Mechanical Technology

Module: Thermodynamics

Lecture 3
INTRODUCTION AND
BASIC CONCEPTS

Asnaf Aziz
PROCESSES, Path AND CYCLES
• Process: When any of the properties of a system change, the state changes and the
system is said to have undergone a process. Any change that a system undergoes
from one equilibrium state to another.
• Path: 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, as well as the path it follows, and the interactions with the surroundings.
Cycle A thermodynamic cycle is a sequence of processes that begins and ends at
the same state. At the conclusion of a cycle all properties have the same values they had
at the beginning. Consequently, over the cycle the system experiences no net change of
state.

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• A cylinder filled with ideal gas is sealed by means of a piston. The piston is
a disk, with a weight of 20.0 N, that can slide up or down in the cylinder
without friction but which is currently at its equilibrium position. The inner
radius of the cylinder, and the radius of the piston, is 10.0 cm. The top of
the piston is exposed to the atmosphere, and the atmospheric pressure is
101.3 kPa. Our goal for this problem is to determine the pressure inside the
cylinder

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• A cylinder filled with ideal gas is sealed by means of a piston. The piston is
a disk, with a weight of 20.0 N, that can slide up or down in the cylinder
without friction but which is currently at its equilibrium position. The inner
radius of the cylinder, and the radius of the piston, is 10.0 cm. The top of
the piston is exposed to the atmosphere, and the atmospheric pressure is
101.3 kPa. Our goal for this problem is to determine the pressure inside the
cylinder

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• Process diagrams plotted by
employing thermodynamic properties
as coordinates are very useful in
visualizing the processes.
• Some common properties that are
used as coordinates are temperature
T, pressure P, and volume V (or
specific volume v).
• The prefix iso- is often used to
designate a process for which a
particularproperty remains constant.
• Isothermal process: A process
during which the temperature T
remains constant.
• Isobaric process: A process during
which the pressure P remains
constant.
• Isochoric (or isometric) process: A
process during which the specific The P-V diagram of a compression
volume v remains constant. process.
• Cycle: A process during which the
initial and final states are identical.
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REVERSIBLE and IRREVERSIBLE
PROCESSES

• A process is reversible if both the system and surroundings can be returned

to their initial states

• When a system changes state in such a way that at any instant during the
process the state point can be located on the diagram, then the process is
said to be reversible

• The fluid undergoing the process passes through a continuous series of

equilibrium states

• A reversible process between two states can therefore be drawn as a line

on any diagram of properties

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 Criteria of reversibility:
The process must be frictionless. The fluid must have no internal friction and there
must be no mechanical friction (e.g. between cylinder and piston)

The difference in pressure between the fluid and its surroundings must be infinitely
small

This means that the process must take place infinitely slowly

The difference in temperature between the fluid and its surroundings during the
process must be infinitely small

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IRREVERSIBLE PROCESSES
A process is called irreversible if the system and all parts of its surroundings
cannot be exactly restored to their respective initial states after the process has
occurred

In practice, the fluid undergoing a process can not be kept in equilibrium in its
intermediate states and a continuous path cannot be traced on diagram of
properties.

Such real processes are called irreversible processes.

Represented by a dotted line joining the end states to indicate that the
intermediate states are indeterminate

Irreversibilities are due to friction, turbulence, leakage, losses, etc

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Internally REVERSIBLE
The fluid itself is at all times in an equilibrium state and the path of the process
can be exactly retraced to the initial state.

In general, the processes in cylinders with a reciprocating piston are assumed

to be internally reversible as a reasonable approximation but processes in
rotary machines are known to be ireversible

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Reversible work
• Consider a closed system shown in Fig. consisting of a gas (or liquid)
contained in a piston–cylinder assembly as the gas expands.

• During the process the gas pressure exerts a normal force on the piston.
• Let p denote the pressure acting at the interface between the gas and the
piston.
• The work done by the system as the piston is displaced a distance dx is

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OR
Reversible work
• Since dV is positive when volume increases, the work at the moving
boundary is positive
• when the gas expands. For a compression, dV is negative, and so is work
found from the same equation
• These signs are in agreement with the previously stated sign convention for
work.
• For a change in volume from V1 to V2, the work is obtained by integrating

• Remember the above equation of work can only be used for reversible
processes
• It can not be used when there is no movement of the boundary (can not be13
used to find shaft work in case of a turbine)
Shaft Work

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 ENERGY TRANSFER BY WORK
• Work: The energy transfer associated with a force acting through a distance.
 A rising piston, a rotating shaft, and an electric wire crossing the
system boundaries are all associated with work interactions
• Formal sign convention: Heat transfer to a system and work done by a
system are positive; heat transfer from a system and work done on a system
are negative.
• W > 0: work done by the system
• W < 0: work done on the system
• Q > 0: Heat supplied to the system or Heat absorbed by the system
• Q < 0: Heat rejected by the system

Alternative to sign convention is to use the subscripts in and out to indicate

direction. This is the primary approach in this text.

Specifying the directions 15

of heat and work.
Heat vs. Work
• Both are recognized at the boundaries
of a system as they cross the
boundaries. That is, both heat and work
are boundary phenomena.
• Systems possess energy, but not heat
or work.
• Both are associated with a process, not
a state.
• Unlike properties, heat or work has no
meaning at a state.
• Both are path functions (i.e., their
magnitudes depend on the path followed
during a process as well as the end
states). Properties are point functions; but
heat and work are path functions
(their magnitudes depend on the
Properties are point functions path followed).
have exact differentials (d ).
Path functions
have inexact
differentials ( )
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 Phase and Pure substance
• The term phase refers to a quantity of matter that is homogeneous
throughout in both chemical composition and physical structure.
• Homogeneity in physical structure means that the matter is all solid, or all
liquid, or all vapor (or equivalently all gas). A system can contain one or
more phases. For example, a system of liquid water and water vapor
(steam) contains two phases. Note that gases, say oxygen and nitrogen,
can be mixed in any proportion to form a single gas phase.
• Certain liquids, such as alcohol and water, can be mixed to for a single
liquid phase. But liquids such as oil and water, which are not miscible,
form two liquid phases.
• A pure substance is one that is uniform and invariable in chemical
composition. A pure substance can exist in more than one phase, but its
chemical composition must be the same in each phase. For example, if
liquid water and water vapor form a system with two phases, the system
can be regarded as a pure substance because each phase has the same
composition.
• A uniform mixture of gases can be regarded as a pure substance provided it
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remains a gas and does not react chemically.
What are possible boundaries for
studying each of the following?
(a) bicycle tire inflating.
(b) a cup of water being heated in a microwave oven.
(c) a household refrigerator in operation.
(d) a jet engine in flight.
(e) cooling a desktop computer.
(f) a residential gas furnace in operation.
(g) a rocket launching

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More About Thermodynamic
Equilibrium
• For a system to be in thermodynamic equilibrium, the
temperature has to be the same throughout

• There should be no unbalanced pressure forces present

(Mechanical Equilibrium)

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Think about direction of heat flow

• An office worker claims that a cup of cold

coffee on his table warmed up to 80°C by
picking up energy from the surrounding air,
which is at 25°C. Is there any truth to his
claim?

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Practice Problems
• As illustrated in Figure below. electric current from a storage battery runs
an electric motor. The shaft of the motor is connected to a pulley–mass
assembly that raises a mass. Considering the motor as a system, identify
locations on the system boundary where the system interacts with its
surroundings and describe changes that occur within the system with time.
Repeat for an enlarged system that also includes the battery and pulley–
mass assembly.

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Practice Problems
• As illustrated in figure below, water for a fire hose is drawn from a pond by
a gasoline engine–driven pump. Considering the engine-driven pump as a
system, identify the type of system. Repeat for an enlarged system that
includes the hose and the nozzle.

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Practice Problems
• As illustrated in figure below, steam flows through a valve and turbine in
series. The turbine drives an electric generator. Considering the valve and
turbine as a system, identify the type of system.

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Practice Problems
• A large fraction of the thermal energy generated in the engine of a car is
rejected to the air by the radiator through the circulating water. Should the
radiator be analyzed as a closed system or as an open system?

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Practice Questions

• Considering a lawnmower driven by a one-cylinder gasoline

engine as the system, would this be best analyzed as a closed
system or a control volume? What are some of the
environmental impacts associated with the system?

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