METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

RELEVANT THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES

The mass of a body is the measure of the amount of material present in that body. The volume of a body is the measure of
the space it occupies. The weight of a body is the force exerted by that body when its mass is accelerated in a gravitational
field. The weight of a body varies on the value of gravitational acceleration.

Formula:

W weight

m mass

m ∙ go go local gravity
W=
gc
conversion factor

gc SI: 1 kgm-m/kgf-s2

EN: 32.17 lbm-ft/lbf-s2

Units:

SI English Conversion

m kgm lbm, slug 1 kgm = 2.2051 lbm; 1 slug = 32.17 lbm

W kgf, N lbf 1 kgf = 2.2051 lbf; 1 kgf = 9.81 N

The density of a substance is the total mass of that substance divided by the total volume occupied by that substance. The
density of a substance, in general, depends on temperature and pressure. The density of most gases is proportional to
pressure and inversely proportional to temperature. Liquids and solids, on the other hand, are essentially incompressible
substances, and the variation of their density with pressure is usually negligible.

Formula:

ρ density
m
ρ= m mass
V
V volume

The specific volume of a substance is the total volume of that substance divided by the total mass of that substance. It is
the reciprocal of density. The specific volume also varies on the value of temperature and pressure and based on its state.

Formula:

ν specific volume
V
ν=
m m mass
1 V volume
ν=
ρ
ρ density

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

The specific weight, or weight density, of a substance is the total weight of that substance divided by the total volume. The
specific weight of a substance varies on the value of local gravity, temperature and pressure and based on its state.

Formula:

γ specific weight

W weight
W
γ=
V V volume
γ = 𝜌𝑔
ρ density

go local gravity

Specific gravity is a measure of the relative density of a substance as compared to the density of some standard substance
at a specified temperature (usually water at 4°C where ρwater = 1000 kg/m3). The specific gravity of a substance is a
dimensionless quantity. Substances with specific gravities less than 1 are lighter than water and they would float on water.

Formula:

SG specific gravity
𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
SG = ρ substance density of the substance
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
ρ water density of water

Units:

SI English

ρ kgm/m3 lbm/ft3

ν m3/kgm ft3/lbm

γ N/m3, kgf/m3 lbf/ft3

Standard values:

Water at 4°C and 1 atm Hg at 0°C and 1atm

SI English SI

ρ 1000 kgm/m3 62.43 lbm/ft3 13600 kgm/m3

ν 0.001 m3/kgm 0.016 ft3/lbm 7 x 10-5 m3/kgm

γ 9.81 kN/m3 62.43 lbf/ft3 133.416 kN/m3

SG 1.0 1.0 13.6

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

TEMPERATURE
Temperature is a measure of the molecular activity of a substance. The greater the movement of molecules, the higher the
temperature.

Temperature scales enable a common basis for temperature measurements. A mixture of ice and water that is in
equilibrium with air saturated with vapor at 1 atm pressure is the ice point, and a mixture of liquid water and water vapor
(with no air) in equilibrium at 1 atm pressure is at the steam point.

On the Celsius scale, the ice and steam points were originally assigned the values of 0 and 100°C, respectively. The
corresponding values on the Fahrenheit scale are 32 and 212°F. A temperature scale that is independent of the properties
of any substance is a thermodynamic temperature scale. The thermodynamic temperature scale in the SI is the Kelvin
scale. The lowest temperature on the Kelvin scale is absolute zero, or 0 K. The thermodynamic temperature scale in the
English system is the Rankine scale.

Conversion:

Relative Absolute

(T)℉ − 32
SI (T )℃ = (T)K = (T)℃ + 273
1.8

EN (T)℉ = 1.8 ∙ (T)℃ + 32 (T)R = (T)℉ + 460

ZEROTH LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

“If two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with a third body, they are also in thermal equilibrium with each other.”

This basic law of thermodynamics cannot be concluded from the other laws of thermodynamics, and it serves as a basis for
the validity of temperature measurement. By replacing the third body with a thermometer, the zeroth law can be restated
as two bodies are in thermal equilibrium if both have the same temperature reading even if they are not in contact.

PRESSURE
Pressure is defined as a normal force exerted by a fluid per unit area. Pressure is used when dealing with a gas or a liquid.
Its counterpart in solids is normal stress. Pressure has the unit of newtons per square meter (N/m2) or a pascal (Pa).

The actual pressure at a given position is called the absolute pressure, and it is measured relative to absolute vacuum. Most
pressure-measuring devices, however, are calibrated to read zero in the atmosphere and the difference is the gage
pressure. Pressures below atmospheric pressure are called vacuum pressures.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

Formula:

Pabs absolute pressure

𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 + 𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑔𝑒 Patm atmospheric pressure

Pgage gage pressure

Pgage is positive (+) if Pgage > Patm

Pgage is negative (–) or Pvacuum if Pgage < Patm

Standard values:

Atmospheric pressure

SI English

101.325 kPa 14.696 psi (lbf/in2)

1.01325 bar 1 atm (atmosphere)

760 mmHg (millimeter mercury) 29.92 inHg (inch mercury)

Postulates on fluid pressure

1. Pressure in a fluid at rest does not change in the horizontal direction.

2. Pressure in a fluid increases with depth because more fluid rests on deeper layers, and the effect of this “extra weight”
on a deeper layer is balanced by an increase in pressure.

Proof:

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

ENERGY
The total energy of a system is constituted by the sum of energy that can exist in numerous forms such as mechanical,
kinetic, etc.

The macroscopic forms of energy are those a system possesses as a whole with respect to some outside reference frame,
such as kinetic and potential energies. The microscopic forms of energy are those related to the molecular structure of a
system and the degree of the molecular activity, and they are independent of outside reference frames.

The macroscopic energy of a system is related to motion and the influence of some external effects such as gravity,
magnetism, etc. Kinetic energy is what a system possesses as a result of its motion relative to some reference frame.
Potential energy is the energy that a system possesses as a result of its elevation in a gravitational field.

Internal energy is the sum of all the microscopic forms of energy of a system. It is related to the molecular structure and
the degree of molecular activity, and can be viewed as the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of the molecules.

The portion of the internal energy of a system associated with the kinetic energies of the molecules is called the
sensible energy.

The internal energy associated with the phase of a system is called the latent energy.

The internal energy associated with the atomic bonds in a molecule is called chemical energy.

The tremendous amount of energy associated with the strong bonds within the nucleus of the atom itself is called
nuclear energy.

The mechanical energy can be defined as the form of energy that can be converted to mechanical work completely and
directly by an ideal mechanical device such as an ideal turbine. Kinetic and potential energies are the familiar forms of
mechanical energy. Thermal energy is not mechanical energy, however, since it cannot be converted to work directly and
completely (the second law of thermodynamics).

SYSTEMS AND CONTROL VOLUMES

A SYSTEM is a quantity of matter or a region in space chosen for study. The SURROUNDINGS is the mass or region outside
the system. The BOUNDARY is the real or imaginary surface that separates the system from its surroundings, and that can
be fixed or movable. The boundary has zero thickness, and can neither contain any mass nor occupy any volume in space. A
universe is comprised of a system and its surroundings.

Illustration:

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

Systems may be considered to be closed or open, depending on having a fixed mass or a fixed volume.

A closed system, or a control mass, consists of a fixed amount of mass, and no mass can cross its boundary. But
energy, in the form of heat or work, can cross the boundary; and the volume of a closed system does not have to be
fixed.

An isolated system is the case when even energy is not allowed to cross the boundary.

An open system, or a control volume, is a properly selected region in space. Both mass and energy can cross the
boundary of a control volume. A control surface is the boundaries of a control volume, and can be real or imaginary.

Most of engineering problems involve mass flow in and out of a system and are modeled as control volumes. It usually
encloses a device that involves mass flow such as a compressor, turbine, or nozzle. Flow through these devices is best
studied by selecting the region within the device as the control volume. A control volume can be fixed in size and shape, as
in the case of a nozzle, or it may involve a moving boundary.

A system is called a simple compressible system in the absence of electrical, magnetic, gravitational, motion, and surface
tension effects. These effects are due to external force fields and are negligible for most engineering problems.

Illustration:

PROPERTIES OF A SYSTEM
A property is any characteristic of a system. Some familiar properties are pressure P, temperature T, volume V, and mass m.
Other less familiar properties include viscosity, thermal conductivity, modulus of elasticity, thermal expansion coefficient,
electric resistivity, and even velocity and elevation.

Intensive properties are those that are independent of the mass of a system, such as temperature, pressure, and
density. Lowercase letters are used for intensive properties (pressure P and temperature T are obvious
exceptions).

Extensive properties are those whose values depend on the size—or extent—of the system. Total mass, total
volume, and total momentum are some examples. Uppercase letters are used to denote extensive properties (with
mass m being a major exception).

Dividing the extensive property by the mass results to specific property, like specific volume and specific total energy.

Examples:

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM

The state of the system is a set of properties that completely describes the condition and can be measured or calculated
throughout the entire system. At a given state, all the properties of a system have fixed values.

A change of state is when the value of even one property changes, or there is a changes from one state to another different
state.

Thermodynamics deals with equilibrium states wherein there are no unbalanced potentials (or driving forces) within the
system. A system in equilibrium experiences no changes when it is isolated from its surroundings. Metastable equilibrium
is when a system would undergo a large change in its properties when subjected to small disturbance.

There is thermodynamic equilibrium when the conditions of all the relevant types of equilibrium are satisfied:

1. Thermal equilibrium if the temperature is the same throughout the entire system. The system involves no
temperature differential, which is the driving force for heat flow.

2. Mechanical equilibrium is related to pressure, and a system is in mechanical equilibrium if there is no change in
pressure at any point of the system with time.

3. Phase equilibrium is when the mass of each phase reaches an equilibrium level and stays there.

4. Chemical equilibrium if its chemical composition does not change with time, no chemical reactions occur.

Illustration:

THE STATE POSTULATE

“The state of a simple compressible system is completely specified by two independent, intensive properties.”

Once a sufficient number of properties are specified, the rest of the properties assume certain values automatically. The
state postulate requires that the two properties specified be independent to fix the state. Two properties are independent
if one property can be varied while the other one is held constant.

Example:

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

PROCESSES AND CYCLES

A process is any change that a system undergoes from one equilibrium state to another.

The path of the process and the series of states through which a system passes during a process. To describe a process
completely, one should specify the initial and final states of the process, as well as the path it follows, and the interactions
with the surroundings.

A system is said to have undergone a cycle if it returns to its initial state at the end of the process. The initial and final states
are identical.

Illustration:

A quasi-static, or quasi-equilibrium, process is when a process proceeds in such a manner that the system remains
infinitesimally close to an equilibrium state at all times. A quasi-equilibrium process can be viewed as a sufficiently slow
process that allows the system to adjust itself internally so that properties in one part of the system do not change any
faster than those at other parts.

A quasi-equilibrium process is an idealized process and is not a true representation of an actual process. But many actual
processes closely approximate it, and they can be modeled as quasi-equilibrium with negligible error. Quasi-equilibrium
processes serve as standards to which actual processes can be compared.

Engineers are interested in quasi-equilibrium processes for two reasons:

1. They are easy to analyze;

2. Work-producing devices deliver the most work when they operate on quasi-equilibrium processes.

Illustration:

The prefix iso- is often used to designate a process for which a particular property remains constant. An isothermal process,
for example, is a process during which the temperature T remains constant; an isobaric process is a process during which
the pressure P remains constant; and an isochoric (or isometric) process is a process during which the specific volume
remains constant.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

THE STEADY-FLOW PROCESS

The term steady implies no change with time. The opposite is unsteady, or transient. The term uniform implies no change
with location over a specified region. The steady-flow process can be defined as a process during which a fluid flows
through a control volume steadily. The fluid properties can change from point to point within the control volume, but at any
fixed point they remain the same during the entire process.

Steady-flow conditions can be closely approximated by devices that are intended for continuous operation such as turbines,
pumps, boilers, condensers, and heat exchangers or power plants or refrigeration systems. Some cyclic devices, such as
reciprocating engines or compressors, do not satisfy any of the conditions stated above since the flow at the inlets and the
exits will be pulsating and not steady. However, the fluid properties vary with time in a periodic manner, and the flow
through these devices can still be analyzed as a steady-flow process by using time-averaged values for the properties.

Illustration:

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME

METD0213 Thermodynamics 1 Lecture 1

BASIC PROBLEMS:

1. A one and a half cubic meters of oil at room temperature has a weight of 9,800 N at a location where g = 9.80 m/s 2. What
is its weight, specific weight and density at g = 9.77 m/s 2.

2. Calculate the density, specific weight, mass and weight of a body that occupies 200 ft3 if its specific volume is 10 ft3/lbm.

3. Determine the mass and the weight of the air contained in a room whose dimensions are 6 m x 6 m x 8 m. Assume the
density of the air is 1.16 kg/m3.

4. What is the temperature of the heated air at 150°C in K, °F and R?

5. The flash point of an engine oil is 363°F. What is the absolute flash-point temperature in K and R?

6. During a heating process, the temperature of a system rises by 10°C. Express this rise in temperature in K, °F, and R.

7. The pressure at the exit of an air compressor is 150 psia. What is this pressure in kPa?

8. A vacuum gage connected to a chamber reads 5.8 psi at a location where the atmospheric pressure is 14.5 psi. Determine
the absolute pressure in the chamber.

9. The vacuum pressure of a condenser is given to be 80 kPa. If the atmospheric pressure is 98 kPa, what is the gage
pressure and absolute pressure in kPa, psi, and mmHg.

10. The gage pressure in a liquid at a depth of 3 m is read to be 42 kPa. Determine the gage pressure in the same liquid at a
depth of 9 m.

11. The absolute pressure in water at a depth of 5 m is read to be 145 kPa. Determine (a) the local atmospheric pressure,
and (b) the absolute pressure at a depth of 5 m in a liquid whose specific gravity is 0.85 at the same location.

12. A vacuum gage connected to a tank reads 30 kPa at a location where the barometric reading is 750 mm Hg. Determine
the absolute pressure in the tank. Take pHg = 13,590 kg/m3.

ADVANCED PROBLEMS:

1. At 45° latitude, the gravitational acceleration as a function of elevation z above sea level is given by g = a – bz, where a =
9.807 m/s2 and b = 3.32x10–6 s–2. Determine the height above sea level where the weight of an object will decrease by 0.5
percent.

2. Solar ponds are small artificial lakes of a few meters deep that are used to store solar energy. The rise of heated (and
thus less dense) water to the surface is prevented by adding salt at the pond bottom. In a typical salt gradient solar pond,
the density of water increases in the gradient zone, as shown in the figure, and the density can be expressed as:

𝜋𝑧
𝜌 = 𝜌𝑜 √1 + tan2 ( )
4𝐻

where p0 is the density on the water surface, z is the vertical distance measured downward from the top of the gradient
zone, and H is the thickness of the gradient zone. For H = 4 m, p0 = 1040 kg/m3, and a thickness of 0 .8 m for the surface
zone, calculate the gage pressure at the bottom of the gradient zone.

3. It is well-known that the temperature of the atmosphere varies with altitude. In the troposphere, which extends to an
altitude of 11 km, for example, the variation of temperature can be approximated by T = T0 — βz, where T0 is the
temperature at sea level, which can be taken to be 288.15 K, and β = 0.0065 K/m. The gravitational acceleration also
changes with altitude as g(z) = g0/( 1 + z/6,370,320)2 where g0 = 9.807 m/s2 and z is the elevation from sea level in m. Obtain
a relation for the variation of pressure in the troposphere by considering the variation of g with altitude.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Instructor: Engr. Dan William C. Martinez, MSME