omceay Atmospheric nessure (approximately 1 bar a = € bar) Maximum Perfect vacuum (Obara) Fig. 2.4.2 Comparison of absolute and gauge pres Absolute pressure (bar a) This is the pressure measured from the datum ofa perfect vacuum i.e, a perfect vacuum has a pressure of Obara. Gauge pressure (bar 9) This is the pressure measured ftom the datum of the atmospheric pressure. Although in reality the atmospheric pressure will depend upon the climate and the height above sea level, a generally accepted value of 1.013 25 bar (1 atm) is ofen used. This is the average pressure exerted by the sr ofthe earth's atmosphere ai sea level Gauge pressure = Absolute pressure -Almospheric pressure Pressures above atmospheric will always yield a positive gauge pressure. Conversely a vacuum or negative pressure is the pressure below that of the atmosphere. Apressure of -1 bar g corresponds closely toa perfect vacuum, Differential pressure This is simply the diference between two pressures. When specitying a diferential pressure, itis not necessary{o use the suffixes ‘gor ato denote either gauge pressure or absolute pressure respectively, as the pressure datum point becomes irelevant, Therefore, the difference between two pressures will have the same value whether these pressures are measured in gauge pressure or absolute pressure, as long as the two pressures are measured from the same datum Density and specific volume The density# ofa substance can be defined as its mass (rm) per unit volume (V}. The specific volume (vis the volume per unit mass and is therefore the inverse of density Infact, the term ‘spectfic is generally used to denote a property of a unit mass of a substance (see Equation 2.1.2). 1 asEquation 2.1.2 Where: p= Densityka/m’) m= Mass (kg) V = Volume(m’) W9 = Specific volume (kg) The Sl unis of density (p) are kgm*, whilst conversely the units of specie volume (¥) are m kg ‘Anotner term used as a measure of densityis specific grauly. Its a rato ofthe density ofa substance (p) and the density of pure water (a4) at standard temperature and pressure (STP). This reference condition is usually defined as being at atmospheric pressure and 0°C. Sometimes itis said to be at 20°C or 25°C and is refered to as normal temperature and pressure (NTP). Deniity of substance Spectic gavity — “AY & MUOSANGE Os Density of water Ow Equation 24.3 The density of water at these conditions is approximately 1 000 kgim?. Therefore substances with a density greater than this value will have a specific gravly greater than 1, whereas substances with a density less than this will have a specific gravy of less than 1. Since specific graviyis a ratio of wo densities, itis a dimensionless variable and has no units. Therefore in this case the term specific does not indicate it is a property of a unit mass of a substance. The specific gravityis also sometimes known as the relative density ofa substance. Heat, work and energy Energy is sometimes descrived as the abiliy to do work. The transfer of energy by means of mechanical ‘motion is called work. The Slunit for work and energyis the joule, defined as 7 Nm. The amount of mechanical work done can be determined by an equation derived from Newtonian Work = Force xDisplacement Itean also be described as the product ofthe applied pressure and the displaced volume: Work = Applied pressure xDisplaced volume Example 2.1.1 ‘An applied pressure of 1 Pa (or 1 Nim*) displaces a volume of 1 m*, How much work has been done 7 Work done Nim xt Nm(orty) ‘The benefits of using SI units, as in the above example, is thatthe units in the equation actually cancel out to give the units of the product. The experimental obsenations of J.P, Joule established that there is an equivalence between mechanical energy (or work) and heat. He found that the same amount of energy was required to produce the same temperature rise in a specific mass of water, regardless of whether the energy was supplied as heat or work. ‘The total energy of a system is composed of the internal, potential and kinetic energy. The temperature of a substance Is directly related to its internal energy (ug). The internat energy is associated with the mation, interaction and bonding of the molecules within a substance, The external energy of a substance is associated with its velocity and location, and is the sum ofits potential and kinetic energy. The transfer of energy as a result of he diflerence in temperature alone is referred to as heat flow. The wat, which is the SI unit of power, can be defined as 1 Jis ofheat flow. Other units used to quantify heat energy are the Britsh Thermal Unit (Btu: the amount of heatto raise 1 Ib of. water by 1°F) and the kilocalorie (he amount of heat to raise 1 kg of water by 1°C). Conversion factors are readily available from numerous sources. Specific enthalpy This is the term given to the lotal energy, due to both pressure and temperature, ofa fluid (such as water or steam) at any given ‘ime and condition. More specifically it is the sum of the internal energy and the workdone byan applied pressure (as in Example 2.1.1) The basic unit of measurementis the joule (J). Since one joule represents a very small amount of energy, it is usual to use kilojoules (ki) (1 000 Joules) ‘The specific enthalpyis a measure of he total energy ofa unit mass, and its units are usually KJ. Specific heat capacity The enthalpy of a flu is a function of its temperature and pressure. The temperature dependence of the enthalpy can be found by measuring the rise in temperature caused by the flow of heat al constant pressure. The constant-pressure heat capacity cp, is a measure of the change in enthalpy at a particular temperature Simitaly, the internal energy is a function of lemperature and specific volume, The constantwolume heat capacity ¢,, is a measure of he change in internal energy ata particular temperature and constant volume. Because the specific volumes of solids and liquids are generally smaller, then unless the pressure is extremely high, the work done by an applied pressure can be neglected, Therefore, ifthe enthalpy can be Fepresented by the intemal energy component alone, the constantvolume and constant-pressure heat capacities can be said to be equal Therefore for, solids and liquids: cy ~ cy Another simplification for solids and liquids assumes that they are incompressible, so that their volume is. ‘oniya function of temperature. This implies that for incompressible fds the enthalpy and the heat capacity are also only functions of temperature. The specific heat capacity represents the amount of energy required to raise 1 kg by 1°C, and can be thought of as the ability of a substance to absorb heat. Therefore the SI units of specific heal capacity are kulkg K (Kuikg °C). Water has a very large specific heat eapacty (4.19 kuikg “C) compared with many uids, hich is why both water and steam are considered to be good carriers of heat. The amount of heat energy requited to raise the temperature of a substance can be determined from Equation 2.1.4. Qe me, aT Equation 21.4 Where @ = Quantity of eneray ks) m = Mass ofthe substance(ka) Gp = Specific heat capaciy ofthe substance (kiikg"C) AT = Temperature rise ofthe substance (°C) This equation shows that for a ghen mass of substance, the temperature rise is linearly related to the amount of heat provided, assuming that the specific heat capacity is constant over that temperature range. Example 2.1.2 Consider a quantiy of water with a volume of2 lites, which is raised from a temperature of 20°C to 70°C. ‘Avatmospheric pressure, the density of waters approximately 1 000 kgim*.As there are 1 000 lies in 1 m?, then the density can be expressed as 1 kg per le (1 kg/). Therefore the mass ofthe water is 2 kg The specific heat capacilyfor water can be taken as 4.19 kilkg °C over low ranges of temperature, Therefore: Q = 2 kg x4.19 kulkg °C x(70 -20)°C = 419 kd Ifthe water was then cooled to its original temperature of 20°C, itwauld also provide this amount of energy in the cooling application Entropy (S) Entropy is a measure of the degree of disorder within a system. The greater the degree of disorder, the higher the entropy. The SI units of entropy are kitkg K (kik "C). Ina solid, the molecules of a substance arrange themselves in an orderly structure. As the substance changes ffom a solid toa liquid, or from a liquid to a gas, the arrangement of the molecules becomes more disordered as they begin to move more freely. For any given substance the entropy in the gas phase is greater than that ofthe liquid phase, and the entropyin the liquid phase is more than in the solid phase. One characteristic of all natural or spontaneous processes is that they proceed towards @ state ofequilibrium. This can be seen in the second law of thermodynamics, which states that heat cannot pass from a colder to a warmer body. ‘Achange in the entropy ofa system is caused bya change in ils heat content, where the change of entropy is equal to the heat change divided by the average absolute temperature, Equation 2.1.5. Change in enthalpy (AH) Change in entropy (AS) = erage absolute temperature GT) Equation 24.5 When unit mass calculations are made, the symbols for entropy and enthalpy are writen in lower case, Equation 2.1.6. Change in spacitic enthalpy (Ah) Change in specific entropy (AS) = erase abeohae temperature (1) Equation 2.1.6 To look at his in further detall, consider the folowing examples: Examplo 2.1.3 ‘process raises 1 kg of water from 0 to 100°C (273 to 373 K) under atmospheric conditions, ‘Speeifc enthalpy at 0°C (hy) = Okulkg (fom steam tables) ‘Specific enthalpy of water a 100°C (h,) = 419 kilkg (rom steam tables) Calculate the change in specific entropy Since this is @ change in specific entropy of water, the symbol 's' in Equation 2.1.6 takes the suffix to become sy. hange in spesific enthalpy iAh) Calculate: Change in gpecfic entropy UA EE re ermpeatare OT) 419 - 0. Therefore: As ( 73 + 37. | 2 = 419 Ag = 323 As = 1.2971 f kgk Example 2.1.4 Aprocess changes 1 kg of water at 100°C (373 K) to saturated steam at 100°C (873 K) under atmospheric conditions. Calculate the change in specific entropy of evaporation Since this is the entropy invowed in the change of state, the symbol's'in Equation 2.1.6 takes the sulfixg'to become sy Specific enthalpy of evaporation of steam at 100°C (373 K) (hig) = 2.258 kilkg (rom steam tables) Specific enthalpy of evaporation of water at 100°C (373 K) (hi) kalkg (fom steam tables) Chango in specific enthalpy (Ah) CalalatoxCharge in specifi atopy (a) = 9 tc tamoratere 2258-0 There As & +373) z 2258 Aa “Sy Asrg — 6.0841d kg K The total change in specific entropy fom water at 0°C to saturated steam at 100°C is the sum of the change in specific entropy or the water, pus the change of specific entropy for the steam, and takes the suffix’, tobecome the total change in specific entropy. Therefore: Change in specific entropy (Ase)= Ast + Ao Ag, = 1.297 (fram Example 2.1.3) + 6.054 (ram abeve) Asg = 7.951 M/kgk Example 2.1.5 Aprocess supetheats 1 kg of saturated steam at atmospheric pressure to 150°C (423 K). Determine the change in entropy. Specific total enthalpy of steam at atmospheric presture and at 100°C (373 K) (0) = 2 675 ki/kg (from steam tables) Specific total enthalpy of steam at atmospheric presuure and at 1S0RC (423 K) [h) = 2777 /kg (from team tables) ‘Change in specific enthalpy (Ah) = 10214 /kg 373 + 423 ‘Average absolute temperature + Average absolute temperature = 390K Change in spacitic enthalpy (Ah) Change in specific entropy (AS) = erase abeohae temperature (1) Equation 2.1.6 402 398 entropy (As) = 0.256 M/kgk Total changein specific entropy (As) = As, + adcitionel entropy dueto supetheating (Ae) The change in total specific entropy = 7.381 Id/kg K rom Example 2.1.4) + 0.256 W/kg K The tetal chan gein specific entropy ~ 7.607 kl /kgk Change in specific entropy (As) Changein spec ‘As the entropy of saturated water Is measured ffom a datum of 0.01°C, the entropy of water at 0°C can, for Practical purposes, be taken as zero. The total change in specific entropy in this example is based on an Initial water temperature of O°C, and therefore the final result happens to be very much the same as the specific entropy of sieam that would be obsened in steam tables at the final condition of steam at atmospheric pressure and 150°C. Entropyis discussed in greater detail in Tutorial 2.15, Entropy - ABasic Understanding, and in Tutorial 2.16, Entropy- ls Practical Use. What do | do now? 1m The printable version of this page has now been replaced by The Steam and Condensate Loop Book 1 View the complete collection of Steam Engineering Tutorials Contact Us